Retired Canadian Forces Captain Wayne Johnston received a warm welcome at 50 Kent, the home of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Ontario and other Mennonite agencies in Kitchener last month. Invited by MCC Ontario director Rick Cober Bauman to make a noon-hour presentation, Johnston shared his story of harm and healing.
Johnston concluded his military career, which involved a stint in Bosnia, as casualty administration officer, overseeing arrangements for the return of soldiers killed in Afghanistan. Dealing so closely with death and its survivors took a toll.
“It was great for my soul, but it broke my heart,” he told Global News.
Johnston is also founder of Wounded Warriors, a non-profit organization that assists returning soldiers, with a focus on mental health. Johnston himself is candid about his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Cober Bauman says Johnston's presentation was “very compelling” and deeply appreciated by those in attendance. Cober Bauman helped present Johnston with a hand-made quilt.
MCC Ontario, along with MCC Manitoba and MCC Alberta, will also be providing quilts for soldiers and their families at a Wounded Warriors healing weekend taking place in Chilliwack, B.C. from July 31 to Aug. 3, 2015.
--Posted Feb. 11, 2015
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