By J.A. Buchholz

FORT MYERS — As a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Auxiliary, the Rev. Ralph Rivers is concerned with keeping soldiers safe, but the military chaplain is equally concerned about caring for the souls of soldiers. And soon he’ll get a chance to actively address that concern.

Rivers, pastor at Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in Fort Myers, was invited by Olive Branch International, a humanitarian service to the international military community, to visit the Ukraine to teach pastoral care for two weeks in June 2004. Rivers will teach a series of conferences for Ukrainian military personnel, lecturing on ministering to military personnel.

The cities of Kiev, Khmelnitski, L’viv, Cherkassy and Mukacheva may be foreign to Rivers, but he said the wounds of the soldiers in the region are familiar to soldiers across the globe.

“I think this is a wonderful thing, being invited,” Rivers said. “I’ve been following Olive Branch International for about four years and think what they’re doing for military wives and families is great.”

Rivers will be instrumental in getting pastoral care dialogue started in the area.

“Pastoral care is equally as important as health care,” River said. “There is often emotional and spiritual pain involved with the care of soldiers who have been hurt. I’m going to be talking about a balanced healing process.”

Working with health care providers to help them become more aware of the spiritual crisis injured soldiers sometimes experience can lead to a reduction in suicide among soldiers, River said. He said substance abuse is also often a by-product of soldiers hurt in the line of duty.

“This can also lead to the wider possibility of kingdom building,” he said. “The goal is to increase the level of care providers give to the sick and go deeper than binding the wound.”

Rivers will spend more than 24 hours traveling by rail and air to reach Ukraine.