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Portal:Sam Childers
{{Multiple issues|coi=September 2009|notability=September 2009|npov=September 2009|BLP sources=September 2009}}
{{Infobox writer
| name         = Sam Childers
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| caption      = Sam Childers arriving to the Book Signing Event of his book “Another Man’s War,” Beverly Hills, CA on May 5, 2009
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'''Sam Childers''' (born 1962) is a former gang biker who now dedicates his life and resources to rescue children in the war zone of Sudan. Childers and his wife Lynn founded and operate Angels of East Africa, the Children’s Village Orphanage in Nimule, Sudan, where they currently have more than 300 children in their care.

== Biography ==
=== Early life ===

Sam Childers was born [[Grand Forks, North Dakota]], the son of Paul Childers, a union ironworker.  Sam had two older brothers, Paul Jr. and George.  He also had a sister, Donna, who died of a heart problem before she was a year old.  While growing up, his parents moved from place to place following construction projects.

In the spring of 1974, a couple months before Sam turned twelve, his family moved to [[Grand Rapids, Minnesota]].  He was going into seventh grade that fall, and the two years between then and when he started high school were some of the most influential times of his life.  It was in these formative years that Sam discovered cigarettes, marijuana, and alcohol which lead to many years of drug addiction, drug dealing, and alcoholism.  Sam also developed a love for motorcycles and the lifestyle that often follows a [[Hells Angels]] biker.<ref>{{cite web|last=Morrison |first=Keith |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9006024/page/2/ |title=In war-torn Uganda, kids only emerge at night - Dateline NBC - msnbc.com |publisher=MSNBC |date=2006-09-26 |accessdate=2010-10-08}}</ref>

== Africa ==

In the summer of 1992, Childers experienced a conversion during a revival at the Assembly of God church. Childers has claimed that was also the same evening that his pastor prophesied that he would go to Africa. At the end of 1998, Childers made his first trip to the Sudan. In that first trip and the many that followed, he was exposed to the atrocious acts of the [[Lord’s Resistance Army]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boyerspond.com/chopper.html |title=World Missions New Sudan |publisher=Boyerspond.com |date=2009-06-27 |accessdate=2010-10-08}}</ref>

Over 30,000 children have been abducted by [[Joseph Kony]] and his Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in the region.<ref>http://www.seacoastgrace.org/pdf/Global%20Missions%20Report.pdf</ref> Some relief organizations report as many as 50,000 children have been abducted and 1.7 million people have been displaced. The abducted children are generally forced to be child soldiers or sex slaves until they escape or are rescued. Thousands of children have become orphans as a result of brutal LRA attacks on remote villages in Southern Sudan and Northern Uganda.

Not long after his first trip to the Sudan, Childers and his wife Lynn founded the Angels of East Africa, the Children’s Village in Southern Sudan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.angelsofeastafrica.org/aboutus.html#orphan |title=Angels of East Africa |publisher=Angels of East Africa |date= |accessdate=2010-10-08}}</ref> The Children’s Village currently houses and educates over 300 orphans,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/564719.aspx |title=Missionary Fights for Children of East Africa - Christian World News - CBN News - Christian News 24-7 |publisher=CBN.com |date= |accessdate=2010-10-08}}</ref> with over a thousand children rescued since its inception.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.angelsofeastafrica.org/aboutus.html |title=Angels of East Africa |publisher=Angels of East Africa |date= |accessdate=2010-10-08}}</ref> The staff at the Children’s Village are primarily  Sudanese orphans and widows themselves. This is currently the largest orphanage in Southern Sudan and is unique in its approach of leading armed rescue missions directly into LRA territory.  The Children's Village is the only non-governmental organization that does not pick up and leave when fighting breaks out in the area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sass.caltech.edu/events/SamChilders.shtml |title=Sam Childers of Angels of East Africa speaks at Caltech November 5, 2008 |publisher=Sass.caltech.edu |date=2008-11-05 |accessdate=2010-10-08}}</ref> However, this claim cannot be verified.

Childers details the events of his life and his experiences in Africa in his book ''Another Man's War''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://media.barnesandnoble.com/?fr_story=03deec3e2addd4ac1fb156d0506e57faa66f5cae&rf=sitemap |title=Another Man's War &#124; Book Videos, Interviews & Podcasts from B&N Studio |publisher=Media.barnesandnoble.com |date= |accessdate=2010-10-08}}</ref>

In November 2009, Childers appeared on [[Debra Peppers]]' television show ''Outreach Connection'' in [[Quincy, Illinois]]. He revealed that he also rescues children abducted in Northern Uganda in Africa.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.freebase.com/view/m/0d273_2 |title=Machine Gun Preacher - Sam Childers facts |publisher=Freebase |date=2010-09-22 |accessdate=2010-10-08}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
A biopic is currently being shot about Childers.  The film, titled ''[[Machine Gun Preacher]]'', is directed by [[Marc Forster]] film with [[Gerard Butler]] portraying the preacher.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://machinegunpreacher.org/  Sam Childers' Official Website]
* [http://www.angelsofeastafrica.org/   Angels of East Africa]
* [http://www.944.com/nightsites/gallery/save-the-children-in-darfur-sudan-book-signing/ Sam Childers Red Carpet book signing - Beverly Hills, CA May 5, 2009]

{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME              =Childers, Sam
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH     = 1962
| PLACE OF BIRTH    =
| DATE OF DEATH     =
| PLACE OF DEATH    =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Childers, Sam}}
[[Category:1962 births]]
[[Category:American humanitarians]]
[[Category:American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Hells Angels]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Lord's Resistance Army]]⏎
⏎
[[it:Sam Childers]]