Deployment Ministry

So what is deployment ministry like?

Well, imagine that you have been asked to become the pastor of a church in a small town.

Then, imagine that the town is several hundred people; most do not go to church; everyone works together; everyone is under the age of 60; and no one is related to anyone else in town.

Then imagine that nearly all of them are men, with just a handful of women, and that those who do have a church background all come from various backgrounds.

Then imagine that the "town" has existed for a while, but only in the sense that the buildings are all there. Not only are you "new" to town, but everyone else is too. AND, everyone is only going to be there for about a year.

Oh, and did I mention that yours is the only church in town, and that you are the only "pastor" located there? Other than you and your assistant, your only church-related resource person is a couple hundred miles away and they are the ones that you try to coordinate with to provide services occasionally for "town-members" who are from other faith groups.

And a large portion of your ministry is in pastoral counseling to everyone. And you have the responsibility to try to be familiar with everyone's background so you can support them in the best way possible for their issues.

Oh, and don't forget that you are also the local hospital chaplain and serve on the city council and as an adviser to the mayor and city managers. Plus, you are required to maintain certain uniforms and physical fitness.

But, recognize that you also have "town members" who live and work in some outlying locations from town, and you know that you really need to try to visit them every so often, but the only way to do it is to catch a copter to get there. So you have to schedule those visits while maintaining presence at meetings, counselings, hospital visits, Bible studies, morale contacts, and your church services.

That is a little bit of what deployment ministry is like. And don't forget that in the midst of all this,... you are having the time of your life serving God and following His calling. Hoo-ah!

More Details on Deployment

Last few days of February, and we are all getting as ready as we can.

I had the opportunity to share with a group of Soldiers and their spouses the other night and asked them to remember the month of January when we were training at Ft. Polk, LA. I encouraged them to recognize that it was not just training for the Soldiers, but also for them. A key point of that training was that "they needed to know what they didn't know. We cannot start to learn what we do not know until we know that we don't know. So hopefully you still remember what you did not know and now know it or are working on figuring it out." A mouthful, but true.

We of course have a lot of briefings and training to come, but details are starting to emerge concerning our deployment.

It had already been posted in our initial orders that we were going to Afghanistan and Regional Command East. Here is a link to an article from the Department of Defense concerning the way that they are working the orders:

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=57874

Also, here is a page from NATO that shows a map of Afghanistan with some information about the different commands:

http://www.nato.int/isaf/docu/epub/pdf/placemat.pdf

3rd BCT has already mostly moved into place. There is a great article about their change of command here:

http://www.cjtf82.com/regional-command-east-news-mainmenu-401/2401-us-army-pfc-christopher-mckenna-task-force-rakkasan-public-affairs.html

I will try to keep everyone up to speed as more details become available.

Please keep Operation Enduring Freedom in your prayers. Please ask for success and safety in bringing peace and security to the people of Afghanistan.

JRTC Completed

JRTC for the 1BCT is done.

JRTC is Joint Readiness Training Center, and it is located at Ft. Polk, LA. And 1BCT is my brigade.

We headed down toward the beginning of January and spent most of the month training and pretending that we were in Afghanistan.

The training was excellent. Although it was tough to be away from our families, we gained quite a bit by serving with one another in this type of an environment, and by working with trainers who had recently served in Afghanistan themselves.

As a brigade we were spread out across a large area. In my case, we stayed in large tents or metal frame buildings on cots. Our latrines were outdoor port-a-potties and our showers were down the road a ways. In this picture you can see a white tent down the road. The showers were 3 buildings down from that.

We had the opportunity to train in a variety of environments, including different personnel, role players, and interpreters.

One great benefit was to be able to work with Soldiers in a totally different scenario. This included chapel services. We had four while we were there and I was able to preach for two of them. It is encouraging to be able to share with one another while we are all in a situation that pushes us all to be our best.

I know that my unit did very well in the training and came home with a new focus on our upcoming training. I would appreciate your prayers as we prepare ourselves and our families for our pending deployment.

Simple Surprises

It always makes me smile when I consider the idea of waiting on God's timing, and how short my memory tends to be.

It is easy for us to shake our heads at the ancient Israelites and wonder how they could so quickly forget about God's provision. Yet we tend to do the same thing in our own way.

In my case, I have to try to remind myself to not get caught up in my own schedule.

As Americans we have the habit of putting together our own plan and then getting upset when it does not get executed the way that we planned. We get frustrated when all of the lights are red, when the lines are long, and when we get delayed for whatever reason. What we forget is that sometimes those delays save us from unforeseen difficulties. We also may never know about what we avoided or gained because of those distractions.

I just had an opportunity to actually see God's hand in delays.

Our family recently completed a trip along the East coast. Yes, in the winter.

We drove (not in this order) through Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Maine, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New Jersey. This was because, as a family, we have now visited 48 of the 50 states. We plan to get the last two (New Mexico and Alaska) within the next couple years.

On the trip we decided that we would like to catch a Christmas Eve service in Washington DC and then visit Walter Reed hospital and drop off some Christmas cards to the Soldiers there. Well, we hit some delays and did not arrive in time to find a Christmas Eve service or visit Walter Reed that night. We were disappointed, but decided that we would go ahead and visit the hospital on Christmas day.

When we arrived Christmas morning we found greeters at the door. We started to ask if they could direct us to the chaplain's office, but they asked if we were looking for the DFAC (dining facility). They gave us the directions to the chapel and we were on our way. As we went we noticed a good amount of staff dressed in their dress blues.

When we arrived at the chapel we discovered that a Christmas morning service had just begun. So we were able to attend a Christmas service instead of a Christmas Eve program. It was a small crowd, but very nice and encouraging.

Afterward, we asked the chaplain about our cards being delivered since we knew that we would not be allowed not do it ourselves. He excitedly said that he would make sure that they were given out to the recovering Soldiers and we stepped out the door.

It was about lunchtime and we had to decide what to do for food before we continued down the road. Figuring that there may not be much open on Christmas day, we decided to see if the DFAC was open.

As we headed down the hall we began to hear a brass band playing. Upon entering the facility we were greeting by a host with a tray of hors d'oeuvres. We soon discovered that the hospital staff was hosting an extravagant Christmas lunch with most everyone in dress blues, and menu choices such as pecan-encrusted tilapia, prime-rib, and stuffed chicken breast. We were amazed.

The food was wonderful and we felt so thankful that we decided that we wanted to personally thank those responsible. As I thanked one of the civilians and asked who was the coordinator of the event, a NCO came over and nonchalantly mentioned that the vice president was there. I asked if this was the vice president of the hospital and he smiled and said, no, the Vice President of the United States. Sure enough, as though on cue, Vice President Biden and his wife walked into the room and took up positions to help serve food.

To make a long story short, I gathered up the family and we introduced ourselves to the Vice President, shook his hand, and I took a quick picture.

It still makes me smile to think of how much we would have missed if we had held to our plan instead of resting in God's timing.

In the end we even got to eat lunch right next to the chaplain and assistant who's service we had just enjoyed.

Truly an amazing day.