CHAPLAINS DIARY Chaplain Searle is deployed to OSAN AB, So. Korea for a year. He shared with me via email the following incident in the missionary ministry the Lord has given him in your Air Force. Please remember Tom in prayer as well as your other military chaplains who share similar opportunities to touch lives
with the love of the Lord. I just got out of a counseling situation a few minutes ago that I wanted to share. A young man from the one of my squadrons just found out that his older brother hanged himself and
the First Sergeant called to bring him by. As the young man and I were talking, I asked if he was feeling overwhelmed with emotion and grief. He said that this was not all he was dealing with. He continued to tell me that he has been back from his mid-tour leave for 6 days, and while he was home his wife told him that she wanted a divorce. They have two children. He also has a tumor that needs to be removed which is undergoing some testing, he is trying to cancel his follow-on assignment to Aviano so he can get back to the states and try to work through his family situation. That may or may not go through. He is also having trouble getting a promotion testing date. Needless to say, he said that everywhere he turns, there is no hope. I asked if he had turned upwards, and he nodded his head and said that's what he needed. I gave him a bible and when I asked if I could pray with him, he said "I really need it" and put his arms around me and cried on my shoulder as we prayed. His supervisor was in the office with us and cried also.
These are tough blue collar men! What a privilege it is to stand in the place of Jesus and offer His compassion and hope to people who have nowhere else to turn. We have the truth, the light, the joy, the hope; but it seems that so often people are not willing to accept it
until their pain drives them to it. Just a quick snapshot of how my day ended. God's blessings to you,
Chaplain Tom Searle (USAF) |
