Encouragement

As Jan 10th gets closer and closer I have been asked the best way to stay in touch with us.  Living so far away from family it will be hard for our local family to stay connected.   Knowing that we will be in great need of prayer over the next year with all the changes and separations I wanted to take a moment to share our "social networks" with everyone.  For the most part they are connected

Blog:  chaplainjim.blogspot.com
          chaplainwifearmy.blogspot.com

Facebook:  jjmitchem
                  dmmitchem

twitter: jjmitchem
           dmmitchem

For an update on what is going on.  I took my oath last Saturday so I am now officially in the Army again.  We are also moving up the timeline for our big move this spring.  Knowing that I will be deploying this summer we want the family to be all settled in as fast as possible in Hawaii.  With this, we are scheduling to have our household goods along with one vehicle picked up the last week in Feburary so they will be waiting for us when we arrive.  Denise and Cody will move down to Ft Jackson and we will leave from there.

We are finding homes for our animals, way too expensive and too dangerous for them to go through the long process of getting them to Hawaii.  This is the hardest since they are part of the family.

As I prepare personally for all this I was led to post the following to my future Chaplain School classmates:

ENCOURAGEMENT: The following is what I have come to know as the Ranger Verse: 

"I don't say this out of need. for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content, whe...ther well-fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through Him who stengthens me." (Php 4:11-13)

We will be taken care of and I am comforted in knowing how many will be praying us through this journey.

"For God and Country"

 

My Published Wife!

Just a quick post here because I am going to provide a link to an article written by my beautiful wife for Army Wife Magazine.  It is on page 18  I am so proud of her!!

www.armywifemagazine.com

Once there, click in the middle where it says "Click Here"

Tropic Lightning

Well, our official orders have finally arrived.  We are being assigned to the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

We are very excited about this news and feel incredibly blessed to both have the opportunity to serve in such a front line combat unit as well as to live in Hawaii.  It will be a small consolation to know that Denise and Cody will be in living in paradise when I inevitably deploy, which I was told is now a "high probability"

We have also been blessed with getting to know my fellow classmates through a facebook group page.  I can already see some close and long lasting friendships forming.  It is amazing how most of us have similar views on our calling to this ministry and how we are to serve God in such an environment and still be a witness for Christ.  I know there are many that question our abilities in such a position and even ask how we can subject ourselve to such limitations. But, I believe that evangelism can take place in many forms, especially in living out the life of Christ by loving others the way that we are loved by God.  A chaplain is in the midst of the soldiers, he or she is embedded in their lives, their work and their brotherhood.  By just being there and loving them as God would have us we are evangelizing through the example of living a Christ-like life.

Next on the agenda: taking my oath.  We are still hopeful that we will be able to travel north to do my Oath at the Lincoln Memorial with our good friends, Dave and Michelle from Ft Meade.  They are in the midst of battling a houseful of sick kids -possibly H1N1 so please remember them in your prayers.

Hurry up and wait

It has been almost a month since my last post.  Once again we are in the waiting cycle of the "Hurry up and wait" process so long associated with the military.  I found this today as I was surfing the net looking for inspiration for a paper I am currently writing:

"Hurry up and wait"
"It's an expression long associated with life in the armed forces: the endless lines, the delays while an assignment is being readied, the long night before a major battle, and finally, the anticipation of final orders. For some who serve during war, the sounds of battle remain tantalizingly distant, as they are left waiting stateside for the duration."

We are still awaiting orders, paperwork to tell us where we will be stationed after Chaplain school as well as the paperwork I need to take my oath as an officer of the United States Army.  We are still excited but this anticipation of the unknown is killing us.

Dear Lord, grant me the patience to endure this wait and the comfort knowing You are still in charge and will put us where it is Your desire.  Amen

Time to get ready

This weekend my gear started to arrive.  I took the advice of an active duty Chaplain and started ordering uniforms so I would not have to deal with it the first week of school.

4 sets of ACU were on the doorstep on Friday, trying them on really brought back memories and I could see the reality of it all in Denise's eyes when she saw them on me.

I have been really blessed with some of the purchases I have made on Ebay from some retirees.  Got the ACU's  (new) for half the price, a Gen III goretex jacket, PT jacket, shorts and t-shirts.  Today my nametapes and other ACU items arrived and my dress uniform is supposed to be here tomorrow.

Still waiting on my paperwork to arrive so I can swear in, but the timing is looking good as now we may be able to travel to D.C. to do this with an old army buddy of mine and a Chaplain from his post.

Just need to focus on being physically ready now, running is feeling good and doing an ab and push-up routine every morning.

On a side note, watched an incredible movie this weekend, "Taking Chance".  It is the true story of Lt Col Stroble who volunteers to escort a fallen young marine home to a small town in Wyoming.  Heart wrenching, but a reminder of how America came together after 911. 

Well, continue to pray for us as we get closer to our start date, and for Denise and Cody to do fine in my absence

School Date

Well it is all coming together.  I received an email with confirmation of my school enrollment for CHAPLAIN INITIAL MILITARY TRAINING and CHAPLAIN BASIC OFFICER LEADER.  I report for duty on January 10th and I will be done with chaplain school on April 9th.


We are excited about it all happening.  At the same time we are looking at all the things we need to do to get ready.  So much junk to get rid of for the move.  I also have to start buying all the gear I will need for school; uniforms, boots, etc.  


We are also realizing that in our 14 years of marriage this will be the longest that we will be apart.  Yes, Denise and the kids can come and visit on weekends but I have been told to expect to be very busy.


Running is going well, my plan is to increase a 1/2 mile every week with a goal of 6 miles at a 9 min pace before school starts.  


Will post again when I get my actual orders and swear in.

Training for Eternity: One of Those Days

Training for Eternity: One of Those Days

An amazing story of the sacrifice our soldiers are making

A New Beginning

It has been a long road getting here, and it is hard to decide where to start with this journey.  I guess I can say it began about five years ago when I felt the call to ministry.  From the beginning I felt like the chaplaincy was where it was all heading but I had so much school in front of me before I could get there, not to mention how out of shape I was.

Well the school happened, I earned my BS in Religion then went on to seminary, this past May I graduated with a MA in Christian Leadership and continued for my Masters in Chaplaincy which I will be awarded this December.  

The fitness level was definitely with God's help,  I began riding my bike about 18 months ago, I have since lost about 50 lbs and am in what I would consider to be pretty decent shape, but still have a little ways to go before I am at what I would consider Army shape.

The application process has been the most stressful.  I spoke to a recruiter last Thanksgiving and began what was to become a very long journey.  First I obtained an endorser, a Department of Defense approved religious agency.  The World Council of Independent Christian Churches (WCICC) was a perfect fit, I would have the freedom to serve all denominations and faiths but with a strong Christian support ministry.  I was ordained and endorsed in early 2009.

The Army application process was a little more difficult, having been prior service and with a knee injury and VA disability required a lot of paper work and trips to the MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) in Charlotte for physicals and evaluations.  My final doctors appoint occurred last month with an orthopedic specialist who declared me fit for duty  - Hooah!!

During this process I must admit I would have moments of discouragement and begin to think it was not going to happen.  Well the final step in the whole process occurred this past week.  The chaplain selection board took place on Tuesday and Wednesday.  We were told we would hear something either Thursday evening or Friday.  By Friday afternoon I had not heard anything so I emailed my recruiter, he said the results were sitting on the Chief of Chaplains desk waiting for his approval and he did not know when that would happen.

Friday evening at about 6:00 pm ( I guess I should say 1800 hours now ) he called.  I had played this over and over in my head, if he called me Rev Mitchem then I was sure it was a no go, but if he called me Chaplain Mitchem then I knew we were going.  I answered the phone and SFC Funneman asked to speak to Chaplain Mitchem, before he told me anything else I just knew it was good news!!  He congratulated me and said he was pleased to address me as Sir now.

Now we wait again.  Within three weeks I will receive my commissioning orders, find an officer to swear me in and take my oath.  After that the paperwork will go back to DACH (Dept of Army Chaplains) and then I will get my orders for school.  School is at Ft Jackson in South Carolina for three months.  Halfway through school I will get my orders for our first duty station and we will find out where we will be living for at least the next two years.

It has been a long road, many trials and times of almost quitting it all.  God has put us through a lot in the last five years but looking back it has prepared us and made us strong for this new chapter in our lives.  At church today our Pastor preached about the Israelites and their time in the dessert.  I just looked at Denise and we both new, we have been in the dessert and we are now looking across the Jordan to our new home.