My father-in-law is a Chaplain in the Air National Guard.  He is currently deployed to Manas, Krygystan where he is serving at the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Chapel.  This Transit Center ministers to many permanent party staff and also to hundreds of service men and women as they come and go from their deployments to home.

In addition to providing chapel services and counseling, the chaplain also tries to make life easier for these men and women by offering them things they might need, like a razor or a cell phone to call home.  My father-in-law has shared that many times people who come into the chapel just want someone to talk to, someone who will listen to their problems and be a friend.

Recently, an Army private came into the chapel sharing his problem.  He couldn’t go home because the boots he needed to wear were already packed and loaded.  He had on his mountain boots and now needed his tan boots.  (This may seem irrelevant to those of you who have never experienced military life, but let me assure you, this is an important issue.) He would not be able to wear his mountain boots for his flight home and his E-2 salary would not afford the major purchase of buying new tan boots.  He was at a loss so he came to the chaplain for some encouragement and wisdom.

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