STORIES FROM THE FIELD
FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT
Homecoming
Few have the unique privilege of watching military personnel welcomed home by their loved ones after a deployment. Recently, Ben and Melody Bloker, Cadence House Directors at Victory Villa in Rota, Spain, were honored to take part in one of these heartfelt reunions when the USS Bulkeley returned to port.
Each branch of the military has its own traditions for welcoming service members home, and the Navy is no exception.
From the Field
The InCadence Podcast:
Stories of God’s work in and through the military.
When everything you own can fit into two bags
Your donations to Cadence truly make a difference. From where you sit, you most likely can’t see the full impact of these gifts on servicemembers all over the world. Allow me to share with you a glimpse of how God is at work through your generous giving.
Prayer: The Essential Foundation of Ministry
This year, I would like to invite you to something essential. It is something I believe will shape the future of Cadence and expand the reach of the gospel in powerful ways, and it is something many of you are already doing.
The Power of Incarnate Ministry
As we travel through Advent and enter a new year, our hearts are filled with joy and gratitude for the wonder of Christ’s incarnation. The eternal Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us (John 1:14). In that mystery, we find both our salvation and our calling to live incarnationally among those God has placed in our lives. Because Cadence believes so deeply in the power of incarnate ministry, it is one of our longstanding Core Values.
The Grismore’s Garage
One of the joys of my job is watching the way the Lord weaves together each missionary’s story, background, and gifting to minister to those they serve in their own special way. Our staff’s creativity, compassion, and commitment open doors for the gospel that might otherwise remain closed. This is certainly true for Cadence staff, Dwight and Letty Grismore, who serve near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Their unique gifts are channels of God’s grace and hope, as they shared in a recent letter to supporters:
When everything you own can fit into two bags
Your donations to Cadence truly make a difference. From where you sit, you most likely can’t see the full impact of these gifts on servicemembers all over the world. Allow me to share with you a glimpse of how God is at work through your generous giving.
Prayer: The Essential Foundation of Ministry
This year, I would like to invite you to something essential. It is something I believe will shape the future of Cadence and expand the reach of the gospel in powerful ways, and it is something many of you are already doing.
The Power of Incarnate Ministry
As we travel through Advent and enter a new year, our hearts are filled with joy and gratitude for the wonder of Christ’s incarnation. The eternal Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us (John 1:14). In that mystery, we find both our salvation and our calling to live incarnationally among those God has placed in our lives. Because Cadence believes so deeply in the power of incarnate ministry, it is one of our longstanding Core Values.
The Grismore’s Garage
One of the joys of my job is watching the way the Lord weaves together each missionary’s story, background, and gifting to minister to those they serve in their own special way. Our staff’s creativity, compassion, and commitment open doors for the gospel that might otherwise remain closed. This is certainly true for Cadence staff, Dwight and Letty Grismore, who serve near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Their unique gifts are channels of God’s grace and hope, as they shared in a recent letter to supporters:
Legacy of Love
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16–17
A Soldier’s Child
After hearing about A Soldier’s Child SOS Christmas on WayFM a few times on our way to school, my nine-year-old daughter, Kenna, asked if we could participate. The following week, she sold items at our church’s holiday market and felt she could sponsor a child with the earnings. An easy click on the site led us to the purchasing of gifts for a girl the same age as my daughter.
Faithful and Available
One thing that continues to amaze Candace and me is how God works through those who attend our house ministry, not just us. One man, in particular, is relatively new to Korea and still processing through a hard breakup that occurred before he came.
Thankful Then, Thankful Now
1ST BATTALION, 35TH ARMOR REGIMENT, 1ST ARMORED DIVISION, BAUMHOLDER, GERMANY (“THE ROCK!”)
This was my first duty assignment in the Army for my wife Aimee and me as we arrived in Germany in September 1999. We had been married eight months; I had been in the Army nine months; and now we were about to figure out married life, Army life, and overseas life all at once. As I think back to that first Thanksgiving in Germany, I had no idea how grateful we would be for the community we were beginning to encounter at the Cadence hospitality house.
We Share
We share the gospel and our lives with the military community.
For 70 years, the mission of Cadence International has aligned and galvanized our staff in their fruitful ministry to military people and their families. When I think back on the 40 years Joyce and I have served in Cadence, the unrelenting focus of our hearts has been on this mission of loving military people.
As the Deer Pants
Have you ever been so thirsty that nothing mattered more than finding something to quench your thirst?
Earlier this year, I found myself in a situation where I was thirstier than I had ever been. I was in the hospital due to lung-related issues and needed a procedure performed under anesthesia. They gave me the typical “no food or drink after midnight” instructions ahead of time—no big deal. However, after the procedure, when I awoke and needed the help of a BiPAP machine to keep my oxygen levels up, I started to experience extreme thirst. Each minute the BiPAP mask was on my face, forcing pressurized air into my nose and mouth, I became more and more desperate for even just an ice cube. It would end up being five hours before I was allowed to drink some water.
Setting Our Minds on Things Above
It’s time for a New Year’s resolution check-in. Did you make one, and if so, how is that going?
A few years ago, I heard someone being interviewed on a podcast about New Year’s resolutions. They gave some statistics stating that 43% of people quit their resolutions by the end of January, and only about 9% keep their resolutions for the entire year. Wow! That’s not very encouraging, and it begs the question of why bother making a resolution to begin with.
Kingdom Connections
American military personnel are accustomed to packing up and going wherever the military sends them, whether it is a six-month unaccompanied deployment or a three-year duty assignment in the U.S. or overseas. Accordingly, Cadence staff may have only a few months to invest in those who attend their ministry and usually no more than three years.
This Present Moment
“Really, God?”
Am I the only one who asks that question from time to time? Over and over, I have found myself in new environments. Military moves, different ministry locations, and changing seasons of life bring new relationships and variables, and it can be so easy in those moments to feel the weight of change.