Thankful Then, Thankful Now

by

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.

I also didn’t realize the gift we had been given in our Battalion chaplain and his family. Chaplain Ken Sorenson and his wife, Patrice, were calming spirits to the challenges that came with all the “new” in our lives. CH Sorenson would regularly pursue me and ensure I was doing okay as I learned how to be an Armor officer. Patrice stayed connected to my wife throughout my many deployments and training exercises. Their whole family was deeply involved in the hospitality house community. (And on our first wedding anniversary, when I was deployed to another U.S. base for training, CH Sorenson even arranged for Aimee to meet me in the chapel so we could have pizza together! I’m thankful the Battalion Commander didn’t find out!)

This month I am thinking back to our first Thanksgiving as a married couple 25 years ago and again giving thanks to God for the Baumholder Hospitality House and the Sorensons. And I give thanks for you, because your financial gifts to Cadence are ensuring many young Soldiers and their families have a similar opportunity to find Christian love and community.

We also want you to know that you can partner with Cadence in supporting the ministry of U.S. military chaplains. Victory Ranch is Cadence’s retreat facility located in South Carolina. One aspect of this ministry is to provide spiritual resiliency training space to chaplains from the Chaplain Basic Officer Leadership Course (CBOLC) at Ft. Jackson. Situated on 17 acres of land, Victory Ranch provides unique opportunities for all new incoming Army chaplains to connect and grow outside of the classroom environment. Furthermore, they enjoy the experience of Cadence hospitality and thus know about our ministry when they arrive at their first duty station.

Every year Cadence selects a “Joshua Project” in which we seek the Lord to abundantly provide financially for specific material necessities. The needs at Victory Ranch include driveway repairs, replacement of the roof on the recreation barn, and siding on the main house. Would you consider a Thanksgiving Gift to our Joshua Project to help ensure that chaplains and their families continue to experience the blessing of Cadence ministries? We have an $8,000 matching gift already in place and would love for you to bring it to life! Learn more at Cadence.org/JoshuaProject.

Happy Thanksgiving!

In the goodness of Jesus,
Brian Kleager
VP for Strategic Partnerships and PR