The Gift of Presence

by

​“The people we did life with. . .”

I pulled that phrase from the testimony below because it says so much about our Cadence ministries—we “do life” with military people. We share their joys, struggles, heartaches, and triumphs. We walk through their journey with them.

This past month we celebrated Advent and the arrival of our Savior, Emmanuel—God with us. He came to us in order to be with us in our journeys of life. What an amazing gift!

And what a privilege to offer this gift of presence—being with—to our loved ones and friends.

Here is a testimony from a young wife and mother whose husband was stationed at Spangdahlem AB in Germany. “The Hangar” is the name of the Cadence hospitality house there.

“After sitting through that first Hangar night, for the first time since arriving in Germany, I felt like I might just be okay and make it through this assignment. But I could never have imagined the wonderful things God had in store for us through this ministry.

Because of The Hangar missionaries and community, not only have we made it through this assignment, we have loved it. We have thrived in it. We have grown personally and spiritually through it, made lifelong friends, memories, and so much more. I cannot imagine what this assignment would have been like without The Hangar and the people God placed in our lives there. This community became our family. The friends we’ve made at the Hangar have been by our family’s side through deployments, tragedy, the miracle of new life, birthdays, holidays, and even more importantly, the everyday little things.

These are the people we did life with over the last four years. These kinds of relationships, especially overseas, are priceless—a rare, beautiful gift that I am so lucky to have found. But not only did we find lifelong friends and family through this community, we also grew closer to Jesus and each other through the teachings and discipleship of the Hangar missionaries.” 

Friends, as we leave behind the specific challenges and trials of 2020 and set our eyes on walking with Jesus in 2021, let us remember the importance of “doing life with people”—being together in this journey amidst all its joys and sorrows, trials and triumphs.

Your faithful financial support allows our Cadence staff to do this very thing for military people and their families, and I thank you.

David Schroeder
President