Unseen Heroes

by

While our U.S. military personnel deserve our gratitude and respect for their service and sacrifice, another group of people is equally deserving: military spouses. They work hard behind the scenes to take care of their families amid the stress and chaos of frequent moves and deployments, organize packing up their belongings, and hold down the fort while their husbands or wives are deployed. They provide strength and stability in a life filled with change.

The wife of a Navy chaplain, Christa, shared with Cadence staff Joe and Caitlin Fletcher what their ministry, The Anchor, near NAS Oceana (in Virginia) meant to her as she transitioned to yet another duty station.

Our family of three made the long trek across the U.S. in the Summer of 2021. I had a lot of anxiety building, knowing a lot of responsibilities were getting ready to fall solely on me because we were preparing for my husband’s deployment. The need to find a community quickly and the dread of finding a new church are always at the forefront of my mind when approaching a PCS (Permanent Change of Station). 

We had no church connections, I knew no one, and my husband was in full deployment mode. We knew he had about head days after arriving in Virginia before heading to his ship. I was now faced with a new home (which I was grateful for), a new neighborhood, a new state (where I didn’t know where anything was), and my husband was about to leave me and our ten-year-old son. This reality and how I would manage really began to weigh on me. 

This was our eighth military move, and it was by far the most stressful one. Then, a ray of hope: my husband ran into a chaplain friend, and he immediately invited us to The Anchor, a Cadence hospitality house, where we met Joe and Caitlin Fletcher. When we arrived, I felt unsure about walking into a stranger’s house, but with all the cars I saw lined up outside the home, I also felt that there must be something being offered here that people are drawn to.

Being introverted, I gathered up my courage . . . strange place, strange faces, but the warmest “welcome home, you belong here” feeling I have ever felt upon entering a home. The people there felt like family. I knew in that instant that I would be coming back while my husband was away. After eating a delicious homecooked meal that ministered to this weary traveler both in body and mind, there was worship and a Bible study that ministered to my spirit. I felt in that moment a connection for my soul. 

The Anchor is not just a group that meets once a week, it’s a community of people who really care. It’s family. I’m incredibly thankful for everything they do to reach military families, including this chaplain’s spouse.

This story is an excerpt from Joe and Caitlin’s June 2023 newsletter.

Read more stories here.