Pursuing His Will

What I’ve been up to over the last 6 years

You Did What!?

Some of you reading this may know or may not know that over the course of the last 6 years, I’ve been in the US Navy. I joined the Navy in April 2017, with no idea how God would use me, and I had no idea what was next for me in my life. I joined primarily because the door for law enforcement never opened up for me. It was what I desired to do for so many years of my young life, but God had other plans for me. Little did I know, my calling and purpose was not to be in LE, but in the Navy.

“Take a little trip with me”

My first duty station was sunny San Diego, CA where I was stationed on a ship called the USS Makin Island. I was an undesignated airman which meant that I had no particular job onboard. The ship was also not operational, meaning that my first tour would not be out at sea, but on land. This ended up being a blessing, more on that soon. I still had no idea what God was calling me to do in the Navy, so in the meantime, I found a church called East Clairemont Southern Baptist Church, now called East Clairemont Church. I started there on the praise and worship team because I love to play guitar and sing. Shortly after a few months, I became a church member, and became a pastoral intern, which gave me opportunities to preach and teach in the church! Let’s hop back onboard the ship for a few moments.

Back on the ship, I was still learning what it meant to be a Sailor, and I was trying to figure out what I could do as a career. I learned about naval officers, and when I found out that the Navy has chaplains, I started to pursue what that entailed. I was warmly and kindly greeted by the Religious Program Specialists (RP) and the chaplains as I went to their office. I talked with the chaplains and after seeing how ministry was done onboard a ship, and the visual effects of seeing people walk into the office upset then leave the office happy, these things really drew me in and I said “I believe this is what God want’s me to do.” Because I was not yet qualified to become a chaplain (2 yrs. ministry experience, Seminary degree), I decided to become an RP so that I could learn all about the chaplaincy and ministry in the Navy.

Bye Bye San Diego:(

Over the last 4 years, I have been serving as an RP at the United States Naval Academy (USNA). The job of an RP is to protect the chaplain on the battlefield, set up religious services, and aid with administration duties for the chaplain office. As I have been an RP, I have been able to do ministry, just not in the same role as a chaplain. It has been lay ministry, and off duty hours. Nonetheless, impactful for the kingdom. I’ve been able to lead a Bible study with several enlisted sailors every other week, which I believe has been impactful for them, and is going pretty well.

This is the background of my story and life over the last 6 years. I’ve seen God use me in many ways to positively impact people’s lives, and I have no intention of stopping! Stay tuned for the next post where we will discuss What’s Next?

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