BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, April 5, 2015--On Palm Sunday, just off of Route Disney, Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles were stationed outside in the usual spots. Soldiers walked past civilians and comrades alike, saluting superiors along the way. It was just about 6 p.m. and something special was about to happen -- a Gospel-filled "hour of power" inside a small, yellow building called Enduring Faith Chapel.
"Let's give God praise! Amen!" Brother Greg Lesane said, as people clapped in between testaments. "Whatever you're going through now, or went through this week, leave it right here on the altar. Amen! On Sunday night, you're at the right place at the right time. Amen!"
Lesane, an operations manager for Raytheon, has been in Afghanistan for over 6 years. He also leads another Gospel service on the Warrior side of Bagram Airfield (BAF) on Sunday mornings. And he said this was his calling.
"As a servant of Jesus Christ, this is what I have been called to do," he said. "There was a time in my life I hit the lowest point a person can hit -- from my health, finances, marriage, children and anything that could go wrong, went wrong. I knew within myself the Lord was calling me, but I tried for many years to run from my calling until it got to a point I couldn't run any longer. When I finally surrendered to God changes started occurring for the better for me and my family."
He's been in Afghanistan since October 2008 -- first at Camp Spann in Mazar-e-Sharif from 2008 to 2010, then at Camp Phoenix in Kabul from August 2010 to April 2014.
And he said it's all about relationship -- a personal one.
"We are called by the Bible to be ambassadors for Christ, to spread the good news of the Gospel to the people who do not know Jesus Christ," Lesane said. "It's not about religion, but a relationship. I can speak the Gospel with boldness because of what Christ has done for me. That's why it's so important that a person establishes a personal relationship with Jesus."
"Happy you all came to praise the Lord this evening. Halleluiah!" said Air Force Tech. Sgt. Katrina Jenkins, as each choir member took their positions behind her at the altar.
"My God reigns, our God reigns, Lord you reign! Above every name, above every name!...With power and majesty. Dominion authority, You reign! You reign!"
Jenkins, in Bagram since October 2014, is in charge of announcements and is the church's lead usher and minister of hospitality. She's also a medical technician at the Craig Joint Theater Hospital's outpatient clinic. And she believes this is just what "the ultimate doctor ordered."
"I love God and I love people, so being minister of hospitality and an usher was a perfect fit," she said. "You only get one chance to make a first impression and many that come into the house of God are discouraged, downtrodden, hurt, and in need of healing. The church should be a place of refuge to be able to be transparent and loved through your problems and a smile and a warm hug are just what Jesus, the ultimate doctor, ordered!"
Jenkins said being away from family, friends and all things familiar is difficult even in the best of circumstances. And the sacrifice of those that are called to deploy are what make armed services members and their family members "a special breed of amazing."
"Having a place to worship freely provides an opportunity to not only grow your faith and your trust in the sovereignty of God, but your circle of like-minded believers that are able to strengthen you when you falter or grow weak," she said. "The chaplains that we have had this rotation are ever present, not just in the chapel, but throughout the base, offering words of encouragement and providing services as needed. The vision of Enduring Faith Chapel is to empower and equip Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and civilians to lead men and women to the gospel of Jesus Christ, through teaching and instructing the pure unadulterated word of God. And I believe we have done just that."
Colesha "Coco" Johnson is a civilian volunteer, minister of music, and choir director for Enduring Faith Chapel's Gospel service.
"He continues to bless us every day. Halleluiah!" she said, before leading the congregation into song. "He supplies all of our needs. Halleluiah! Open up your hearts and minds and let him in!"
"You provide the fire. I'll provide the sacrifice! You pour out your spirit and I will open up inside. Fill me up God. Fill me up God. Fill me up God."
Johnson's been deployed here for 11 months and calls Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, home. She joined the Gospel choir last April and said ministry's always been a part of her life.
"I grew up in the church," she said. "I take living for Christ very seriously and my time, treasure, and talent is offered to the Lord without hesitation. Work has to be done in the Kingdom to help win souls for Christ. So as long as I have activities of my limbs, I'll honor Jesus Christ until I die."
"She is instrumental in not only leading the choir volunteers and band, but coordinating the many volunteers and lay ministers who make the Gospel service come together so successfully," Senior Pastor, Chaplain (Lt. Col.) William Killough, said. "That service in particular is lay-led, from the music, the bulletin, the prayer ministries, the sound board, the ushers, and the multimedia. She is the lead on making sure all these parties are 'on the same sheet of music.' You could do a story just on her and her volunteers and have enough to write a book!"
The congregation stands, some raising their hands to the ceiling, as the next song begins to crescendo.
"Grateful, grateful, grateful, grateful…Gratefulness, it's coming from my heart!"
When the singing ends, Killough enters stage left to give his sermon. And he said he has a blessing.
"We all have issues that come from our heart, our broken heart," he said. "And the issues that flow through our heart go to Christ himself. For a broken heart needs a blessing! I've got a blessing for you tonight and I can't wait to share it with you…I want to pray to the saints in Afghanistan tonight. Tonight our message is to the saints here in Bagram!
"It doesn't matter where you're at. Here in Afghanistan or in the states. To the north and to the south. To the east and to the west…He's got you in the palm of His hand!"
Here since last November, Killough deployed for a year with the 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga., where he is division chaplain. Here in Afghanistan, as the U.S. Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A) chaplain and senior U.S. chaplain, he oversees over 42 chaplains and chaplain assistants throughout the Combined/Joint Operations Area-Afghanistan (CJOA-A), to include BAF.
"BAF alone has over 18 chaplains and chaplain assistants," he said. "Religious support deployed in the combat setting is very different from the garrison ministries back in the states. Back in garrison, chapel programs include children and youth ministries, taking up offerings, paid staff, etc. When deployed, none of these take place in the combat zone."
Killough said he finds religious support to be very fulfilling and focused when it's about deployment. On the ground, the environment in a combat zone is more dangerous and Soldiers have no family support system. But, at the same time, the focus is more on the tasks at hand -- plus it involves longer working hours. And the faith communities rely on God "as we know him" even more, and value the fellowship of other like-minded individuals.
"In a Biblical sense, for many Soldiers, this combat deployment to Afghanistan is their 'desert experience' where they grow closer to God," he said. "As a chaplain and as a Christian, it is very meaningful to see people grow closer to the Divine and to each other in a difficult environment. And, even as a chaplain, their ministry to me encourages me and lifts me up to be the man God has called me to be.
"The volunteers and lay ministers of the various religious services throughout Afghanistan are a blessing to so many! Their 'servant's heart' ministries are a demonstration and expression of their faith in God and their love for others. I'm so thankful to our command teams for allowing and providing a place and time for various communities of faith to express themselves and come together as community. These expressions of faith are vital in building and maintaining resiliency during a difficult deployment. "
BAF has a variety of religious services supported by the command that includes Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Latter Day Saints, Church of Christ, and Gospel services. Of the 23 chaplains throughout Afghanistan, two are Catholic priests and one is a rabbi.
Chaplain (Capt.) Karyn Berger said she never wanted to be a rabbi like her father. But, she said, sometimes the turns of life and faith turn in ways that you don't expect.
"While I was going through rabbinic school, my parents, every time I visited them, would ask 'so why don't you consider the military chaplaincy'? And my answer was 'because I'm not going to do it. I have no wish to do it. I don't have any call to do it. I was already in the military once."'
The first time Berger joined the military was in 1983. She came in as a private, working in Public Affairs with the Texas Army National Guard while attending college. She was commissioned in 1987 as a quartermaster reserve officer for three years. Then, after a 21-year break, she "got back in" as an active duty Jewish chaplain. Her home unit is the 15th Military Intelligence Unit at Fort Hood, Texas, a part of the 500th MI Brigade.
Her father was a rabbi in the reserves for almost 30 years, retiring in 1996 as a colonel. But it was her mother that acted as her "voice of prophecy."
She said when she was ordained, her parents still asked her about being a military chaplain. It was at a time when she liked what she was doing, had her own spiritual direction business, and was on the verge of being successful.
"And my parents asked me once again," Berger said. "In particular my mom, 'you should do this -- why don't you do this?' And my answer was because I really like what I'm doing and I don't want to be in the Army. And she looked at me and said 'you know Karyn, you're pretty good at what you do. And I know you like what you're doing. And there are many, many young Jewish men and women who do not have a rabbi to support them when they are out there fighting these battles. And it doesn't particularly matter whether you want to do this or not or whether you support the war or not. It doesn't matter. There's nobody to do this. And these young men and women deserve that support. And you have an obligation to do it.' And, I mean, what are you going to say to that?"
So her father got her in touch with the right people.
The process took about two years. And the more she went through the process, she said, the more that she found that she liked the people she was meeting.
"The Soldiers who I was dealing with were pretty amazing people," she said. "And I knew that I was on the right path. So that's how I got into the reserves. The endorsement took close to two years to happen, which is pretty average. It takes a long time. And then I went to chaplain school."
And, while she was at chaplain school, she woke up one day and realized that she had six weeks left of active duty.
"That I'm doing what I'm doing is kind of like a surprise to me," Berger said. "If you would have asked me four or five years ago if this is what I could see myself doing and doing it the way I would, I would have called you a liar to your face. This is not anything that I envisioned myself doing. And yet I have fallen in love with my Soldiers and with what I do. And I really do love it."
Abdul Halimi volunteers as the point of contact for the Muslim faith. He's a civilian serving as a linguist and has been deployed on and off for the past nine years.
"I am proud to be an Afghan American supporting the U.S. Army Soldiers," he said.
He said planning is already in the works for Ramadan.
"During the month of June, it will be the holy month of Ramadan, which is a major holiday in Islam," he said. "We are currently planning iftar programs for the month for everyone to participate on BAF -- which is the breaking of the daily fast during Ramadan."
Since the end of March, BAF has been abuzz with a number of religious activities that will continue through April 11. The Jewish community celebrates Passover from April 3 to 11, and Catholic Holy Week is celebrated March 28 to April 5. Today, Easter began with a sunrise service at the Resolute Support Facility court area.
Sgt. 1st Class Sharlene Lynch, USFOR-A senior chaplain assistant, is responsible for handling all the operational elements of CJOA-A-wide support. Killough said, for the Passover and Easter events alone, she coordinated all transportation and force protection for Berger and all Catholic priests throughout the CJOA-A.
Lynch arrived at BAF on Christmas Eve 2014. This is her second deployment. She said her job is to make sure that Killough is afforded the time and opportunity to deal with Soldiers' issues and not logistics.
"I make sure things run smoothly," she said. I do what I do because I want to ensure that the chaplains who are delivering God's message -- in whichever denomination or faith group -- can adhere to their religious beliefs and worship in their tradition," she said. "In America, we have the only 100 percent volunteer military force. And in keeping with that tradition, we allow our military Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, Sailors -- the opportunity to worship in their own manner of belief."
Before the start of Easter sunrise service, the 3ID Band tuned up while Lynch put finishing touches on flowers that adorned the altar. Command Sgt. Maj. Donald Wilson, in country for three months, passed out programs at the entrance along with Chaplain (Maj.) Roderick Swanson, head of Collective Protestant worship on Sunday mornings at Enduring Faith Chapel.
"Jesus was an example," Wilson said. "We, being leaders, task Soldiers to come out all of the time. Leaders show by example."
"The sun is coming!" Johnson said, before joining hands to pray with the rest of her Voices of Praise choir.
At 6 a.m., Killough takes the stage.
"What a blessing it is to have all of you here this morning!" he said. "I'd like to thank the DFAC (dining facility) personnel, MWR (morale, welfare and recreation), Gospel choir, Catholic Quartet, and the many volunteers who came to assist.
You are the bread of heaven…Awesome ruler! Gentile redeemer! Jesus! Jesus! That's what we call you!
"What a blessing it is to be here on Easter morning!" Killough said. "He is risen! Keep on praising His name!"
As the service came to a close and the crowd started to disperse, Swanson spoke to a few people in his path.
"We're here for everybody," Swanson said. "Christ died for everyone. Chaplains are a representative for their religion. We're here as ambassadors to everybody and not just Soldiers. But everyone that comes in our path."
Social Sharing