FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska - Dan Meyers, Christian musician, storyteller and self-proclaimed lover-of-adventure, came to Fort Wainwright this week to share his music and insights with Soldiers and families in a variety of forums.
Meyers performed during Sunday's chapel service at the Northern Lights Religious Education Center, spent time with youth from the chapel and then gave a community concert Monday. He also gave an intimate, in-home concert for Soldiers and families Tuesday.
He and his wife Julie worked with Wainwright chaplains on a Strong Bonds marriage retreat at Chena Hot Springs this week and will also work with single airmen from Eielson Air Force Base in a retreat this weekend before leaving for the western Alaskan Bush. There they will work with Alaska Natives through
Send International, an evangelical Christian organization designed to start churches and work with people in remote areas of the world.
The reasons behind his visit to Fort Wainwright are simple, he said. He loves God and loves Soldiers and wants to encourage them. "The first thing I want to say is 'thank you for your service,'" he said.
Meyers, the son of a Marine, planned to enter the military until God intervened and turned his focus to music and full-time ministry during his senior year at the Citadel in Charleston, S.C., he said.
Although he did not join the military, his passion for those who serve and desire for a life of adventure continue to be strong. "I wanted to bring encouragement and spiritual challenge to these unique communities that are filled with people who feel lonely, isolated and far from home, and my wish was granted," he said in his biography.
Songs like "Lost for Words," "Horizon Line," "Ordinary Man" and "Stutterin'" tell the stories of people searching for truth, significance and hope through a relationship with God in an era filled with distractions and even tragedies like 9/11.
In light of serious problems like suicide, drug use and other issues that can surface in military communities, Meyers said he wants to offer hope and encouragement through his music and interactions with Soldiers and families during his visits to military installations. "In a world that seems hopeless, sometimes we can strive for perfect results and sometimes we might even find a little success in the world," he said. "My hope is to be an ambassador for the true (hope) and point to Christ who is the answer."
This visit was his first to Fort Wainwright but he has come to Alaska numerous times to perform and serve. Through his Pilgrim Road Ministries he will begin his 20th European military tour and release his seventh CD this summer. The next adventure for Meyers and his wife will take them to northern Iraq to begin teaching and working with Kurdish schools and communities there.
"I decided early in my career that I was going to seek out adventure both on the road and off," he said. "What I've learned is that I don't have to look very far."
For more on Meyers and his work with military communities, go to www.danmeyers.com.
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