For 12 years I served in the Ohio Army National Guard. I’d be lying if I said I loved every moment of it. I didn’t. But what it did do was fulfill a part of my soul that felt a need to give. A need to do something bigger than myself. However, it doesn’t last forever. With four girls at home, a wife, a career and endless kid activities, I was missing out on other important parts of my life. Not to mentioned my wife was juggling it all by herself. That’s when I decided to get out in 2021, and it left a gaping hole in my soul.
Almost the entire year, I fought back episodes of depression, anxiety and hopelessness. No more adventures, no more BS’ing with your brothers at the range and no more stories with mother Army. It still stings even while writing this post. But as with all things, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
In January of 2023, an opportunity came up to serve with my church. XChurch is out of Canal Winchester, OH and it had a small group of people volunteering with Samaritan’s Purse (I’ll refer to it as “SP” from here on out), a faith-based organization, created to provide relief after natural disasters. They would be leaving 6 days and it butted against the weekend which would save me some PTO. I knew I desperately needed that feeling of camaraderie and the feeling of being needed. So I talked it over with my wife, got the green light, packed my bags and took off for Ft. Myers, Florida.
Since then, I’ve completed two trips with this team. The team is a compilation of people from all walks of life, including prior service members. There aren’t enough words to describe how pivotal this team and these opportunities have been in my life. SP is a very well ran organization that runs very similar to the military. There’s usually a host church based somewhere close to where you’ll be volunteering. Churches from all over the country send groups and so you meet a ton of new people.
A trip might go something like this, you arrive and check in at your host church. The men are grouped into different rooms throughout the church and same for the women. You all take your gear to your room, which usually includes: an air mattress or cot, sleeping bag, a few luxury items like an iPad or headphones, maybe a book or two, clothes, work clothes, boots and other whatnots. Once you offload your gear, at some point you’ll go through orientation and leaders from SP will brief you on what to expect and go through a safety checklist. A typical day might be broken down like this:
- 0600 — head to the chow hall and pack your lunches for the day (all snacks and food items are provided for you)
- 0630 — breakfast chow is provided by SP. It’s always been good in my opinion. Typical breakfast: eggs, bacon, potatoes…etc
- 0730–0800 — you are assigned your team leader for the day. This is usually a person that isn’t from your group and works for SP.
- 0800–1700ish — you are in “the field” all day, sometimes at one location and sometimes several.
- 1730ish — you head back to the host church, shower up in shower trailers and prepare for dinner chow.
- 1830 — dinner chow, share wins/victories/salvations from the day
- 2100 — quiet time
- 2200 — lights out
The location your working at can vary significantly. Since I’ve only been on two missions, I can’t speak for the range of work. But you will definitely get your steps in for the day. I think over this past trip, I averaged 23k steps each day on my Apple Watch. We spent a ton of time removing branches, logs, dead trees off of cars, sheds, houses and backyards. Similarly to the military, you have a team leader who acts sorta like a squad leader. He/She talks with the owner of the home and gets an idea of what needs done. Then those tasks are handed out to everyone and you just execute.
What I really love is that if you want to learn something, people are usually really cool about teaching you. Want to drive a skid steer, operate a chainsaw, pole saw or other tools? Just ask.
At the end of each day, chaplains from SP will arrive to your work site and check on the crew. They usually offer prayer and do most of the engagement with the owners of the home. Each owner is different and have experienced different traumas and the chaplains are great people to talk to. However, even the volunteers are encouraged to talk with the owners too. But at the end of the day, one of the volunteers has a special Bible and it’s presented to the owner. It’s a gift from SP for letting us come and serve. We then pray with the owner and share any final thoughts.
It’s probably the best part of the day. One thing I love about volunteering with SP that I didn’t get from the military was you got to see the fruits of your labor. Seeing how moved the owner is after we come in and help set them up with a second chance is powerful stuff. Some owners cry or tear up, others are quiet and some are overtly thankful. However, even if none of that was the case — the reward is within you and there’s a feeling of fulfillment. Again, something not mirrored in the military world.
So, why did I put this article together? Well, one, it’s for my own good. It’s a great way for me to really metabolize how great of an opportunity these missions are. Two, I think if you’ve just gotten out of the military and you feel lost — SP is an opportunity to get that camaraderie you once had and to do meaningful work once again. But this time with a greater purpose and under the umbrella of God. Just to be clear, you don’t have to be religious or a christian to serve. But if you want it to be, it’s a really great place to explore your faith and see if there’s really something bigger out there.
If you have any questions or want more information, feel free to reach out.
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