A Story from Kuwait

4/3/2019

Psalm 121… I lift up my eyes to the hills…

            I was the Youth Pastor at our Church of God in Rapid City, South Dakota, in the Fall of 1999. It was there that I received orders for my first Chaplain assignment to Ft. Hood, Texas. I wanted Ft. Bragg or Ft. Campbell for personal reasons, (family related, another story at another time).  My family and I arrived in time to celebrate Thanksgiving in a Stetson (1stCav, 1stTeam)!  It was a great time to be back in uniform. I had competed six years of education to return to the Army. It felt good to be able to take care of my family.
            I was assigned as a Field Artillery Chaplain in the Division Artillery. Six-months later, I made it known to the Division Chaplain’s office that I am willing to be the Task Force Chaplain for an upcoming Operation Desert Spring (ODS) tour in Kuwait. It was a five-month tour for the Task Force. I was chewed out by my Division Artillery Chaplain for volunteering. It is not good when a Brigade Chaplain loses a Battalion Chaplain to a tasking. Well, it had taken the Division Chaplain (and others) six months to make a decision of whom they were going to send; Pentecostal/Mormon or Mormon/Imam? I guess it was a difficult decision for a 1200 Soldier task-force, primarily made up of Protestants, Catholics, and no more than a dozen Islamic Soldiers and other faith groups.
            One day, while in the staging/living area fortified by sand dunes just south of the Iraqi border, I noticed Soldiers were always looking down at their feet, to the ground, meandering their way from one point to another. A famous Budweiser commercial came to mind and for those that are holy - a scripture came to mind as well. An idea began to form.
That evening we had staff call by Radio and I was to share a thought of the day. I know, cliché—right. Command called on me and I keyed the mike and as loud as I could, I yelled, “Wassup?” In fact, I yelled it twice, “Wassup? Whassupi?”
            I was told that everyone within the hearing range of a radio immediately stopped what they were doing and listened to the Chaplain encourage them to lift up their eyes to the sand dunes and see where their help can come from. It was a daring, crazy, way to capture the Soldiers attention and remind them of God’s beautiful skies and help. In fact, Soldiers were waiting to hear from their Chaplain at every Staff Call on the radio after that moment. It was a subject talked about for days.
            Lessons learned: (1) Don’t volunteer, tasking will come to you. I admit it, I did it because it would look good to be a Task Force Chaplain on my Officer Evaluation Report. The tour turned out to be both good and bad for me. That will be another story at another time. This same idea of not volunteering is important to the local ministry. Yes, volunteer, but do not overcommit. Take care of yourself so you can volunteer where and when it is important. (2) Be daring, yet careful. I had taken a bold step and won the hearts of the Soldiers and leaders. Yet, it could have backfired—depending on the character of my Commander. For the local ministry, know your community, know your leaders in the community.  (3) Our own lives, as Chaplains and/or Pastors, are at stake when we constantly look down at our circumstances and not observe God, his creation, and be reminded that our help does come from the Lord and not the promises of certain positions or tasking.

©  Dan Kinjorski

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Dan is in a second career, that of Counselor, but he is a pastor at heart. He desires to present the Word of God in its context and then challenge the reader in its application to our lives. It is the Word of God that brings revival to our souls. The psalmist writes, "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock, and my Redeemer.

Dan and Maribel Kinjorski

Dan and Maribel are Bible Teachers. They love to expound on the Word of God. Maribel has been involved in Church since an early age. A graduate of the University of San German, Puerto Rico, in Business Administration and Economy. Dan is a graduate of East Coast Bible College (now shuttered) and the Pentecostal Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity (1999) , Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (2019), and now working on a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology: Counseling Education and Supervision.
Maribel Pastored Lilly of the Valley, Church of God, a Hispanic Community in Medford, Oregon. Dan Pastored, at the same time, Family Life Church, Medford, Oregon. They both were each other's assistant in their perspective communities. Dan and Maribel were able to bring together an English speaking, Spanish speaking, and a Deaf (non-hearing) community as "one" in community.
While serving in the military, Dan spent his last 13 years as an Army Chaplain, previously enlisted for seven years as a Communication Specialist. As an Army Chaplain, Dan often pastored Chapel Services ranging from the Gospel Service, General Protestant Service, to an Assembly of God Samoan Chapel Service at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Meanwhile, Maribel supported her husband and often found herself assisting in the Family Readiness Groups when Dan deployed to Iraq or the Middle East (Kuwait) and also working with the Protestant Women of the Chapel. Dan and Maribel are proud parents of David (and Megan) with Olive (2nd grand); Michelle (and Street Wise Hercules) with Lilly (1st grand) and soon to be MJ, (3rd grand).