Hospitality House Ministry
At “a home away from home” servicemen and women find an open door, a comfortable couch, a home-cooked meal, and people who listen, encourage, love, and point them to the hope of Christ. Hospitality Houses offer different ministries depending on location. These may include Bible studies, singles groups, family-focused ministries, evangelistic outreach efforts, one-to-one discipleship, and coffee house ministries. Hospitality House missionaries strive to share the ups and downs of life with military personnel, encouraging them into deeper relationships with others and with Christ.
Retreat Ministry
On a Cadence retreat, military individuals are given a weekend of rest, good food, and Bible teaching, as well as respite from their daily duties and training. Retreats offer them a chance to make a phone call home, play some ball, or sleep in. During retreat weekends, participants also take part in a series of classes where they hear the Good News of Jesus, receive spiritual direction, and gain a network for discipleship.
Melissa’s Testimony
When my husband and I made the decision for him to serve in our Army, I don’t think we knew what we were getting into. We had covered the decision in prayer and strongly felt God’s calling for us to make that decision. However, I don’t think any amount of information could have prepared us for the lifestyle, but with God’s help, we are living the life of a military family!
Surviving his absence during Basic Training and school tugged on our heartstrings as we were newlyweds when he left, but it was manageable. We then received orders to be stationed in Germany! It sounded very glamorous and daunting at the same time. I was to join him later, once all of my paperwork was in order. Seeing him off at the airport, again pulled at those heartstrings, as we had to be apart again. I joined him in Germany 3 months later and we finally got to start experiencing life together. There was a lot of training, so he was gone at least one week each month, sometimes more, sometimes less. Even in the routine of those departures, the heartstrings pulled, but each time it also hurt a little less, until our first child was born.
God has always been my rock, but as our family expanded from one, to two, and now three children, my husband’s absences have continued to pull on the heartstrings! Our toughest challenge yet, has been a recent deployment that we are going through. Being a geographically-single parent, as we like to call it, is tough stuff. My husband dearly misses us when he’s away, and we really miss him, and explaining to my children where their dad is, has become routine.
We are strong in our faith in Jesus Christ; we are strong in our marriage and share a great desire to raise a wonderful family. I think those things are what sustain us and keep our heartstrings from breaking. We are covered in His love!
Being a military family isn’t easy, but it is the life we are called to at this time in our lives! My husband will return, God willing, and my children will remain awestruck by the hero that he is to them, and I will continue to love him as we serve our country together!
