What Is In a Name? The Lake Family

I recently got a message from someone who, the last time I talked to, I had to give the gravest of news. It was a call less than a minute long. I think it was a week or two from when it happened, “Can I talk to Jim?” “I’m sorry, he has passed away. Who is this?” My heart sunk when I heard the name. Dad had been caring for this kid off-and-on for at least a year or two. He was a troubled junior higher when my dad started to come alongside and help his family both through his capacity as a deacon at church, but with this family, this kid, Dad went further than others who helped. They didn’t live close or on the way to church. That didn’t matter. There were problems at home that didn’t matter. There were problems at school, didn’t matter. He knew that going in. Dad devoted himself to helping this family.

This wasn’t particularly new to our family. Over the years, my earliest memories were filled with us moving single moms to new apartments or doing work projects for disabled people seeking help from our church. We had a generous benevolence fund, but the church’s financial support was often coupled with some Lake sweat. It was not uncommon to hear my dad on the phone with this utility or that insurance company working on behalf of someone seeking help at our church. Our family was at the vanguard of the Church’s hands and feet.

I got a message today. I wasn’t expecting it. I have not heard from him since that hard call almost 15 years ago. Shared with permission, of course.

My first thought was the recall of a staff meeting at a youth camp in Slovakia. In the meeting, we were reminded that the fruit of our labor in youth ministry is often never seen, often not manifested for years afterward. I don’t know when you were able to right the path in your life, but I am privileged to have been a part of it, even as an observer. My second thought was the privilege it was to come from a family who has taught such a creed. My family is one of Christians. It is an important part of who we are and what that means. There are many movies and books where a fatherless child must find his way and figure out who he is and who he will become. Dad told us when we were 12; his job was to prepare us to be men. I didn’t know that job would come to a halt days before my 19th birthday, but there was never a question of what it meant to be a Lake man. That was modeled a day in and day out for years. It was not perfect, as none of us are or were perfect, but it was always clear who we were.

I am grateful for those countless hours we spent working in the backyard and around the house. We were taught everything from falling a tree and installing a sidewalk to the proper way to make a grilled cheese sandwich. I am grateful for the work ethic instilled in us at such an early age. We didn’t have money, nice clothes, or grand vacations. We had a family. Thank you for this reminder.

Providence Verified Pt. V - Leaving Home

Between Providence Verified and Hard Lessons Simple Truths series we left off at my Afghanistan deployment and return to Hume Lake. I would consider the crossing paths with Charlie at Hume to be another example of God’s guiding hand. He is one of the people whom I heavy his words and council. The summer of 2012 was a blessing. The spiritual healing I experienced in the opening week and the privilege to be a part of such a ministry throughout the summer have only reinforced the place Hume has held in my heart.

During the course of the summer I had time to catch up with friends from across the state. Many of whom I grew up with and God has carried them to other places in ministry. I am constantly surprised how small the Church can feel sometimes. For more years than I can remember, my notion of “home” was equally referencing my family and church. I was anxious to return. Much of that community I have known since at least 3rd grade. Moving through life together for almost two decades has built inseparable bonds. During those years away I continued to grow in my knowledge of faith and theology. It was wonderful to return to my church home but there was a nagging feeling that I no longer belonged at that church. Summer at Hume provided time to consider the conversations and figure out what I should do when I returned home. Although my reasons for leaving my previous church were based on my theological convictions, none of the issues were concerning orthodoxy. I have no doubts they were and remain a Christ-following Church.

The following Fall I had a talk with one of the pastors concerning my sense of belonging. It was in that meeting that I was confirmed I no longer belonged at my home church. I was at William Jessup for the simple reason to be near my home church. If I was no longer to be at my home church should I necessarily continue at William Jessup? After one of the required Bible courses it was clear to me they held scripture in a different place than I did. In some classes students would openly mock Reformed and/or Complementarian theologies in class. I did not get the sense that such topics were to be engaged. Furthermore, there was only one theology class available and the reports from friends left something to be desired.

On the flip side, during Summer I was reminded of the buffet of Christian colleges in Southern California. Of the 300+ summer staff at Hume each year there are significant numbers of students from Azusa Pacific, Biola, and California Baptist. Point Loma Nazarene, Westmont, and William Jessup students are usually found on staff as well, but they usually have only a handful of students from the other schools. I spent the summer talking to friends who attended the different schools to gain perspective. Hume also has a Summer Preaching series each year, which often has a fair number of speakers from Biola. Biola was already on my radar because I had read a number of books by Biola professors such as William Lane Craig and JP Moreland. I was introduced to another theologian that summer, Erik Thoennes.

I knew I no longer belonged at the place I called home. By the Fall of 2012, I had endured 8 years of moving somewhere new each year. I thought when I returned from Afghanistan I would live out the rest of my years in Citrus Heights. God had a different plan. While at Jessup, I attended a nearby church for their college ministry. It was robust and active, but only attending for a portion of it made obvious gaps in forming clear community. My attentions were divided. I was still devoted to the Youth Ministry throughout these months. It was arguably equally difficult to leave my community and students for a new endeavor.

I completed my application to Biola University in the last week it would have been accepted. I was not accepted to Biola until less than a week from when classes started. In one of the more stressful periods of life and with the assistance of my housemate/best friend I packed up everything I owned in a moving truck. My friend drove my car behind me and I made a full scale move in 4 days. Did I mention I really don’t like moving? I’ve done it far too many times. My gypsy-like pattern for about 10 years would appear to contradict that but do not be deceived.

When I arrived to Biola I skipped much of the Orientation process to unload the moving truck. Prior to my application I checked to see the financial aid status at Biola. They were advertised as a Yellow Ribbon school which generally means they match the tuition contribution from GI Bill. Pretty much every private school takes part, the purpose is so Veterans can attend private colleges which cost way more than public colleges. Biola did not accept 18 of my 108 credits. As a transfer from a university there was no 70 unit cap. It was then I also found out the limited nature of Biola’s Yellow Ribbon participation which would cost me about 5k per semester out of pocket. Had I known this, I would’ve applied to Azusa Pacific or Cal Baptist who would not have charged me anything out of pocket. That week I contacted their admissions to survey how many units I could transfer to one of them. At most I was able to transfer 90 credits to either school.

At that point, I was frustrated why I came to Biola. Alas, God must have brought me here for a reason, I had two weeks to take classes before I could withdraw for a full refund. I could eat the cost of living for a semester to sit on my hands and transfer the following Fall. Such a move would have saved me around 10K. The money wasn’t a make or break issue. My deployment in Afghanistan was… well paid. Regardless, it was still a significant sum of money I would have to accept departing from when I previously did not. When I initially returned from Afghanistan I invested most of my bounty and kept the remains for a down payment on a house in Sacramento. Now I looked at that egg and started to chip away at it. I might credit my skills with getting classes to the lessons I learned from junior college but the decisive factor was God’s grace. My familiarity with Dr. Thoennes was based on my experience with him at Hume. I didn’t realize his classes are among the hardest to get. After an impassioned request, I was number 76 on the class waitlist for a class of 40. The first day of class, 5 of us on the waitlist showed up, 5 us got in the class. In the 200 level Theology Course every student was at least a Junior. Everyone in the class waited to take this sophomore level required class with this professor.

Over the next two weeks, sitting under the instruction of Dr. Thoennes and the other professors at Biola, I realized why God brought me there. The importance of money was dwarfed by the quality and rigor of the theological training and faith modelling I experienced at Biola. Little did I know or recognize, God’s providence was still in guiding my path even in my undergraduate years.

Look Forward for the Rainbows

The perspiring bubbles on my forehead are about gone. There remains a pleasant level of lactic acid still in my shoulders. At the beginning of this semester I started jogging again. With the encouragement and company of a friend from church, who is in far better shape than I, we have been able to share the camaraderie of hardship, sweat, and good conversations. Did I mention how much like to run? Some people have difficulty eating beets, I have difficulty doing cardiovascular exercise. I will devour any foul tasting health food but voluntarily get me on a regimen of cardio, that is a struggle. Yet, somehow knowing I have a friend to endure the pain with, makes it easier. There have even been enough progress that I go without him. What is it about shared hardship that bonds people together? In the range of types of hardships both theoretical and experiential the net is wide. Whether the rigor is from a sports team, stress from challenging classes, or dare I say even war, there appears to be a consistent bond people build with such joint experiences. I might go further to say the more intense the hardship the stronger the bond. I built great friendships with my friends and colleagues on each of my deployments, but there was no measure that would compare the bond of our staff positions versus forward positions who endured more tangible forms of stress. Even as I look back to my summers at Hume, the bonds formed are quick and deep. A similar feature of as those bonds are quickly formed while working at Hume are among the most demanding experiences I have had within the civilian realm.

Even as I reflect upon this first year of graduate school, there is a good deal of camaraderie from the shared struggle to accomplish our tasks. I have never had to read and comprehend as much material as I have done in this last year. If one does not belong, it will be evident. This was a constant question I had throughout this year, “What am I doing here? Can I really hack it?” Well, one year down, two more to go. I trust the professors enough to tell me if I don’t and they haven’t yet.

Are the bonds formed through hardship a peek into our natural soul? Our brokenness is what brings us before the Cross. The majority of our faith journey is more about our constant failures and occasional successes that bring us closer to Christ. In many ways, the Christian life is predominantly a one-sided relationship. God is sufficient. Therefore, there is nothing he lacks or desires that will make him more complete. Us on the other hand, are far from sufficient. Even the most independent self-sufficient homesteader still relies upon the constant rhythm of the heart beat to continue to assert independence. The whole of life is grace, some have the opportunity to recognize it more deeply than others.

Are these echoes of hardship and the lessons that come from them their purpose? Marriage serves as an analogous relationship between Christ and the Church. Are our individual relationships analogous to our relationship with God? By default, our relationship with God cannot, nor should not ever be equal. It is the most appropriate relationship between an inferior and superior. At the same time, many friendships begin with a more dominant aspect than the other. Those starting differentials might be talent, means, experience, or whatever. There are few relationships wherein both parties are fully equal. Even if they are, the bond is genuine because there is no tally to be kept. The differential of friendships often shift over the years, often such movements in the relational dynamics are signs the bond was not bound by a time or place. This is certainly one of the lessons about friendships adults tend to learn more than children. I have a number of friends whom I see far less than I would like to. Our paths have lead us in different places, but oh when we can be near one another again, joy. Much joy is to be had.

I also consider these thought with the ever so popular problem of pain. Much of American society has set their goal in life to avoid pain at much as possible, in doing so they avoid the character and discipline that has so often been revealed and formed through such experiences. Hardship does not create one’s character, it only reveals the character that was already present. I do not think this approach to pain is exclusive to Christ followers, but the knowledge of a good God does make such trials infinitely more possible to endure. I know of many faithful Christians with hard stories who repeat a common theme through their hardship. They are grateful for the perseverance and support that carried them through, but continued to nourish the hopes that the hardship may come to an end, if it is to be so.

I am reminded of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah aka Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. When presented with the fiery furnace they stood before the test, no knowing how it would end. The most probable and reasonable end rates among the worst ways to die, despite this “If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” I can only wonder, if the trio were not close before, this trial was a recurring example of God’s faithfulness.

Are the challenges we have each day proportional rainbows of God’s faithfulness? Rainbows can be made from something as simple as a spray bottle or be the result of a glorious storm. The vibrancy and brilliance often depends upon the source. The best rainbows come from the passing of powerful storms. So too our lessons in faithfulness. We are given talents each day to invest or bury. We know what the right answer is, but will we be willing to follow through? What if I could look forward to the next challenge God would carry me through instead of dread the temporary pain?

Hard Lessons Simple Truths pt II

In Part I, I started tell you about the experiential understanding of some of God’s simple truths. I did not realize this would be a series until the pages were filled in part I. This series seeks to focus on highlighting the opportunities God has given me, through hard lessons, to recognize his simple truths.

I think at the time, the simple truths were a bit less concise or complete. For a number of years I summarized the simple truths as “patience” and/or “sovereignty”. Two summers ago, eminent scholar, Screamer veteran, and strong puncher, Jerry Root summarized the simple truths to “He is God, He loves me, He knows what is best for me.” This was certainly a more relational summary than my one word doctrinal statements. Years later after an Introduction to Theology class at Biola, what has been known cannot be unknown. The character of God and his attributes from a scholarly approach may appear daunting, at the same time Romans has made much of it plain to us.

The first installment left off with the personal frustrations I had as I returned back to civilian life. Well, sort of. The Providence Verified series follows a chronological record of God’s clear hand guiding my path in the recent years. This series overlaps chronologically but tells the stories and trials I experienced while being precisely where God had me be. I had to shelve this one for a few weeks while I got caught up in the other series for chronological continuity. Let’s get on with this.

In a 6-week period, I put in my two weeks, got hired by a new division in my company, moved to Texas, and started a deployment in Afghanistan. Of the two challenges which confronted me during that time and throughout the deployment one has at best a tentative answer still. When I was active duty and Uncle Sam called my number to go to war, I could easily write it off as “this is out of my hands” or “I am being sent”, although I kind of did volunteer to go to a unit to deliberately go to Iraq. In this situation, I left a great job, which although the conditions were much less enjoyable than when I first started working, it was still the best job and opportunity available without leaving my community. As a contractor, I had to seek a job knowing I would go to another war. No flag to hide behind, no government orders making me go, I had to seek out a job, go through the interview process, and convince my company why they should send me to war. Yes, the job was in direct support and supervision of active duty personnel, but the conditions were still different.

I sold more than a year of my life. For those of you who do not know, private military contracting is very lucrative for anyone. At that time, truck drivers without military experience driving convoys of supplies in Iraq and Afghanistan were making over 100K/yr. The pay scales moved up from there. I knew several contractors who were veterans in Iraq and got an idea of the pay scale for even entry level analyst jobs. In fairness, entry-level in that career field meant at least 2 years active military experience with a deployment already under one’s belt. Anyways, there are many jobs which people do solely for the money. Isn’t that why most of us go to work? So that we can get paid? Some of us will be lucky enough to do something we love and get paid, but there are significant portions of the population punching the card to get to the next day. I knew in taking the new job position I was deliberately selling myself. The notion still feels odd. I never wanted to live a life in which chasing the paycheck was the objective, but I still took the job. I justified and still tend to justify that decision by those digits in my bank account that grew from that job. Yes, I got to do my part making the Afghani people and Coalition Forces safer. There was always that aspect of job satisfaction but I couldn’t shake it that I named my price and took it. There was nothing morally wrong about my job, it did not put me in any positions which I had to do anything against my conscience or faith, but it still felt odd. I still justify it because of the financial positioning the job provided… It is done. I do not like to justify the means by the ends, but this chapter is how it went.

The nagging sense of selling myself was not a problem during the deployment. I was awestruck with each paycheck. In retrospect it was a convicting manner to see what I valued at the time. I left my church community, a good job, and great friends for those digits in an account. The part about the deployment which made it my most difficult year was the fellowship. Between my status as a contractor and working night shift, I could not attend any chapels on base. When I was active duty my section allowed for me to attend a weekly Bible Study with some guys from my unit. It did not take long before I realized how much I underestimated God’s blessing on me in Iraq then when I was in Afghanistan. The support a community of faith can provide became measureable to me. I bonded well with my coworkers. We had a small team, only a handful of us stayed for more than a year, the active duty people rotated with a new crew and command several times. Some crews were more friendly than others, some were outright hostile towards faith. We I took the job, I figured I would continue reading to keep my faith vibrant as I did in Iraq. The near complete lack of fellowship in Afghanistan took its toll. It didn’t matter I was reading regularly, working out, eating mostly clean, the lack of fellowship and encouragement the Body of Christ ought to provide to one another was painful.

People often focus on the physical danger war presents. In Iraq we went several months between rocket attacks, I don’t think we had more than 8 days without a rocket hitting our base in Afghanistan. I chuckle, as my last week on the deployment, I am certain I saw a rocket pass over my head by 20 ft or so, it was a good signal that I was ready to leave. The physical danger was nothing compared to spiritual emptiness I felt throughout the deployment. I gained a clearer understanding of the priority between the physical and immaterial.

When I got home from Afghanistan things were different. I dare not say the evil acronym many associate with military service. I am certain it was not that. I think a spiritual thirstiness was present. I got back from Afghanistan December of 2011. By the following January I was taking classes at William Jessup to finish my degree. As much as I love Biola, I know I needed to be at Jessup that first year back in civilian life. There was a proportionally significant veteran population on campus and for some things it takes a veteran to help a veteran. The thirstiness practically felt like an immaterial mist separating myself from others around me. It flirted with the line of tangibility, but it was constantly present in public. It was not until I returned to Hume Lake the summer of 2012, that I felt the cloud lifted and have not turned back since. Hume was already a dear place to me, this was just another example why it is so important to me.

Throughout the Afghanistan deployment I knew God was demonstrating his sovereignty to me. He carried me through yet another war. Even in periods of silence, his presence was constant. Like my isolation in Germany that first year, sometimes it takes the most challenging of conditions for us to have the opportunity to see God for who he is. The noise of the world fades to the background and one is confronted with the brutal truth of a fallen world and a sin nature. Despite this, God is present, he loves me and he was able to take care of me. Even more than that, I have seen and felt God’s faithfulness through numerous trials. Like a dependable friend that has been there through thick and thin, no wait, that is insufficient. God has carried me through the hard times, especially through those moments when I was barely holding on.

Providence Verified pt. IV - Going Back to War

As 2009 carried on and God’s providence was so clearly evident, I started looking for God’s active hand, or quiet whisper as life carried on. In that year, I became a civilian again, worked at Hume Lake, and got a real job. Most of it was made possible by powers not in my control, yet I was the beneficiary of those events coming together. I spent a year working at the site. It was a great time of hanging out with Dave again, getting to see my field from a civilian perspective and being surrounded by veterans and active duty personnel.

The prime reason I moved back home, I was able to continue on in Youth Ministry as volunteer staff. It was different as a full class of students had gone through with little contact to me. There was a clear reward to see students whom I mentored as Freshmen in high school were then the college Freshmen leading new high school students. The cycle of ministry was fulfilled.

The first months in the new job were promising. Flexible schedules, great leadership, fantastic salary, I thought I had won the life lottery. I could finally get on with life, instead of going off into foreign lands for extended periods of time. When I returned to Hume, I figured it was a last hurrah and I had to grow up with my professional job and stop longing for the college days. Funny, I never got the college experience… When I was in community college I was working two part time jobs and trying to figure out how to adult. I don’t think I was very good at it.

I was able to return to Hume the following summer. It was only a week, as a counselor with my guys. As a nice reminder of the little things, for my five summers as a high school camper at Hume, I sought the Recreation (Rec) Championship. I know I took it too far, my graduate summer was especially difficult. We had a stacked team and were contenders. That summer we lost by a 25-point margin in the scale of tens of thousands of points. Summer 2010 was about the ministry, to keep that focus clear, I had the freshmen cabin. All bets were off. Isn’t that usually when God makes his hand known the most? There was a slight edge, my lifeguard experience provided me with strategy on how to do well at Rec. Although my cabin was Freshmen, the other guy cabin we were partnered with were graduating seniors, they had come to win! And win we did. It is rare that a team who takes first place, is the team who leaves with the championship. There are a number of make-or-break moments throughout the week. Yet we prevailed. The whole week, every ounce of me wanted to be with my students cheering for victory, but as a leader, it was my duty to encourage good sportsmanship and focus on the eternal, not a T-shirt. Was that a lesson about the desires of our heart? Something about seek first his kingdom? Oh to reminisce, those were such good years...

When I returned to Hume, I saw many friends from the previous summer, including Charlie. He mentioned I should visit again during the summer, I told him I would consider it. When 4th of July rolled around I was able to get a long weekend. One thing from my experiences overseas, I’m not a fan of explosions beyond a certain magnitude. It isn’t the sound or the sight, but if you are close enough to the blast, you can sometimes feel the concussion of air that moves through your whole body. You can feel it down to your bones. It doesn’t bother me, but I just don’t like the feeling. Hume goes all out for 4th of July like many the classic small towns across the nation. I spent the weekend with some friends at Hume and ended up working Security for a bit. By working I really meant, hanging out with Charlie for several hours to direct buses. It would have been so great to work for him, but alas that season had passed…

I mentioned when I got hired at my new job, I was one of many new additions to the site. By the following fall and through numerous growing pains we were informed a significant portion of the team were going to be laid off. The terms of the contract and funding changed, that is the life as a contractor. By the time that news was delivered I was already looking for different opportunities. To accommodate the increase in personnel, our site mirrored closer to our active duty counterparts who maintained 24/7 support. In order to keep up with that schedule and ensure people were not getting stuck with the preferred shifts, there was a regular shift rotation setup. The impending change would have prevented both my continued involvement at church and prevented me from taking any classes to finish my degree.

I did not yet have a plan, but seeing the evolution of the site, I put in my two weeks. I returned home to be with my church, that was the first priority. This was convenient for my leadership as they did not have to release someone who was not looking for an exit, especially those coworkers who had families. In that kind of job, in that location, there was no other place one could work in that part of the state. That was the deal. After a heavy bit of praying, I concluded I need to change my career field altogether. At best I would eventually have to move to the East Coast, at worst I would remain on a constantly rotating schedule that I would be bound to.

I did a little bit of searching and before my two weeks hit, I was hired by another division within the company. I was going to Afghanistan. My new division was based out of Ohio, but being a deployed position, I was free to move wherever (or not) I chose. In the month long whirlwind of resigning from my old position, training that took me to Ohio, Virginia, and Washington D.C., I also managed to move to Texas. After the moving expenses and the rent overhead, I still saved substantial money by moving to Texas. Becoming a Texas resident also provided advantages that Californians cannot join.

I spent 14 months in Kandahar, Afghanistan. This was the hardest season of my life. It wasn’t the mediocre food (compared to Iraq, it was a serious downer), the weekly rocket attacks, or the 80-hour work weeks. It was there that I tangibly learned the essential need for fellowship the Christian has. It was there that the notion one can have of living their faith in isolation without any form of fellowship was utter nonsense. But, God is and was sovereign and he carried me through it all.

Providence Verified pt. III - Hume to Home

Providence Verified pt. III

Hume Summer 2009 was a blessing beyond blessings. Part of the original plan to return to Hume was to be immersed in Christian community right after my active duty service, God made it happen.

Between my move to Texas from Germany, I went to Hume for a weekend. I knew I was going to Iraq shortly after arriving in Texas. Hume had left an indelible mark on my soul my first summer. I had to return one more time before I shipped off to war. I did not see many friends I recognized from that summer, it had been 4 years since I was on summer staff, but there was enough familiarity it still felt like home. By Summer 2009, all but a handful of full time staff were there from my first summer; but it was the same place, with the same passion, and the same mission. Hume will be like a home for me not matter who is working there so as long as they keep to the original mission.

I loved that summer. It was my job to watch people swim and play all summer. For this story, there were two things that happened that summer that has followed me for many years afterward. I met Charlie, a retired LAPD officer who demonstrated a love for people I had not seen before with a man of such… bona fides. There were a handful of veterans on staff, but I was the only one who had been to war, and the others were full time staff. Charlie had seen it all, far more than I had, there was a bond from that first summer. The other thing was the opportunity to see a fulfillment of answered prayers before my eyes.

Summer lasted 10 weeks of campers, it was busy, blessed, and tiring. The summer season goes for 12 weeks, those last couple weeks Hume hosted church groups and Christian school orientations, we were the facilities and food, not the program. The grand finale of summer is Country Fair on Labor day weekend. At the end of the 10 weeks of camp the summer staff of 300+ college age servants shrank to 20-30 of us to continue up through Country Fair. It was those last couple of weeks of summer that I started to look for a plan. The only lead I had was from one of my friends from Germany, named Dave. He and another guy from my section in Germany were working at an Air Force base as contractors in about an hour from Sacramento. I was hoping to jump on the contractor wagon, but I had no idea how to get in. Most Saturdays I would “go down the hill” to Fresno, for movies, BBQ, and sushi. One of those times down the hill, I got a hold of my friend Dave and he mentioned his job might expand, but they were waiting on the government contracts to come through. I knew he would do what he could, but we mere mortals have no control on government contracts. How true that statement turned out to be.

I knew I was returning to home somewhere in the Sacramento suburbs. I was going to housesit for some friends going on vacation for several weeks. I had those weeks to get a lead. Dave gave me the name of the company, I would check the website each night to see if any jobs opened. I was getting discouraged and fearful in those final weeks. I kept refreshing the job opening page and no results were found. There was a solid week I was half-joking that I would go to the Union Gospel Mission after the house sitting. My final night at Hume, I checked the company website one more time, click click, and boom. The job Dave was telling me about was open! I uploaded my resume and filled out the application that night, God was Good!

You might be thinking at this point, “You call this verification?” Not quite yet, keep reading. The next day, as I am driving down the mountain and I get back into cell range, I get a call from Dave. He let me know they saw my resume… but it sucked. I didn’t know what the company was looking for, we knew I had the skills for the job, but one must get the interview to get the opportunity. As it just so happened, the reason Dave called me, was not just to tell me about the shortcomings of my resume. For he and the other guy from my section in Germany were both chosen to sift through the resumes. Wow, just wow. Dave gave me some tips on how to rewrite the resume so he could bring it to his supervisor, who was in charge of hiring.

I got to my friend’s house and fixed my resume and waited. A few days later, I got an email to schedule the job interview. Boom, I’m in. Okay, now I have to think about all my military experience and how to do a job interview. This was a white collar, salaried position with a Fortune 500 company… breathe… breathe… this is happening. Due to the nature of the job, the interview was going to be over the phone. I am not particularly fond of talking on the phone, talking is more than words, it is expressions, inflections, and body language. For this, I only have words and inflections.

The interview, I cannot fairly say it was an interview. I was introduce to the Site lead and when I was getting ready for the challenging questions, she said “Based on your resume and personal recommendations, you were a sure thing. I just wanted to chat to get to know you as we a tight team right now.” Did that just happen? I was given this job. A surreal sense of my finiteness was shadowed by God’s clear hand. He wasn’t done yet. The type of work I did in the Army and as a civilian, required numerous background checks, drug tests, and the sort. Once I started working, I learned I was the first new hire of over a dozen new people. The contract tripled the team over the next six months. On average it took about 2-3 months for new hires to get fully in- processed. I was working within 3 weeks from my interview.

But wait there’s still more! My friends got back from their trip, they did have an open room, which was where I stayed those weeks, but the commute would have been over 1-2 hours. I had to find a different place to live. At the same time, a friend from church, he was a cop two suburbs over. He just bought a new house, there were open rooms. Ding! I got a place to live. As I looked at the location, it was a perfect middle between my commute to work and drive to church. It looks like this civilian life might work out after all...

Providence Verified pt. II - Getting Back Hume

I did not intend this to be a series when I started typing last time. It turns out, telling the story takes more time to set the context. Read as a standalone work, it is understandable that naysayers might discount the events that occurred as coincidence. I ask that any naysayer consider the whole of this series before dismissing my claim. When I left off I concluded that God brought me back to Hume. This part I will chronicle in better depth how God brought me back to Hume and… let’s see how far I get. There is at least one more episode to this series.

Who wouldn't want to spend a Summer with this view?

I got back from Iraq in early February 2009. The return ceremony was one of the most isolating feelings I had ever felt. I was surrounded by my comrades in arms most of whom were greeted anxiously by family following the 15 month separation. At the time I probably ensured my family not to spend the money to welcome me back to the States, after all I had a very short time left… I thought. That urging was a pure pragmatic case and the moment of loneliness reminded me of the hardest prayer, but it passed as all bursts of emotion do.

Due to all the chaos that was my unit moving to Colorado, those of us being honorably discharged were left by the wayside. In the months leading up to our return it was unclear through the time we got on the plane to go back to Texas when exactly we would be released. A few of my friends did research in Army regulations concerning those of us “stop lossed” and were able to get released as soon as was possible. I was in a bit of a bind, I had about a month of leave saved up and the time which would be set as our final out date was still unclear. It was ranging between May 30 and June 30th. That was a major obstacle because I needed to still get hired at Hume if I was to return. Orientation for staff was the first week of June…

The good news, because we were left by the wayside by our unit and my company knew we were getting out from February through April was a fantastic time of rest, eating out, and adventures. My roommate and I went to eat out on a daily basis. We would rotate between Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Mexican, and Thai food on a weekly basis. It was a very good time, I had my bounty of deployment savings. Celebration is essential for the soul, there was much celebration.

Getting back to Hume was complicated. The summer staff recruiting tour was in full swing but I could not make it back to California for the in person interview. I managed to get a phone interview and was hired on the condition that I got my lifeguard certification renewed. Being a lifeguard that summer was my number one goal, I wanted to have a position that I could interact with the students. Lifeguards and High Adventure Guides were the only summer staff positions which doing Recreation was part of the job. I was deathly afraid of short heights (still a work in progress) thus lifeguarding. I tried to be a lifeguard in 2004, but ended up working at a local waterpark instead.

I was still in the Army, with my duties their first. No exceptions. When I did the Hume application it looked like it was better that I be a Water Safety Instructor (WSI) over Lifeguard certified. That was a several week course that I got done. When I got in contact with my lifeguard supervisor at Hume I had to get Lifeguard certified before I arrived. Unfortunately, by that time of the year, there were no lifeguarding classes within a 50 mile radius that was during the week. There was not enough time to take leave so I could get the class taken care of. It was by the graces of one of my WSI Instructors that he was teaching a class about 80 miles away in a single weekend. I booked a motel and made the trek over, that was the worst sunburn I’ve ever had. It turns out my browning needs to be more gradual than 20 hours of direct sunlight in a pool in two days.

While I was juggling the certification issues, I also had to submit my paperwork so I can leave the Army and they wouldn’t go hunting after me. With only a couple of months left my release date was set to May 30. With my weeks of leave, it looked feasible. Then I learned Lifeguards at Hume arrive a week early from regular orientation to get acclimated and pass Hume Lifeguard tests. Don’t forget, I was driving from Texas to Home to Hume. Oh and if I was lucky I would get to stop in Phoenix for a couple days to attend the NRA Annual Convention.

In the less tangibly evident ways and a long week spent completing my clearing papers for the Army, I was able to make it to the Convention, even attend their law seminar, I got to visit Mom for a few days before I went to Hume for the summer. There were many moving parts at that time, between Uncle Sam, Red Cross class scheduling, Hume Lake staff and the whims of my leadership I was able to work at Hume in Summer 2009. I thought that was my last chance to go back to the place I loved. I did not have a plan for after Hume, but that will be for next week. I think that was when God’s providence was undeniably in control.

Proof I was a lifeguard at Hume

Oh, the joys of ministry through Recreation... I didn't get sunburned after the lifeguard class.

Staff Paintball, good times...