November Internship Report – James and Stephanie Baker (Jabez, Willard, and Dianna)

Published November 6, 2017

Chaplaincy for Army Reserves in Wyoming and First Baptist Church, Wheatland, Wyoming

James

Ministry Highlights

Things have developed for my Strong Bonds project. I’ve been given permission to do an unsanctioned event. Much still has to fall together right but it’s headed in the right direction.

Time is drawing closer for my 3 months of Chaplain training and reintroduction to the Army.

Key Prayer Requests

The next three months are going to be very busy for me as I have to finish at least two to three projects and my Applied Bible Analysis before going to a military training event for three months in addition to the normal holiday rush. Pray that I will be able to prioritize correctly in preparation for this school, especially the preparation for my family to miss me for that period of time.

We have been blessed with another child and my wife is due in May, just after I get back from training. Pray for her as she always has tough pregnancies, which I’m sure will be made tougher since I’ll not be around during a big portion of it.

Prominent Lessons

Much of my ministry is at the mercy of commanders and other unit leadership. It would be nice to have the freedoms of a normal church setting but everything must be planned around the priority of training events with little to no thought about chapel sessions. Just as I thought I was getting an opportunity to work with and get to know the commanders, they all changed. Because the Battalion commander was changed, he changed all but one unit commander, and so I have to start all over again, building new relationships and gaining trust. This is not necessarily an easy task, sometimes commanders don’t see the need for chaplains, sometimes even when they see the need they don’t allow the time for their use. I must continue to remember that I’m here to serve the Lord and support the soldiers (which includes leadership).

Key Goals for the Next Month

Nail down at least one Strongbond’s event in one of the units.

Develop a project plan for my final project at Chaplain Basic Officer Leadership Course (CH-BOLC) with information from a contact whom I hope follows through.

Send out the survey for Project 1 (Chaplain challenges).