James Schaefer
November 2012
Recently, James was able to visit a Kuwaiti counterpart, outside the wire, with his boss, CH Gibbs. Below is a picture of James, on the right, pictured with the Kuwaiti staff of the “Ministers of Moral Guidance and Public Relations,” which in effect are Muslim chaplains in the Kuwaiti military service.
Regarding his security: Security varies due to Bedouin demonstrations and issues with neighboring countries. However, events like this visit (in pic) are key to building bridges to senior Kuwaiti leadership; they seem to want this, and trust our Chaplains as men & women of God.
We are grateful for your prayers for James, as he continues to need wisdom for everyday decisions related to 100 staff, and sometimes is called upon to speak at large gatherings – such as a number of Thanksgiving events, and upcoming Christmas events. Praise God for these open doors!
On the home front, I have been able to make a few trips – to Chicago to see Gracie and Adam, and to Texas to see Tom and Ashley. We are rejoicing, because Tom and Ashley are expecting our first grandchild! We are also very thankful for our home church (Clinton, MD), and the Eagle Commission, for their wonderful prayer support and kindness to us. It means so much!
May God bless you,
Elizabeth
August 2012
Thank you so much for praying for us while James is deployed for a year in Kuwait. He has a huge load to carry, supervising about 50 chaplains, plus their assistants, in addition to all the meetings/briefings he has to attend each day. He is working maybe 16 hours a day, and is working in 125 degree weather! We’re thankful he has been issued a bike, so he doesn’t have to walk/run the 10+ miles in the heat to get to all his meetings! Please pray that God give him wisdom, discernment and creativity in dealing with each day’s tasks and challenges.
As for me, I am thankful that we moved to SC, as I am closer to my sister’s family now for this year while James is gone. I have also enjoyed staying with the Penfolds for a couple of days, and praise God for putting me just an hour from them. I’ll be visiting our daughter in Chicago before long, and plan to see our son in San Antonio, perhaps in October. As the fall schedules kick in, I will be focusing my ministry through the Shaw AFB chapel, the woman’s Bible study there (PWOC), and our unit family functions. It means so much that you are praying for us! Thank you for continuing to hold all your Chaplains and wives up in prayer, as missionaries to the Military! It’s a privilege, and a huge blessing!
God bless you all!
Elizabeth
March 2012
Okay – it’s official I guess!
James got his RFO this week (Request for Orders); official notice is given that he is to report to Shaw AFB, SC (Army Central Command) no later than 18 June. We will therefore likely move by 1 June, I would think.
The great news is, he was selected to be the Deputy Command Chaplain. We are so overwhelmed with this amazing opportunity that GOD has done!
The difficult trade-off is it will require 1-year deployments, likely to Kuwait, likely beginning in July. (one year gone, one year at Shaw, one year gone again) – unless things change, of course.
Please pray for us as we begin to consider a transition & move. We need to get settled before he has to leave. We would like to make a trip to see our kids, too, before he leaves, perhaps in May. He is already scheduled for a 2-week LTC course for 1/2 of April, so things are going to get tight real soon. He is overwhelmed at work right now, as well. They are preparing major moving orders for his unit, so he is working weekends in addition to 14 hour days. Your prayers for all of this are so appreciated. We are definitely excited about how God has opened amazing doors for us!
Elizabeth for the Schaefer’s