Air Force Chaplain Visits UBCS
On Monday, January 28th, Mrs. Zwart’s Kindergarten classes were finally able to meet a very special person, Captain Cliff Jones, chaplain in the United States Air Force. The children took a special interest in Captain Jones because he is the uncle of one of their classmates, Mason Barth. Earlier this school year, the kindergarten classes took on a project they called “Spread the Good News” to help Captain Jones as he ministered to the needs of men and women where he was stationed in Balad, Iraq. While in Iraq, the opportunities of service were numerous as he held church services, counseled with the men and women on the flight line, prayed with those who were injured, as well as many other duties.
The Kindergarten children began collecting items to send over to our troops to be an encouragement to them and to let them know that they would be praying for them this year. The children were thrilled to see the piles of items begin to grow: packs of soap, toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, mouthwash, shaving cream, crackers, cookies, hot chocolate, coffee, peanuts, popcorn, candy and gum. Christian CD’s, books, tracts, and many more items were also brought in each day for a month. Finally, packing day arrived and the children helped put the items in boxes to be mailed. The boxes were topped off with beautiful handmade cards by the children. When all was said and done, the classes mailed off 6 big boxes totaling 80 lbs. of “goodies” for our airmen stationed in Iraq!
Captain Jones sent a picture back to the children showing the men opening the boxes, which made this experience complete. The children continued to pray each day for our men and women. When Captain Jones said that he was coming home and wanted to meet the little prayer warriors and thank them for their help in spreading the gospel and encouraging the troops, the excitement grew again! They began to count the days until they could finally meet their hero.
Captain Jones was met with many hugs and expressions of “I love you” and “thank you”. After meeting the children, he presented the class with a special certificate of appreciation for their service to Troy’s Place Airman’s Center at Balad Air Base in Iraq. The class was also given a flag which was flown in an F-16 over Iraq and each child was presented with a toy airplane and tablet. The children had questions, which Captain Jones patiently answered, such as: “What was the weather like? Did they shoot bullets? What did you live in? How did you get there? How hot did it get?” The children loved seeing his camouflage uniform too.
It was a wonderful time for the children. Hopefully, they will remember that God can use people no matter what the age. All God asks is that we have a willing heart.