Chaplain Candidate Course Week 2

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On Monday, Chaplain Mike Seaman joined our team and replaced Ch Sumrall from AFRC/HC. What a character! He was full of stories and fun expressions that only a good Southern Baptist preacher could get a way with. On Tuesday, I led the group on a spiritual reatreat over to the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary - my alma mater. It was a blazing hot day, but the group made the most of it. Together we enjoyed the labyrinth, rose garden, a peaceful campus, and especially Christ Chapel. Dr. Robert Hawkins was particularly colorful and a great help in describing the stained glass and symbolic features of the chapel. It was good to my old friend and professor. Wednesday was a very full day in the classroom. The highlight was having our Chief of Chaplains (2 Star General) and Chief Master Sargent come down from the Pentagon to brief the class at the college in SC. Chaplain Richardson (the 2 star) was generous to share his time with me and ask about my dad. He is a very good and gracious man. A true man of God. On Thursday, everyone passed their tests and enjoyed a banquet lunch at the O-Club. In the afternoon, each student gave a presentation on their ecclesiastical background. Together we learned about each other's denomination and faith traditions. On Friday, we had a simple graduation ceremony for the students with certificates of completion and a few awards. At the end I was overwhelmed to receive a gift from the class. It was a plaque of our class photo with a very nice inscription that says, "Thank you for your mentorship, dedication and sincerity in preparing us for our future ministries as Air Force Chaplains." I will remember and look forward to working with these promising young chaplains in the future. They were a real blessing to me for two weeks. Thank you dear Lord for my friends and colleagues in the Air Force. Amen.

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