Tag Archives: Eastern Africa

Eye-opening Africa deployment taught us both life lessons about hope

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In 2010, the Air Force tasked the Good Chaplain to deploy to Djibouti on the Horn of Africa. I was so excited for him. What a terrific opportunity to work with people in dire need of help.

The deployment ended up being good for both of us. The Good Chaplain visited several countries in Eastern Africa and met with dignitaries and impoverished people alike. I got to experience life independently without another human being in the house with me.

The Good Chaplain arrived in Djibouti on November 11, 2010. We celebrated Thanksgiving on November 6 since he would be gone for the actual holiday. I imposed myself on my BFF and his family for Thanksgiving, but they didn’t seem to mind. Meanwhile, the Good Chaplain served Thanksgiving dinner to the troops for about two hours.

“It was fun to do chaplain things versus office things,” he said.

Generally, we would both serve at the base dining hall for a few hours and then get together with friends to share a meal on Thanksgiving Day. However, it was a different sort of holiday for both of us.

This deployment was quite different from the first time the Good Chaplain was gone for a holiday. That time he was gone for Christmas, we were in Alaska, and I threw myself one heck of a pity party. That was my most challenging deployment. And to think I got upset when he was gone on Mother’s Day during his Air Force Reserve years. That was nothing.

As he prepared to leave, I instructed the Good Chaplain to make sure he bought gifts from local women who sold their goods to earn a living. And he listened. While not all the presents he brought back were from women, many of them were made by local artisans and beautifully made at that.

This beautiful hand-carved trunk was one of the gifts the Good Chaplain brought back from Africa

We both learned lessons from that deployment. I learned how strong and independent I could be living all by myself. The Good Chaplain saw how faithful, hopeful, and generous people who had nothing (at least in our eyes) were in a part of the world which struggled with extreme poverty, drought, and warfare for many centuries.

Until next time,

Vicki

Victoria Terrinoni is the author of “Where You Go, I Will Go: Lessons From a Military Spouse,” available here or by clicking the Shop tab above. Watch for her new book on the Good Chaplain’s Africa deployment coming soon!

The Good Chaplain’s Last Deployment Provides Fodder for New Book

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In November 2010, the Good Chaplain embarked on what turned out to be his last deployment. It was significant for several reasons,

  • It was his longest deployment to date — 7 months.
  • It was the first deployment since the girls left home.
  • The mission was cool.

The Good Chaplain went to the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti. He was the Deputy Command Chaplain CJTF-HOA and Deputy Director of Religious Affairs for Eastern Africa.

Although Djibouti is not known as a hotbed of tourism, the Good Chaplain traveled to several countries in the area, engaging with the locals to help build connections between the United States and those countries. Part of the mission was to help communities become more self-sufficient.

Although I was scared to be alone with him so far away, I was also excited for this opportunity for the Good Chaplain. The then Chief of Chaplains asked me how I felt about this deployment and then assured me the Chaplain Corps never lost a chaplain in Djibouti, except for the one who died of a heart attack. Until then, I wasn’t worried about my husband’s safety.

Although Djibouti did not have any violence at the time, the camp was just 10 miles from the Somalia border. So it gave me cause for concern. Also, several of the countries the Good Chaplain visited were amidst some sort of strife. But I knew he was well protected when he traveled.

The Good Chaplain traveled to many of these countries.

What we didn’t count on was the Good Chaplain picking up some sort of virus, disease, or parasite(we never found out the cause) that left him with lifelong liver disease and ended his deployments for the rest of his career.

The stories of hope, the people he met, and the faith they all had in the face of difficulties we could never dream of led me to decide to write a second book on this deployment. I want to use his trips and experiences to highlight the hope people can have, especially in the face of adversity.

The working title is Eastern Africa: Stories of Hope and Faith. Please give me your thoughts on the book’s subject and on the title. Is this something you would read? Let me know in the comments section below.

I look forward to your input.

Until next time,

Vicki