MILITARY MISSIONS, INC.

Military Missions is just one of many organizations that sends care packages overseas to our deployed military. but I like to think of this organization as one that is different from the rest.  This ministry didn’t just open its doors one day and start sending out boxes.  It started when this mother of a brand new Marine went
to dinner one evening with her son and 15 other men who had just graduated from School of Infantry Training and entered the fleet.  

That evening, back in November, 2004, I sat at the table with 15 new Marines eager to start on their adventures after several months of strenuous and challenging training. I saw something that I had not expected to see…I saw a need.  Fully expecting to be “out of place” at the table that evening, I had offered to stay back at the hotel while my son went to dinner with his friends for the celebration meal.  He encouraged me to go along since I had made the 12 hour trip to see him graduate earlier that day.  Each of the new graduates had been assigned a duty station.  They were all about to go their separate ways to serve in the USMC.  I heard their excitement as they shared information about the units they were joining. I heard their fears, concerns, and feelings of invincibility, as they discussed the inevitable tours of duty that were near in their futures.  What I didn’t expect to see was their interest in talking to me.  As the evening progressed, I began to realize that each of these men, at some point or another, had made an effort to chat with me.  Some shared about home, others about girlfriends.  One man had a new bride waiting for him in his home state and worried that she didn’t understand his obligation to the military.  Another had a fascination with my camera and told me all about his intentions to learn more about photography.  By evening’s end, my mind was filled with bits and pieces of the hearts and minds of these new Marines.  

Back at the hotel, as I watched my Marine sleep, I pondered all that had taken place that evening.  I was struck by the fact that these Marines, who left home as boys months before, were now faced with the expectation of being men.  Even more striking was the fact that they had no idea how much in need they were for Mom, for home, for love, for Christ.  What other reason would a bunch of 18-21 year old guys have for spending their evening vying for a chance to talk with Pennington’s mom?

I wrote down each name that night and what I could remember about each young man.  This guy is from Ohio and loves dogs.  The blond guy from Pennsylvania is the newlywed…his wife was crying on the phone.  The tall, skinny guy is from Georgia and he wants to buy a nice camera. The confident one from North Carolina just got a brand new mustang with gigantic USMC detailing all over it….and on and on.  I began to pray for these men each day asking God to meet their needs and guide them as they went off to serve their country.

Once I had returned home and back to my daily routine, I tried to keep up with these young men through conversations with my son.  He would update me with tidbits of information from time to time, and it wasn’t long before they all began to deploy overseas….first one, then another.  Unable to forget about these lives, I found myself trying to get their addresses so I could write to them from time to time.  That led to the idea that I could send them care packages.  It wasn’t long before God was showing me that I could do the same for others right here in my own hometown.  I realized that if I started asking the people I knew around Lexington, I could probably come up with plenty of military connections.  Immediately, I could think of two or three people that were serving.  Before long, I was coordinating an effort to send out packages to many deployed military from Central Kentucky.

After a couple of months, I began to wonder if there was a better way to inform people of care package suggestions.  I was beginning to spend countless hours on the phone sharing suggestions and it was taking up much of my day.  At the time, I was home educating my two younger boys.  My youngest, who was 10, told me I needed to make a website.  It seemed like a pretty good idea so Alex taught me how to get started.  With that came the need to come up with a name for this little care package operation.  With the website up and running, I thought I would have a lot more time for my normal routine.  My purpose in creating the website was to send people to the website for information so I wouldn’t have to explain as much over the phone or spend time writing emails over and over each time a request was made.  What never occurred to me was the fact that the website might be discovered by people that were surfing the internet.  It wasn’t long before I had people from all over the country asking me to send a care package to their child, spouse, friend, neighbor, or coworker.  I was even getting requests from men and women who were deployed overseas.  Needless to say, there was no way I could turn any of these requests down so I quickly found myself in the care package business.

What started as a simple prayer has turned into a nonprofit organization that is blessing hundreds of deployed military each month.  God took me, a “home-school mom” with no intentions of changing her path in life, and placed me in a position where I have the privilege and blessing of touching the lives of many with His love.  Through sending care packages and cards of encouragement to our military, I have the opportunity to share the love of Christ in each and every box and card that makes its way overseas.  I have met the most amazing people through this ministry during the past five years.  God has placed me on a path with veterans and WWII brides that have amazing stories about their service to our nation years ago.  I have met people from all walks of life that just want to say thank you to our military, though they have no personal connection.  I have been blessed to come to know military families………….wives, children, mothers, cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and the fiancées, girlfriends, neighbors, and friends of our Armed Forces. Each has a story and each has a desire to do something for our troops.  To see these hearts overflowing with love for our military and our nation is an amazing blessing for me each day. I have had the privilege to see how much a simple card or box of snacks can bless the socks off of a 19 year old serving his tour in the Middle East.  I have seen the joy on the faces of the parents that know their son will get a box from someone who cares.  I have seen the excitement and awe in the eyes of the child who finally meets the two Marines he wrote to during deployment.  When they came home and shook his small hand to say thanks it was a beautiful sight!

Though I will never know the extent of God’s power and how this ministry might change the lives of those that receive our packages, I do know what a blessing it is to be a part of Military Missions.  I have enjoyed every minute of this endeavor, and hope to continue in this effort as long as we have troops that need love and support.  I can’t think of a better way to step up and give back to my own country.  I’m quickly approaching the age of 50.  I can’t enlist in the military and deploy overseas to a war zone, but I can serve and honor those that are standing in the gap for me.  We can all serve our country and we don’t have to be wearing a uniform to do it.  Won’t you consider joining me?  It’s time to give back to those that make it possible for us to live in a great nation.  I encourage you to spend some time on our website and find out some of the many ways that you can be a part of Military Missions.  I promise you that this is a life-changing blessing you don’t want to miss!

Blessings,

Beth