Abe, his wife, Kirsta and children, Chase, Bryce, and Zoë are members of Seven Rivers.

November Prayer 2008

While I was typing “November Prayer” in the subject line I had a flashback to when I typed that last…just before I deployed. Now I’m typing it just before I RE-deploy. We are very excited here in 101st Aviation. Going home is in reach and being in the mist of all this craziness is soon to be a memory for us all. 

Lot’s going on. First and foremost I would like to ask you all to remember the soldiers and their families in your prayers. Ever since I’ve been back from R & R leave there has been ONE thing bringing soldiers to come to me for counseling…marriage and relationships. Many soldiers are finding themselves in unpleasant situations when they get home and it is taking a huge toll on them emotionally while they are here. Many are seeing themselves for who they are for the first time, and coming to a Chaplain to help make sense of it all. It has been humbling and an honor to speak with soldiers during these difficult times. One of my goals or at least one of my hopes is that they feel like they are coming to a friend and talking rather than just to a professional. This is why I go flying with my soldiers, goof off with others, have them teach me how to fight, or watch them show off how well they can shoot. I’ve built many relationships here and what is awesome about all of this is to hear some say they never would have come in if they hadn’t known me. And you all have gone through this journey with me and your prayers that have given me strength do keep pushing through the awkwardness of not being known to where I’m finding myself now,  and it is wonderful. So please know I’m always thankful for you all! 

On a personal level, I’m going to let the cat out of the bag. Something that I have been working towards for three years, and until now has been a pipe dream, has come to the point that it looks like it will most likely happen. I have just gotten word that I’m going to be allowed to go to Ranger School and be set in line to be a Chaplain for a Ranger Regt. This has been something I have not shared with many people not because of the impossibilities of the request, but because I didn’t want my intentions to be confused. I want to go to Ranger school so I can be in a Ranger unit with Rangers. And it looks like at the very worse I will have at least a chance to go to the school and try to pass that MASSIVE test of 62 days of physical demand, sleep and food deprivation and some of the finest leadership training in the world. But let me quickly share something that has brought me to my knees in humility in all of this. If you are going to go to Ranger school as a chaplain you have to get permission from your commander, and from your chaplain command all the way up to the General to be able to proceed. That has happened. But that’s just the first problems. You also have to be able to get worked in and scheduled into a school date. That has happened, June 28 is when I begin. But the tallest hill to over come is getting a “Ranger Slot”…which is basically a way your unit plans on paying for someone to go to the school. At Fort Campbell there are roughly 30,000 soldiers who work there. Would anyone like to guess how many Ranger slots are available to Ft Campbell? You would guess thousands at least several hundred. But there are only 100 slots each year, and only 7 of those are allocated for my Brigade of 3,500! There were many high ranking individuals who did not think it was a wise idea to send a Chaplain to this school, taking up one of the precious slots, and to be honest they were probably right. But person after person started emailing, vouching for me, without my asking,  to the point  where the person in charge made the decision to send me. There was a lot I had to do to make this happen, I had to impress the right people, I’ve had to keep myself in great physical shape, I had to be a good Chaplain…but I firmly believe that this would have not happened at all were it not for others standing up on my behalf voicing their opinions as to why they should choose to send me. Just awesome to experience and have people believing in you. This was an impossible situation, if I had known about all of these details I probably never would have even tried because the numbers just don’t add up…but this has been more proof that if God wants you somewhere it will happen, and it has brought me much rest and peace as I begin the serious physical training to prepare for this honor. Please please please pray for me and my family as we all begin to climb over this mountain together because without their support I would have never even gotten this far in this desire of mine. 

Thank you all for journeying with me through my Army life. I appreciate deeply that you would take time out of your lives to pray for the Dispennette’s. God bless you all.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. The picture is of me just before going on a Blackhawk mission with some of my guys, taken by the best Sergeants Major in the Army.

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