Journey of a Lifetime - Part One

CPT James W. Ware, USA

The journey of a lifetime for fifteen cadets started, not with a storm, but with a whisper. This story of faith begins with the 1999 Fort Bragg Sound the Trumpet and a call from Wes Loffert, the OCF Area Coordinator. He asked if I would be able to host the guest speaker, a dynamic man named Tom Hemingway.

My heart had already felt the pull to do this, so I readily agreed. I work at the ROTC Regional Headquarters and Wes felt that it would be a good idea for me to meet Tom. Wes’s small suggestion was a snowball of faith that would turn itself into a mountain.

I arranged for Tom to meet with COL Kerry Parker, the ROTC Region Chief of Staff. COL Parker believed in what Tom was doing with the ROTC ministry and asked if there was anything he could do to help. We talked about OCF members sponsoring cadets, encouraging Bible studies at the ROTC programs and possibly sending cadets to Rocky Mountain High (RMH).

COL Parker and I felt God calling us toward RMH, but we had many obstacles in our path: we had no funding, transportation, lodging, instructors or interested cadets. Most of all, we didn’t have anyone currently serving in the region that could vouch for RMH. We solved the latter when COL Parker sent me to RMH that summer. I came back and confirmed our thoughts about God’s will concerning RMH.

Normally, two officers trying to plan a major project with no resources would be a little worried at this point, but we were confident of God’s will and curious to see how He would change us and tackle the obstacles. Just six months later twelve cadets would be heading cross-country, propelled by their faith and the faith of hundreds of OCF families.

After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:12).

What happened in Colorado that summer?
> Read Part 2