This Veterans Day, my amazing wife who is incredibly proud of my service in the military, wanted to show gratitude to both my crew and me, so she talked to a few teachers at Highland Park United Methodist Church where our four-year-old son attends the Day School.

I have been in the Air Force Reserves for almost twelve years. I’m currently on my seventh, and hopefully, final deployment. When I am home I work as a pilot, flying for American Airlines out of DFW.

My wife came up with the brilliant idea to have the kids in Sam’s class write thank you notes and send them to us overseas. Once she pitched the idea to Ms. Noelle and Ms. Vanessa, they ran with it. The teachers had the kids write cards and draw pictures for us, and then Liz sent them to me in a care package that arrived just in time for Veterans Day!

To anyone else it may seem like a small gesture, but to my crew and me, they served as a much-needed reminder of all the love and support we have back home.

I cannot say enough how much our faith has helped us get through the seasons where I’ve had to be away. While my wife has been a member of HPUMC for more than 20 years, I recently joined the church last summer. Since then the HPUMC family, from Rev. Paul Rasmussen all the way through the congregation, has been very supportive during this difficult time. The outreach to our family has been incredible.

Any deployment is difficult. But when you add the stresses of a young family at home, the holidays, and Liz having to run the house by herself it adds up. One way that we have remained close during this time is through watching HPUMC Online. Even though I can’t be there in person, it provides us a common ground to continue to talk about our faith, and pray together.

My wife and I love Dallas, and we don’t ever plan on living or worshiping anywhere else. We cannot express enough gratitude for the support our church family has given us.

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