for you, and I would not have
recommended you to a setting that is
not worthy of your commitment.’”
Susanna didn't have to apply for
a position. She didn’t have to make
a phone call or send a resumé. The
respect of her former professor was all
the recommendation needed. When
she left home for South Korea, she
said, “I walked away from everything I
had ever known. I left my apartment,
my furniture, my car, my job, even
my clothes. I just trusted God would
provide for me when I got there.”
Susanna served as youth pastor
at the 2,000 plus member Good
Samaritan Methodist Church in
Incheon, South Korea, for three years.
Each week, her Sunday messages to
the youth were translated by volunteer
Korean students. She also preached
in the slums and taught English to
children in acute poverty.
In 2015, Susanna learned that
her father had been diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer. She returned home
to help care for him and assisted him
in ministry. She also volunteered
as a chaplain at Meadows Regional
Medical Center in Vidalia. Unsure as
to what the future might hold, she
took the Georgia Assessments for the
Certification of Educators (GACE)
exam and passed, which enabled her
to officially teach English as a Second
Language.
In 2016, Susanna’s father passed
away. Filled with a deep grief, she said,
“I continued to serve in my ministerial
role to the congregation until God
sent the current pastor, Rev. Willie
Edwards, Jr. to take up the mantle.”
In 2017, she was hired as Clinical
Chaplain at the Emanuel Women’s
Facility in Swainsboro, Georgia, and
became a bi-vocational minister just
like her father.
When Susanna returned home
from South Korea, one of the first
people she visited was another mentor
and friend, Steve Weeks, the former
Director of the Vocational Department
at Vidalia High School. “I visited
Mr. Weeks often for guidance at his
business in Vidalia, Steve Weeks
Financial Services, where he offers
free financial counseling service. After
my father passed away, he suggested
I consider military service. But at
the time, I wasn’t ready to listen. My
father had just died, and I was deeply
grieving. I wasn’t ready to pick up and
go anywhere.”
But Mr. Weeks continued to
encourage Susanna to put her gifts
and talents to use in the military.
“One day, I realized God was speaking
to me through Mr. Weeks. I loved my
country, and I knew I was willing to
give my life to defend our freedom.
What better way to fulfill my dream of
traveling the world and preaching the
gospel than in service to those who
serve?”
Throughout my phone interview
with Susanna, she continually
expressed gratitude for leaders in the
Air Force chaplaincy from whom she
had been blessed to learn. “When I
arrived, I felt like I knew nothing.
Military culture can be so intimidating.
But God has blessed me with incredible
leaders to help me learn. One being
my supervisor and Wing Chaplain,
Lieutenant Colonel Jason Barker, who
is such a great leader, mentor, and
friend.”
“True Biblical honor is derived
out of and motivated by love,” writes
Mavis Kurkoski in her book Honor the
Currency of Heaven. The reference in
the book’s title is not to dollars and
coins but to a divine exchange. Not
giving to get, but giving one’s life to
receive the life of Christ. Susanna
readily gives honor to family, teachers,
and others who have loved and advised
her along the way. On June 8, 2020,
she will be promoted to Captain. But
regardless of title, Susanna’s purpose
remains the same: to provide love,
comfort, and support.
“Many are young,” said Susanna.
“This might be their first time away
from home, and they’re dealing with a
plethora of issues from homesickness,
relational problems, or perhaps
depression. The one unique thing we
offer that no other agency offers is
100% confidentiality. We never break
that seal of confidentiality. Our airmen
and women need someone they can
trust. I’m here to provide comfort and
love.”
Joining the Air Force was not an
attempt to reinvent herself with a new
career. Everything Susanna has ever
done has been for the same purpose:
to offer comfort and love. Like the two
faithful servants referred to in the
parable in Matthew 25:14-29 (NIV),
she has used what she’s been given
and entrusted with more. “His master
replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful
servant! You have been faithful with
a few things; I will put you in charge
of many things. Come and share your
master’s happiness!’” (vs. 23)
The parable is not so much about
judgment after death as it is about
faithfulness in life.
With her upcoming deployment,
she asked simply that the people of her
hometown pray for her in her service
to God and country. The commitment
of this young woman from Vidalia,
Georgia brings honor to us all.
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