Have you heard the saying that "you can change your life in one day" or something like that? Well, I definitely did. For those of you who don't already know, I joined the Air Force a little over two weeks ago. It was a decision that I have had a lot of thought about and it was a long time coming. I will try to explain some of my reasons and decisions below so all of you who read this will hopefully understand. If you would still like to talk to me about it, please contact me and I would be happy to talk about it.
A lot of people have asked me, "What happened to Haiti?" Nothing bad happened, I just felt like it was time to leave. I have a college loan I am paying on and I don't feel right about asking for support for missions and using some of that to pay my loan. I don't care if people are okay with doing that, I'm not and I won't do it. Period. I also don't feel like I had the support to stay any longer than I did. I had the support to go and stay for as long as I did, just not any longer. I do want to thank everyone who contributed to this past trip and all the previous ones, I wouldn't have been able to go without your help.
Some people have said that this decision seemed like it came out of left field or something like that. That notion is my fault. I didn't tell a lot of people that I was talking to a recruiter about joining and it wasn't until after I swore in and all that good stuff did I really broadcast it. I'm not sure why I did it that way, I just didn't want a lot of people in my business and decision making. I want to live my life myself without someone else trying to live it for me. I don't mean to offend anyone, its just how I feel and I'm sure that all of you can relate to this in one way or another.
I first got the idea of joining the military when I was growing up. My brother and I use to always play guns and all that fun stuff. I always talked about it growing up, probably from watching all those war movies. I got more serious when I was in high school. I liked the idea of serving my country and I think that it is my duty to serve in some way. I have enormous respect for everyone in the military, police, firefighters, EMS and any other emergency response job. They are the ones fighting for our freedom, protecting us from all kinds of dangers and saving us when we need saving. I want a part of that.
I talked to recruiters from all the branches and even had three of them over to the house to talk to me and my parents. I also got a lot of advice from friends that were in the military and from other friends that have known me for a long time. I ultimately decided to go to college first and then maybe go in as an officer after. Even though now I am going in as enlisted, I wouldn't trade the last six years for anything. I think that I made the better decision.
Like I said, I wouldn't trade the last six years for anything. I was able to work at Fronter Camp for a long time and also at Camp Redcloud in beautiful Colorado for five months. Through FC, I got involved in Haiti and Jacob's Well Camp. I have been to the beautiful Caribbean country of Haiti six times and loved every time. I also went to school for five years. Four years at Texas A&M and a couple at Blinn College. I worked at Reed Arena on the A&M campus for five and a half years and learned a lot there. Last May, I graduated from Blinn with an Associate's Degree in English and another one in Natural Science. I am pretty far along on my Bachelor's degree too. I also went to Egypt for two weeks one February on a separate mission trip.
That takes care of the education and work, now lets talk about friends. I have made a lot of friends in the last six years and some of them I consider to be my best and life-long friends. I have grown so much spiritually and learned a lot about myself and others. Sure, there have been bad times and times of pain and trial, but the good times far outweigh those bad ones. I have done things that I regret, but haven't we all? We just need to move on and learn from those times.
All throughout college I kept the idea of the military in the back of my mind. I once considered joining the Reserves, but decided not to. When I was in Haiti this summer, I spent some time looking for job opportunities with different non-profit companies and whatnot that were doing work in Haiti. For some reason, the Air Force kept popping up in the back of my mind and I started looking at that. Maybe it was because my Dad and I were talking about it before I left for Haiti or God was dropping some hints, but whatever the reason was I pursued it. I am happy with this decision and the best thing is is that if for some reason I don't like the Air Force and decide to get out at the end of my contract, I have two degrees to fall back on (plus any that I get while I'm in).
I do want to make this statement. I have my reservations for why I decided on the Air Force, but I have enormous respect for ANYONE serving in whatever branch, and I hope and pray that you do too. They told us at the medical processing station that less then 1% of the US population is currently in the military. This 1% is why you are able to have the freedoms and rights that you have. Alright, I'm off my soapbox but I just wanted to say it anyway and I hope you understand.
I believe that this pretty much sums up my thought process for why I decided on the military. After all, college was pretty much over for the next while and Haiti was for the summer, I needed something to do and a new direction to turn. As the title of this entry says, this definitely is a new adventure to live. A friend once told me, "sometimes God leads you to a place just to take you to somewhere else." He has His own reasons and we aren't meant to understand some of them, I just hope that one day I can understand this one.
I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers for me and while you are at it, please pray for our country and military as a whole. I have a good friend joining the Marines and please keep him in your prayers as well.
I couldn't find a new address to put for this blog so for the time being, its still robertinhaiti. If you can think of one, let me know. Also, if you want to talk to me more about the military and the Air Force or Haiti or anything, just contact me. I'm pretty much a semi-opened book. I hope you can understand my thought process.
Robert
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