Breakthrough At M.E.P.S.

I am so happy to report that I passed the Military Entrance Processing Station physical.


Needless to say, the night before I was concerned with what the results would be. I really prayed to the Lord for peace. My wife, Nicole, stated that if I have done all that I can do to face the physical then I shouldn't worry. She was right and by the grace and favor of God I passed it.


In all the five areas that they examined me they rated me with 1-3. One is the best score to receive, two is still good, but three is definitely not so good. All the five categories had ones except the area of my eyes, which I received a two. The two just indicates that I need to wear glasses to read.


My recruiter and his staff were also over-joyed. On Monday, when I took the physical I had the privilige to meet the recruiting station. Prior to Monday, I had been in contact with my chaplain recruiter, CH Walker, via phone and email. During my visit, we went over the rest of my packet that will be sent to the commissioning board in June. Sgt. Pamplin did an excellent job taking me through the final papers that I needed to sign so that my packet could be closer to being complete.


There are just a few more steps before the final "Good to Go." I need my denominational endorsement and an interview with one of the representatives of the Chief of Chaplain's office. Then the packet will go before the commissioning board. I know that it will go up in June, but I have been praying and asking God for a breakthrough for my packet to go up in May, so that I could have the opportunity to go for training in June. If the packet goes up in June, then I will have to wait for September to go for training.


Well, breakthroughs are what this blog is all about. Join your faith with mine for a miracle so that the doors will be opened for my packet to go before the board in May.


By the way, I lost another half inch off my waist. My body fat content has changed from 23.36% to 22.58%. My weight is at 211 lbs. My goal is to get under 200 lbs. before meeting my endorser in May. Of course the weight varies, so the other goal would be to get my body fat content percentage under 20%; without killing myself. My current waist is 38 inches, I would need to get down to 36 inches to reach that goal. But, what I find rather odd is that I can fit in a 36" waist pants. Wow, to think that I used to wear 46" pants. I have have lost 10" off my waist; that's a lot of fat (80+ pounds).


Well, here is a current picture of myself. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not becoming vain, but considering how far I have come to losing the weight and to qualify physically for the Army, I give God the glory for giving me the courage, strength, and self-discipline to achieve this goal.














Left picture was from August 2005. The right picture is from this month, April 2007.

I'm still looking for breakthroughs, how about you?

Let's Go M.E.P.S.

The time has finally come for me to go for the "all out" Army physical on Monday morning, 23 of April. I am trusting in the Lord that everything is going to be a "GO!"

So, after this experience, I will post some details. Hopefully it won't be too humiliating.

The Invitation

One of the most important parts of the road to chaplaincy in the Army is receiving a denominational endorsement. After meeting the physical requirement, I received a phone call from the Department of Chaplaincy of the Assemblies of God in Springfield, Missouri inviting me to go out to Springfield and be a part of the Commissioning of Chaplains. I am honored to have received such an invitation. So, in May, Nicole and I will be flying out to Missouri. Praise the Lord, for He is opening more doors of opportunity.



Side Note:

I had mentioned that I passed the physical requirement. I wanted to show you a before and after picture of the transformation that has happened after losing close to 80 pounds.



Before:

July 2005













July 2006










After:
March 2007













Thank you to all who have been praying and providing encouragement.

Check back next week for the update on my MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) for the medical examination that will determine if I can proceed to the next phase.

Anticipate a breakthrough, today!

Where is your faith?

Yesterday, Wednesday 28 of March 2007, during the whole morning I was nervous. Why? Wednesday has become the day of visiting the Army recruiter to get taped to measure the body fat percentage. The last several weeks that I had visited it has been "bad news." It was getting frustrating to be told that I haven't gotten under the 24%.

So, in order to deal with the anxiety I decided to play the mp3 Bible on my laptop and listen to the scriptures. Of course, I am looking for inspiration and encouragement, instead I get a gentle rebuke. I was listening to the portion of the Gospel of Luke that the disciples ask Jesus why they weren't able to cast an evil spirit out of a young boy. Jesus replied, "You of little faith." BOOM! Not just for the disciples but also for me. I was faced with the question, "Where is your faith?"

I was facing the truth that I have been trying to accomplish the will of God through my own strength. A good reminder that I can never fulfill the will of God apart from believing and trusting the Living God to empower me through His Spirit, who was given to all Christians through Jesus Christ. So, I said a prayer of repentence, asking the Lord to forgive me for not trusting and having faith in His faithfulness and power to fulfill His perfect will. I called upon my wife and kids to pray that today there would be a breakthrough. Our combined faith that this time around I would meet the physical requirement was sealed with a family prayer.

At the recruiting station, the doors to the center were open but the office to the Army recruiter was closed. It was already 4 pm, so I thought that they were closed for the day. While sitting in my car and talking to my wife on the cell phone in the parking lot of the recruiter's station and telling her that the office was closed, a mini-van pulled up right next to my car; it was Sgt. Taylor (the recruiter). "Praise the Lord," I told my wife. The recruiter enters the station and I follow right behind him. He already knows why I am there, so when he was all settled in he pulled out the tape. The first thing he measures is my waist (the trouble area). As he wraps the tape around my waist I am praying and trusting the Lord for a breakthrough. A moment of silence as he looks to see the measurement and then he says, "You're...you are 38 and a half." I was about to rejoice but then he started checking my neck size. Checking the neck size is just as important because the neck size can skew the whole formula. Having a waist size of 38.5 inches means nothing if my neck size is less than 17 inches; if would place me above the 24%. The verdict, my neck was 17 inches. These numbers placed me at 23.36%. I passed! My chaplain recruiter was excited about the news as well. Another breakthrough!

Time to move to the next phase: MEPS. MEPS stands for Military Entrance Processing Station. This is when I get a physical to determine if my overall body will meet and pass the Army standard for chaplains. This will soon be scheduled for next week. The chaplain recruiter will let me know when the examination date is set.

What about my faith? It will always boil down to trusting the Lord my God to walk with me and to be the one who makes the breakthroughs happen. I am renewed again to trust in the Living God for the impossible. He who has called me will also equip me.

Are you ready for a breakthrough?

Up and Down

Today, I was hoping to meet the physical requirement for the Army; but, I came up short. I do mean very short. The required body fat percentage is under 24% and I am still slightly above it.

I thought that after all the PT that I have done I would have already been under 24%.

So, if I want to see a breakthrough take place, I've got to kick-up another notch. I am determined more than ever to get under the 24% by next Wednesday. Like my wife would say, "If you really want it that bad, you would do something about it." Thank you! By the grace of God, I will do something about it and the Lord will receive the glory for it.

Next week, I intend to give a good report because I am looking for a Breakthrough!

Breakthrough

Breakthrough is defined as "an offensive thrust that penetrates and carries beyond a defensive line in warfare."

I hope to share through this blog all the various breakthroughs that have taken place in my life as I pursue the call of God to become a United States Army Chaplain. I want to declare the wonders of God's mighty power as He leads me to achieve and live out this dream. Praise be to the Lord God Almighty.

Although I am not currently a chaplain, I have seen God's grace on my life in the pursuit of this endeavor.

The Evening Sun Newspaper did a story on my pursuit. Here is the link: http://www.eveningsun.com/fastsearchresults/ci_5349858

The only thing at those time that is holding up the process to enter the chaplaincy is the physical qualification. I need to have a Body Fat Percentage under 24%. Currently, I am at 24.12%. I am so close, but not there yet. When I first started I was at 34%. By God's grace I have lost close to 10% body fat.

After meeting this requirement, the next hurdle will be passing the Army Medical Examination. If I pass the examination, it will line me up for the Commissioning Board of the United States Army Chaplain Corp, which will grant me to join as a commissioned officer.

I am trusting the Lord Jesus Christ for another incredible breakthrough.