Hello again, friend.

I’m pausing the story of our calling to ministry to share an update on our actual journey to Japan. Let me just tell you: the Enemy showed up in rare form, throwing everything he could at us to discourage, derail, and dampen our spirits. But—spoiler alert—he did not win. He never wins. Because my God is greater!

Let’s start at the beginning…

Monday, June 16th

We woke up at the completely unacceptable hour of 2:00 a.m. to grab our final suitcases, say goodbye to Opa and Nina (my parents), and head to the airport in Jacksonville, North Carolina. First thing we saw? A notification that our flight was delayed four hours. So instead of rushing, we took a little extra time at the Airbnb, then headed out around 3:30 a.m.

At the airport, we unloaded 26 suitcases and our two pups—yes, onto four baggage carts. Bruce returned the 15-passenger rental van, and we made our way into the terminal.

It was quiet. No lines. Plenty of time before the new departure. It had all the makings of a smooth check-in.

Then I got the look from Bruce. You know the one—the look that says, “Something’s wrong.” But with 4 carts, 2 dogs, and 4 kids in between us, all I could do was wait. A few minutes later, he broke the news:

Delta would not fly our dogs with us.

The reasons? One was the heat on the tarmac in Atlanta (which wouldn’t have been a problem if the flight hadn’t been delayed). But the other two were standard airline policies that should have been communicated weeks ago. Bruce had spent over five hours on the phone with an agent just a week prior confirming everything. That agent should never have booked the dogs.

But there we were. No dogs on the flight. No flight for us at all that day.

It was around 5:30–6:00 a.m. by then. Bruce jumped right on the phone with our military travel representative, and they spent the whole day trying to get all six of us—and our two dogs—rebooked to Japan. I helped where I could, mostly calling airlines to see if they could transport pets.

By 4:30 p.m., it was clear: we’d have to leave the dogs behind.

And that… that was devastating.

I cannot even put into words how much it broke my heart to tell our boys. Just the day before, I’d watched my oldest baby cry saying goodbye to his friends at church—and now I had to tell him that Winston, his little Yorkie and best buddy for over half his life, couldn’t come. And our sweet Mocha, our Goldendoodle who’s not only Bruce’s ministry partner but also anever-failing friend to our second-born and beloved by all boys… she couldn’t come either.

I was heartbroken. Physically and emotionally spent. We’d been up since 2:00 a.m., emotionally drained from saying goodbye to our church family the day prior, and hadn’t had a real meal all day. I just sat down and cried. Big, ugly, defeated sobs.

But God, in His mercy, sent my friend Sarah to remind me of the truth: this was a spiritual attack, and God is bigger. She helped me see it for what it was. The day before, Bruce had stood in front of hundreds at church and called Satan out. Warning everyone that if Satan can’t stop your calling, he’ll do everything he can to corrupt it. 

And, just like when we left Texas to begin chaplain ministry (stay tuned for that story in a future blog post), Satan was making noise. But God had already overcome.

Jesus Himself said this would happen:

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

So I picked up my sword (and by sword, I mean phone) andstarted looking for a safe place for our pups.

We put the word out to the staff at Temple Church, our small group, and a few close friends. Bruce’s mom instantly volunteered to take the dogs for as long as needed, even though she already has a black lab (Dobby). But now we had to figure out how to get Winston and Mocha from North Carolina to Scranton, Pennsylvania—on Tuesday. We were flying out Wednesday.

Enter: Opa (my dad), our superhero. Even though he and Nina had just left NC for Virginia that morning, he offered to come back and take the dogs all the way north. But that’s a 20+ hour round-trip drive. So we asked our small group and friends if anyone could help with a little “doggy relay” to meet him halfway.

Three families immediately offered to help.

In the end, our sweet friends Doug and Wanda offered to take them all the way to Opa & Nina’s house. We drove the dogs to them in New Bern, and they hit the road that night for Virginia. God is so good. In the middle of heartbreak, He was already preparing the path.

Doug and Wanda made it to Opa and Nina that evening andstayed overnight. The next morning, Opa loaded up the dogs and drove them to Scranton. But the Enemy wasn’t done yet.

Driving through Baltimore, something huge flew off a truck and shattered Opa’s windshield. If it had hit a little lower, it could’ve gone through. But God allowed it to hit in just the right spot to cause no injury. Y’all, I cannot make this stuff up, God is so good even when life doesn’t sem good. What Satan intended for evil, God used for good—and protection.

Opa finally made it home from Scranton at 10:30 p.m., safe and sound. And Mocha and Winston were welcomed into their new (temporary) home. Thank you, Jesus.

Meanwhile, Tuesday morning dawned and we were still in North Carolina. Since Bruce hadn’t returned the van Monday, we had transportation—but when he called to extend it again, they said no. It was due for maintenance.

So Bruce went in person, hoping for a miracle. And wouldn’t you know it? They had a pickup truck just big enough. Just enough space. Just enough time. Just enough grace. Jehovah Jireh. Another answered prayer.

At every twist, God showed up. Thwarting the attacks and providing. And while I was deeply sad (and still am), I wasn’t crushed. Because I know my God. I know His peace. When we give Him the keys to our life, He will take care of it. He s omniscient, He wasn’t surprised by any of the turns of events. H had already made a way. This is the peace Paul talks about in Philippians 4:7, a peace that not only helps us to not feel stressed and overwhelmed but a peace that will, “guards your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Can I get an amen?!

Wednesday: Take Two

We were up again at 2:30 a.m., back at the airport, and this time—thankfully—everything went smoothly. We checked in with 14 bags, cleared security with the other 12, and made it to Atlanta without incident.

At the Centurion lounge, we asked about a kids’ room. There wasn’t one, but a media room was first come, first served. It was full, so we turned to leave… and one of the women inside popped her head out and invited us in. They were about to leave and gave us the space.

They’ll never know what a gift that was, but I was so thankful. Wrangling a 4- and 5-year-old in a quiet enclosed room? So much easier than in a busy lounge!

A few hours later, we boarded our 14-hour flight to Tokyo. Because the military books us on separate itineraries, Bruce had one seat alone while the rest of us had five together. He offered to let me take the solo seat and handle all the boys himself on the flight. But the person seated with our group was happy to switch—so we all sat together.

That flight? The boys did amazing. Smooth sailing to Tokyo.

But the next leg? Crunch time.

We had under two hours to:

• Go through immigration

• Pick up bags

• Clear customs

• Recheck bags

• Go through security again

• Take a 15-minute bus ride to a completely different terminal

Y’all. The staff at Haneda Airport were amazing. They fast-tracked us through immigration because of the kids, helped us with our luggage, and pointed us in every right direction.

Then Bruce got a call from a Japanese number.

Turns out… we left the car seat bag behind. It had two seats—including one worth over $200—and we’d need it to get our little guys safely from the airport in Okinawa to our hotel.

But an airport worker had found the bag, looked through it, and found Bruce’s number. Within 10 minutes, Bruce had it back in hand. Unbelievable kindness and grace.

Security took a while because of the jewelry in my carryon-on and pencil case, and the bus was slower than expected… we were sprinting through the airport with kids on ride-on suitcases, as I kept repeating over and over in my head: God’s got this. God’s got this.

At 4:54 p.m., we arrived at our gate for a 4:55 p.m. departure—and they let us on. We’d made it.

Jehovah Jireh. He truly provided our daily bread that day.

Again we had 5 seats together and 1 solo seat, Bruce gave me the solo seat. After the events of the last couple days and the long day of travel, I was exhausted and I promptly passed out. Iwas in and out during the flight but mostly out until we touched down in Okinawa.

At baggage claim, we reassembled our four carts—and our two older boys helped push (bless them!). But here’s the best part of the whole journey.

When we came through those doors from baggage claim, more than 10 people were waiting to welcome us.

Our amazing sponsor Jon (seriously, best sponsor ever!), fellow chaplains and their wives (huge thank you to the Durhams for yummy food and water!), Sailors and Marines from the RMT at Futenma—they showed up on their 96 (holiday weekend) to love on us, carry bags, drive vans, bring food, and get us settled.

I didn’t have to lift another suitcase or carry another bag that night. A contingent met us at the hotel to help the drivers of our vans (yes, vans plural, lol, one for us and another for our luggage!) haul all of our bags to the 4^th floor. 

It was breathtaking to see the Church love like Jesus commands. I’m tearing up just remembering how amazing that felt at the end of a 30+ hour journey. An incredible thank you to all of you if you’re reading this! Thank you for loving on our family in such a huge way!

At last—9:30 p.m. local time—we were finally here. In Okinawa. Checked in to our temporary lodging. Answering God’s call in obedience and trust.

Friend, it is so amazing to see God working and I feel so blessed when He allows my eyes to be opened to some of the ways He’s working in my life and for me. As I sat in service this last Sunday (after being in Okinawa for 3 days) we sang ‘Trust In God’ and I felt every single one of the lyrics in that song but especially this verse as it applies to what we have experienced time and again on our journey in the mission field of military chaplaincy: 

“Perfect submission, all is at rest I know the Author of tomorrow has ordered my steps This is my story, and this is my song I’m praising my risen King and Savior all the day long.”

That song sums it all up. After everything—every delay, every tear, every attack—God has ordered our steps and this is our story…Praise God! He made a way. He always does.

As the goodness of God’s provision washed over me, the words of this song rang true. That’s why: 

“I trust in God, my Savior, The one who will never fail”

And He never will.

Thank you, friend, for walking this journey with us. Until next time…

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.”—Numbers 6:24–26

Blessings,

Amber