Please follow me on Facebook instead

Well everyone, as it is pretty obvious, we are not updating this blog anymore. The best way to follow our family is through Facebook. It is free to join. We post pictures and information to Facebook usually at least once a week. Thank you for supporting and praying for us and other Chaplain families.

Jonathan, Suzi, Asher, Kinsey, Nouwen, Ransom and Tally

Really need to work on posting more often

Ok, I realize it has been well over a month. And I was supposed to keep this site updated more often. My bad. Sometimes life happens so fast that it is hard to document. But here goes an attempt to bring everyone up to speed.

The month of November was a good one for our family. Our training schedule slowed down and we even had a couple of 4 day weekends (always greatly appreciated). My sister and her youngest son came up to visit us and we had a great time. Suzi's family all came at Thanksgiving and it was so nice having everyone around. Being around so much family was a welcome change from the month of October when I was down at Ft. Polk for a month. The month of November ended with a Squadron Hail and Farewell, where Suzi and I were officially welcomed into the unit. It was good to be with other soldiers and staff members in more of a laid back, off duty setting. I have really enjoyed getting to know the people that I work with and serving the soldiers of 1-61 CAV.

December has started off a little shaky. Our Squadron had a soldier commit suicide early morning on the 3rd. This was a soldier that I had spent many hours talking to about his life and his family. In fact, he and his wife were the first counseling session I had when I signed into the unit. He was a good, hard working soldier and I, and the rest of 1-61, will miss him a lot. As a result of the suicide, I have spent the last week counseling soldiers, conducting critical incident stress debriefings with those close to him, and trying to arrange for a memorial ceremony on post. The date and time for the ceremony has changed 6 times due to conflicts with the Division command elements. It is tough on soldiers (and me) to have the date and time keep changing like it has. But we drive on anyway. Right now, it is scheduled for Wednesday morning, the 12th, at 1030. Pray that it takes place and pray for the soldiers who attend.

I am trying to also schedule a financial training seminar in January and a marriage retreat in early February. I would also like to host a prayer breakfast prior to our deployment, but time is running out and our unit's training calendar is filling up fast.

Suzi and the kids are doing well. We just finished our Christmas decorating. This is the first Christmas that we have owned a house so we made sure to decorate inside and out. I spent the morning out in the cold rain on a slippery sloped roof hanging icicle lights. Suzi has made the inside of the house look beautiful with decorations in each room. Suzi's mom, dad and stepmom will be coming up for Christmas. It is great that we will be able to spend time with them over the holidays. My sister is planning on coming up at the first of the year, as well. We will be hanging out in Clarksville over the holidays, though I do plan on visiting St. Louis the second week of January.

I am scheduled to go to Ft. Polk again for a week in January. Everyone feel encouraged to come visit with us. We have plenty of room for you!

Here are some things you can pray for:
The soldiers of 1-61 CAV, that they would be open to the "gospel in combat boots" as Joe Novenson put it at my ordination service. Pray for those who know the Lord that their faith would be strengthened for our long deployment.

Pray for Suzi and the kids as they continue to transition to the life of an Active Duty family. I have had to put in some long hours recently which has left Suzi to be a single parent. It is a hard task but she has fulfilled the role wonderfully. Pray for Asher and Kinsey that they would be positive leaders in their school and pray for Nouwen and Ransom that they would be helpers as they stay home with Suzi during the days.

Pray for me and my spiritual endurance. Satan loves to attack folks in positions like ours. Pray that our strength would be the Lord's and not our own. Thank you to everyone who is praying for us and our nation's heroes.

Back from Ft. Polk

Well, after 3 and a half long weeks, I have finally gotten back from Ft. Polk. It is soooooo good to be back with Suzi and the kids here in Clarksville. It was a great reunion! And as an added bonus, Suzi's mom came the next day and is spending a week with us; Uncle Bryan Walker is scheduled to come for a visit this coming Monday; and my sister Leslynne will be coming sometime this upcoming week. We have not seen them since we moved here so it will be good to have them with us. And (just as a reminder) anyone else who would like to visit us, please consider yourself invited. We would love to see you!

The training at Ft. Polk was intense and long but was an excellent way for me to integrate myself into my new unit. I was blessed to have Chaplain Anderson, the Chaplain I am replacing, go along with us. He served as an invaluable teacher/mentor on how the unit works, what to expect, what needs to be done in what order, etc. It is amazing how much more you learn with on the job training compared to the Chaplain schoolhouse at Ft. Jackson. Our unit had great success at Ft. Polk but were sent home with some clear things to work on.

Between now and deploying in the Spring, I know that there are a number of things personally and job related that I will need to work on and strengthen. But for right now, I am happy just to spend a relaxing weekend with my family.

Thanks for reading this blog and sorry that it takes so long to update it. Hopefully now that I am back, I can keep it updated more often. (Our communications at Ft. Polk were not able to accomodate that). Thank you especially for all of your prayers and please keep them coming. My family and I thrive off of them.

Feel free to leave comments or email us at: entrekin@hotmail.com

God Bless!

Jonathan

a lovely Saturday morning

I awoke on Saturday to see two deer walking through my backyard. Suzi was able to get a few good pictures and the kids were quiet enough not to scare them off. Earlier in the week, we found a gopher in the backyard. Ahh the beauty of having your property back up to woods.

This has been a busy week for me work wise. I have attended a number of meetings, briefings and functions with the Cav unit. (Even getting to wear my Stetson once or twice). We attended our first Family Readiness Group meeting on Friday night, which is designed to help families when loved ones are deployed. On Saturday night, we went to a neighborhood party down the road. We are enjoying getting to know our neighbors and their children. On Sunday we attended services on post at Memorial Chapel and in the evening went to a small group from Christ Presbyterian Church where we have been attending. Being a Chaplain, I am expected to attended services on post. But we would still like to maintain and develop the relationships we have built with the local congregation.

I have Monday off and am trying to use it to run errands and accomplish tasks prior to leaving on Wednesday morning for 22 days to Ft. Polk. Definitely pray for Suzi and the kids while I am gone. Ransom is scheduled to go back to the doctor tomorrow and I expect they will take his cast off his leg.

While I am out of town, a few friends are scheduled to come visit us. We welcome the Silvas and the Algaiers over the next few weekends! Anybody else who wants to come visit, don't hesitate. We would love to see you!

Jonathan and Suzi

an update finally

Well, sorry it has taken so long to update this blog. We only got the internet hooked up in our house a day or so ago. We did close on our house successfully. Our personal belongings were shipped from St. Louis about a week and a half later. We are now in the middle of unpacking and being surrounded by boxes. It will probably take us several more weeks to fully unpack, but Suzi is doing a great job of getting us settled in while I am at the base.

I have spent the last week inprocessing at 20th replacement company at Ft. Campbell. It consists of showing up for a 0530 formation, then waiting until around 0900 for offices to open so I can get various paperwork processed. It really is an exercise in "hurry up and wait." As of today, I still have some finance paperwork and some orders to get taken care of. It is frustrating that technically, I am not in the pay system (finance) or even really here (orders).

I am busy trying to get ready for a trip to Ft. Polk, Louisiana for an exercise with 4th Brigade Combat Team. We will be gone most of October so please be praying for Suzi as she manages the house and 4 kids without me. Believe it or not, Ransom, our youngest, has broken his leg again (this is the 3rd time in 2 years). He was playing with some other kids and a dog in a back yard. The dog was tied with a rope to a tree. The dog ran around and ended up tripping Ransom with the rope. The doctors think he fractured his ankle so he now has a cast for the next 2 weeks. He is a tough little trooper and has quickly learned how to walk around on his cast.

Asher and Kinsey are enjoying their new school and making friends left and right. Nouwen has been enjoying playing with Ransom and having extra time with mommy everyday.

Suzi has been getting involved in a bible study at our church as well as beginning to meet with PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel) on post. We recently purchased a new vehicle so that I have something to drive to the base and she has something to drive the kids to school and run errands. She has been enjoying driving the new car alot. I have enjoyed getting to know Chaplain Anderson, who I am replacing at 1-61 Cav. He will be coming with us to Ft. Polk next month so he will continue to be a good resource for me. I have also been blessed to have a good mentoring Chaplain in Chaplain Cabrera at the brigade level.

Please contine to pray for me and our family. We have enjoyed meeting some neighbors on our street and hope that we can be a redeeming influence in our neighborhood. I am being worked into a number of counseling situations at the 1-61 (even though technically, I am not even there). Our servicemen and their families desperately need your prayers (this is some people's 4th time to deploy). Pray for our finances, as we have yet to be paid (not in the system yet -- finance). We live by faith and God has always been faithful to us. But it really would be nice to get paid soon. Pray for me as I get back into the regular routine of Physical Training (PT) again. I am out of shape but am sure that will change soon (for the better!)

Here is our contact information:

Jonathan and Suzi Entrekin
566 Winding Bluff Way
Clarksville, TN 37040

suzi cell 314-346-7777
jonathan cell 314-346-4762

Pinpoint assignment figured out

Well, I found out today that I will be serving in the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1-61 Cavalry. Hooah! I meet with the Brigade Chaplain tomorrow morning to be introduced to folks and get an early lay of the land. While I am not being deployed to Iraq in the immediate future, I did find out that I will be gone for most of the month of October on a training mission with the Brigade. As the Chaplain said, "this will be somewhat of a baptism by fire for you." Nothing like getting your feet wet, right? Well, despite having to leave the family in a few weeks, we are very excited to now know who exactly I will be working with and how best to pray for them.

We are scheduled to close on our house tomorrow afternoon at 1:00. Unfortunately, the transportation office has told us that the soonest our personal belongings could be packed up from our storage facility in St. Louis is th 12th of September. So it will probably be over a week before we have furniture and pots and pans, etc. So we will have to make it a sloooow transition from army lodging into our new home. Actually, we are still just excited to have something to move into! Again, anybody travelling our way be sure to stop in for a visit.

Will keep everyone posted on news as it happens.

- Jonathan and the family

Not going to Iraq...yet

Well, while I have not been told a pinpoint assignment (which battalion I will be with), I have been told that it will either be with the 4th Brigade Combat Team or with the 159th Aviation Brigade. Neither of whom are scheduled to go overseas until sometime next year at the soonest. This is great news! It is not that I am unwilling or seeking to avoid deployment. My family and I know that deployment is part of the ministry of the Chaplaincy. (and often the most fruitful part)! But because we are newly moving in, it will really help us as a family to make the transition to active duty life if I am not packing up and leaving them 2 weeks after we move in. In the meantime, please be praying for the 1, 2 and 3 Brigades and their families as they deploy next month.

We are scheduled to leave Florida on 04 SEP and close on the house in Clarksville on the 6th. We will then go up to St. Louis to get our belongings out of storage up there and visit some friends. We will be back in Clarksville on Sunday the 9th and (hopefully) the movers will deliver our stuff to the house on that afternoon. Anybody living in the Clarksville area that wants to come help us out (or just visit, really) is welcome to stop by. Just email for directions.

- CH Jonathan