Hollister
– Dressed in a crisp white Navy uniform, Rev. David Rodriguez
stood outside the First Presbyterian Church of Hollister on Sunday,
embracing his many parishioners.
Hollister – Dressed in a crisp white Navy uniform, Rev. David Rodriguez stood outside the First Presbyterian Church of Hollister on Sunday, embracing his many parishioners.
A young girl handed him a hand-colored drawing of an American flag and asked where he was going.
“The desert,” he replied.
Rodriguez had just given his final sermon before reporting for active duty in Kuwait. There, he will serve as a Navy chaplain, providing counseling and easing the transition for soldiers as they leave Iraq.
“The thought of leaving my family and going to Kuwait has been stressful,” Rodriguez said. “I know that as I go, I will have the opportunity to lead Marines and soldiers.”
This journey is Rodriguez’s second tour. He served in Iraq from August 2005 until October 2006, providing spiritual care to Marines.
In June, Rodriguez received notification from the U.S. Navy that he would return for duty. His initial reaction was shock, he said, at having to return after only 10 months at home.
“I just couldn’t believe it was happening again,” he said. “But I feel excitement about going over to help the guys who are really suffering.”
In Kuwait, Rodriguez will be stationed at Camp Arifjan, where he’ll spend six months working with soldiers who have just left Iraq. He’ll spend four days with each group of soldiers, counseling and praying for them, and identifying who’s most at risk for suicide or post-traumatic stress disorder.
“It’s hard. We only work for six months because they’re afraid we’re going to burn out,” Rodriguez said.
While his work is important, Rodriguez said, he’ll have a hard time leaving behind his church and family for the second time.
Church members have to adjust when he’s gone for the second time, too, parishioner Ron Terry said.
“It’s a hard time for the church,” Terry said. “But we’re proud that here’s a pastor in a little town of Hollister that has a real gift for counseling people as they come off the front lines. He has saved lives.”
Another church member, Valerie Pennington, said she knows he’ll touch more lives in Kuwait, despite the hard loss for the church.
“Those young men and women are lucky to have David. He really cares,” Pennington said.
With that devotion, he’ll also sacrifice his home life with his wife, Cathy, and two sons, Daniel and Andrew. Leaving family, he said, is the hardest part of all.
The family expects to accommodate his service in some ways, such as putting off his son’s wedding. But he’ll have to just miss out on other things, such as holidays and his other son’s Eagle Scout project.
“You can do small things like make sure the sprinklers work, but it’s hard to just leave it all behind,” he said.
Still, Rodriguez said nearly every chaplain in the reserves wants to counsel soldiers now because that’s where help is needed most.
“It’s always good to help the people who are in the military,” Rodriguez said.
