by Father Dan Gardner
Through the years, I have read about and admired those who were missionaries to other countries.
I admired them because they left family, country and friends for a foreign country, and many never saw their home again.
To spread the faith in Jesus, they learned a new language, got to know a different culture and saw firsthand the majesty of God’s creation. As they broadened their experience, so, too, did their understanding of the magnificence of God.
Matthew 19:29 reads: “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold.”
This, I have experienced throughout my life in unexpected ways.
It began by volunteering to learn Spanish and the Mexican culture, which broadened to learning about several Latin American cultures.
At the Mexican-American Cultural Center in San Antonio, we were taught that it was necessary to embrace another culture in order to be able to share our faith in Jesus with others and receive their faith, too.
Serving 30 years in Hispanic ministry and being in parishes that host multiple cultures, I have attempted to live and react differently to various peoples.
Many years ago, I heard Major Jack Reardon of Kansas City, Kansas, instruct people that when a person gives a talk to a group of people, they must first know who their audience is.
That teaching has remained with me and I have tried to put it to use. I would develop two different sermons for weekend Masses: one in English and another in Spanish.
It was with a missionary attitude that I accepted an invitation to be a contract chaplain at an Army garrison on Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands. Father Jim Ludwikoski extended the invitation to split time with him, taking six-month segments each.
After all the repeated paperwork (tedious at best) and training, I arrived on Kwajalein on Sept. 9, 2025. Being 18 hours ahead of Central Daylight Time, it was still Sept. 8 here in the States when I arrived.
It was a steep learning curve for me. I never served as a chaplain in the Armed Forces, so there were new rules and terms to learn. I needed to give reports to the local parish community, the Military Archdiocese (from whence came my faculties to celebrate Mass, etc.) and the local Army garrison. Silly me, I thought that I had retired from administrative duties!
When I arrived, the Catholic community and Protestant chaplain welcomed me with open arms and joy. They had been without a Catholic chaplain for about six weeks. The community is a mixture of families from America, Australia, Cameroon, Philippines and a scattering few from the Marshall Islands.
Out of approximately 1,300 people, only 14 were in the Army. The rest, like me, were civilian contract personnel. Some have their families with them, so there is a grade school and high school.
Thus, in missionary style, away from everything I have ever known, I jumped into the deep end of the pool and began treading water quickly.
What was evident from the beginning was the hunger of the residents to be able to attend Mass and receive the sacraments. Various cultures were living together, sharing one faith.
God is indeed expansive, and I am indeed blessed by this opportunity.
