Snapshot: Kim Donahue

“Faith does not come easy when deployed,” says Commander Kim Donahue.

Donahue, an RCA chaplain, does the same work as all RCA ministers—cares for her people, listens to their questions, holds their fears, and helps them encounter God. Her people just happen to be the ship’s crew, and her sanctuary the deck of an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Gulf. Here she offers a benediction to the crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt during a service of remembrance on September 11, 2015.

“The work aboard an aircraft carrier is non-stop and the hours long,” she says. “So to insist on having just a little time to visit with a chaplain, to remain connected to others in faith, to contribute to the community of faith—that takes courage and commitment.

“In the midst of all this working and living, I see lives that are propelled forward with hope.”

[U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Anna Van Nuys]