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Debbie Harrell didn’t fit in. At least she felt that way. She became involved in Stonecroft about ten years ago, when a friend invited her to a Stonecroft outreach. Debbie enjoyed it, but didn’t know if she wanted to return. “It was in a country club,” says Debbie, “… and I didn’t feel like a country club girl.”

Still, she sensed “something different” at the luncheon, and said yes to the Planning Team’s request for help with online invitations and registrations.

“The women were authentic, and they were sincere. I hadn’t seen that in my life, but I knew that I craved that. … I’d been through two divorces and I had my guard up.”

She frequently cried at the luncheons ”because I was dry and God was filling me up,” she says.

With the help of Stonecroft women and her church, she realized that eternal life is a gift of God’s grace. She received that gift.

Several years later, God began to burden Debbie’s heart for the Military. She met some Military families and walked alongside two wives when their husbands were deployed to Afghanistan. “I just saw the pain and the hurt and also that the Military women were just so strong.”

Then she learned that Child Evangelism Fellowship, which provided a program for kids from Fort Knox, needed someone to serve the Military moms. She and other volunteers created a “time out party” with a spa and devotional. The more she ministered to the moms, the more stories she heard about the difficulties of Military life. Then the unit she served was deployed, and the ministry opportunities “dried up.”

She connected with Pauletta Staley, Stonecroft’s National Military Director, and joined the Military Team as a Liaison. Debbie quickly learned the ropes from Pauletta: 1) “You don’t pray, you don’t play.” 2) Military ministry takes time, but once God opens doors, it accelerates rapidly. “You’re praying a lot and you don’t see anything, but God’s really working behind the scenes,” Debbie says.

Now a National Military Consultant, she helps bases and posts create outreach events where Military women can relate on a deeper level, then participate in small groups. “They feel safe with us. At [an Air Force event] women were telling us their life stories within 10 minutes, and some of them have a lot of hurt.”

Debbie senses the urgency of Military ministry. Two years ago, she met a young mom whose husband suffered with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “Two months after they received a medical discharge from the Army, I learned she was murdered and her husband committed suicide. … Therefore, my heart is burdened even more to share Christ’s love as much as possible.”

“I’m still learning a lot with the Military,” Debbie says. “But I know that sometimes women don’t feel like they fit in, and that’s where I think my background – when I felt like I didn’t fit in at the country club – was God preparing my heart to be in Stonecroft Military. … I truly feel like a missionary.”

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