April 7, 2022

April 7, 2022

Soldiers in the Minnesota National Guard have been very busy for the past two years.

First, they were deployed to help with the COVID-19 pandemic. Then they helped process Afghan refugees fleeing to the United States and provided security at American military bases across the Horn of Africa.

But none of those experiences prepared Minnesota’s National Guard members for their latest deployment. These days they are collecting bedpans, clipping toenails, and feeding residents at North Ridge Health and Rehab, a large nursing home in Minneapolis that is the largest in the state.
One soldier said, “I’ve had protesters throw apples and water bottles at me but that doesn’t compare to the challenge of giving someone a bed bath.”

Thirty members of the Minnesota National Guard have been working as certified nursing assistants at North Ridge, which has been dealing with serious labor shortages by an exodus of employees. Minnesota’s Governor Tim Walz said, “Our health care work force is heartbroken and fatigued. Having the Guard provide a bit of a respite is a godsend.”

One of these “weekend warriors” is Staff Sgt. Nathan Madden, whose civilian job is an assistant manager at a home improvement store. He said the past two weeks had given him a newfound appreciation for those who care for the sick and the elderly:
“This kind of work is humbling for sure. It’s great to help out in the community, but I have older parents, so in a way this is preparing me for what I might have to do one day.”

Staff Sgt. Madden and his fellow soldiers are doing what we are to be doing as Christians. As Paul put it in Acts 20:35-6: “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Soldiers aren’t the only ones who should hear people saying, “Thank you for your SERVICE.”

Keep the SON in your eyes!
Mark