Words From The Warden

As I write these words, my thoughts and heart are with our oldest son, Matt. Early Saturday morning, at 2:00 AM, he reported to the airport to begin his journey to the US military base in Kuwait. There, Air Force Senior Master Sergeant Hank M. Zaborniak will serve as one of the highest-ranked non-commissioned officers during a six-month tour of duty. His primary responsibility is to provide leadership for his team of Airmen as they maintain the runways, aprons, and buildings on the base. While the deployment is expected to be relatively “safe,” aside from occasional missile launches from Iran, the assignment presents its own challenges.

This deployment is particularly difficult because Matt is not stationed with the men and women he usually works alongside. Instead, he is assigned to a group of individuals he has never met before, which makes the task of building trust and camaraderie more demanding. Recognizing this, Matt packed a ukulele among his military gear, hoping that music will help him connect and make friends with those he leads. Part of his mission is to foster a sense of community—a community that goes deeper than simply well-trained people following orders, a community where there are no “others.”

This marks Matt’s fourth international deployment in the past seventeen years. His assignments have taken him to Afghanistan, Jordan, Israel, and now Kuwait, each tour allowing him to forge and maintain meaningful friendships. Though he is not a full-time military member, Matt serves in the Ohio Air National Guard stationed at Rickenbacker Airbase in Lockbourne. He also works full time as the director of physical operations at the base. Throughout his service, Matt has participated in short-term humanitarian missions in the Caribbean, the Pacific, and across the continental United States. During annual military training duties, he has contributed to building children’s camps and parks in Alabama, Oklahoma, and California.

After every assignment, I find it fascinating to hear how Matt navigates challenges—how he supports disgruntled airmen and helps build community. He once shared that one of the hardest aspects of his role is encouraging “young people” to recognize the value of being part of something greater than themselves. Building community is part of his ongoing pursuits.

The Challenge of Community—Military and Church

Matt’s absence weighs heavily on me, but even more so, I am reminded of the difficulty in building genuine community. Whether it is within the Air Force or in the beloved community of our church, forming connections should seem natural. Shouldn’t we instinctively care for those beside us? For those who follow Christ’s call, shouldn’t we just as naturally see our neighbors as “we” instead of “others”? It’s about radical hospitality and radical love. Though the Christ’s call is simple, putting it into practice is anything but easy.

Peace,
Henry