Page 11 - Sanger Herald 5-30-19 E-edition

Lifestyles
SANGER HERALD • 3B • THURSDAY, MAY 30, 2019
Grads choose military in signing ceremony
Sanger
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Principal Dan Chacon welcomed the parents, friends and teachers of 19 Sanger High students choosing careers in the military immediately after their graduation.
But Chacon uncharacteristically took off his black cowboy hat, he said, in deference to military protocol while inside a building. He said it was something he learned after enlisting in the Air Force in 1980, a show of respect.
And respect was something he didn’t appear worried about with this group, four bound for the Marine Corps, three for the Air Force, five for the Navy and seven for the Army. He said he was proud.
“I know you guys are tough,” Chacon said. “You have a lot of grit.”
But, as he recalled from his early days as an airman, Chacon said there will be challenges, especially early on in training and again when deployed to a new base or assignment. He said he once arrived at a new base on Thanksgiving day, away from family and friends. But he immediately befriended his new roommate, who came from Boston and was at first a little difficult to understand, especially when he said, “Car.”
The signing ceremony May 22 in the school’s library was the first of its kind for Sanger High. Similar events are staged every year for college scholarship recipients and athletes signed to play next- level sports. Chacon also used the opportunity to
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
This is the Army contingent of the group that chose the military for the next step. Others joined the Navy, Marines and Air Force.
you can do anything,” he said. “It was just something different my family’s never done.”
Duarte said he expects to be assigned to a cannon crew. “I always wanted to shoot stuff,” he said.
Salazar said he wanted to follow in the steps of his grandfather who completed a 20-year career in the service. He said he figures he’ll learn exactly what he’ll do in the next couple of years. “If I like it, maybe I’ll stay in,” he said. “If I don’t, then I’ll get out after three years.”
Going into the Navy were Isiah Diaz, William Reyes Tolentino, Ray Gamino Vongnakhone, David Levin Thompson and Edward Delgado.
“They were there when I needed it,” Diaz said of the Navy.
Ruiz said he’s ready to take on whatever task offered but believes he’ll serve as a boatswain. “My parents taught me to be a hard worker,” he said.
“I’ve always wanted to travel,” Vongnakhone said. Delgado praised those
entering into the service. “I’ve heard so many stories of the men and women before me,” he said.
Thompson said he wants to be a combat medic in special forces. He has helped sports trainers this past year at Sanger High and played varsity soccer.
“We’re in good hands with these students going to protect us,” Chacon said.
The reporter can be contacted by email at nemethfeatures@gmail.com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
recognize Estevan Hurtado, a standout student with a very high grade point average, for getting a scholarship to Cal Poly.
Marine Sgt. Anourak Phavorachith, who was dressed to the nines in his crisp uniform, praised his new recruits. “I think they’re fantastic,” he said. “They truly are the next generation of Marines.”
Signing up for the Corps were Lance Hatton, Hardi Palma, Cristian Arteaga and Ryan Martinez. Each of them spoke briefly about their assignments in the Corps and their reasons for joining.
“To make my family proud,” Palma said.
“I wanted adventure,” Hatton said.
“It’s out of my comfort zone, following my brother’s footsteps,” Arteaga said.
“Go big or go home,” Martinez said.
Sara Bonjourni, Emily Fortaney and Danessa Castro signed with the Air Force. Fortaney and Castro played varsity softball this past season.
“It’s just something I was thinking about since freshman year,” Fortaney said. She said she met quite a few in the service while volunteering at Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno. Fortaney said she plans to become a pediatrician. “They get to do something they love while helping others.” She said she liked that’d she’d
be able to start training for her career in the medical profession “and have a job at the same time.”
Castro said she’s uncertain exactly what job she’ll pursue in either the service or the medical field, which she expects to be her ultimate career. She said she likes the Air Force for “the opportunities it will give me.”
Going into the Army were Gisela Arellano Luna, Tyler Stockwell, Damian Duarte, Emilio Guerra, Johanna Neri Ayala, Justin Salazar and Melissa Velazquez. Duarte and Salazar played varsity football.
“They’re one of the best groups I’ve had from Sanger,” Staff Sgt. Ernesto Gallegos said. Then he
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
said he always gets good recruits from Sanger, which he called one of the best military support towns around.
“I always wanted to be a combat medic,” Stockwell said.
“I felt the Army was going to prepare me to be the man I want to be,” Guerra said.
Ayala said she wanted to be a combat engineer.
“I thought it would be a great experience,” Velazquez said.
Duarte said his ultimate goal was to complete his service and go to the police academy for a career in law enforcement. But he said he had other reasons, too. “Just to show the younger generation of my family
Sanger students stage car show
Sanger High students put on their own car show May 24 in the practice field behind the school, and it looked a lot like a show and shine anywhere in the country. Some of the cars were pretty impressive. And cars for some of us are a way to measure time. I gravitated to the older steel and thought about what my vehicle was at that time of my life. I had a 1963 Galaxie four-door. A land yacht. And it broke down all the time. Memories attach to metal.
PASTOR’S CORNER
A mighty fortress is our God
The year was 1527, one of the most trying of Martin Luther’s life. It’s hard to imagine he had the energy or spirit to compose one of most memorable hymns for all of Christiandom.
On April 22, a dizzy spell forced Luther to stop preaching in the middle of his sermon. For 10 years, since publishing his “95 Theses” against the abuse of indulgences, Luther had been buffeted by political and theological storms. At times, his life had been in danger.
Now he was battling other reformers over the meaning of the Lord’s
Supper. To Luther, their errors were as great as those of Rome — the very gospel was at stake — and Luther was deeply disturbed and angry. He suffered severe depression.
Then, on July 6, as friends arrived for dinner, Luther felt an intense buzzing in his left ear. He went to lie down, when suddenly he called out, “Water, or I’ll die!” He became cold, and he was convinced he had seen his last night.
In a loud prayer, he surrendered himself to God’s will. With a doctor’s help, Luther partially regained his strength. But the depression and illness overcame him again in August, September and late December.
Looking
back on one of
his bouts, he
wrote his friend Melanchthon, “I
spent more than a
week in death and
hell. My entire
body was in pain,
and I still tremble. Completely abandoned by Christ, I labored under the vacillations and storms of desperation and blasphemy against God. But through the prayers of the saints [his friends], God began to have mercy on me and pulled my soul from the inferno below.”
Meanwhile, in August, the plague had erupted in Wittenberg. As fear spread, many of the townspeople left the village. But Luther
considered it his duty to remain and care for the sick. Even though his wife was pregnant, Luther’s house was transformed into a hospital, and he watched many friends die.
Luther wrote some 36 hymns. “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” however, is far and away the most well- known. Based on Psalm 46, the hymn is a celebration of the sovereign power of God over all earthly and spiritual forces, and of the sure hope we have in him because of Christ.
This verse, translated by Frederick Hedge in 1853, comes from one of more than 60 English versions: “A mighty fortress is our God, A bulwark never failing; Our shelter He, amid the flood; Of mortal ills prevailing. For still our ancient foe, Doth seek to work us woe; His craft and pow’r are great, And, armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal.”
Where do you need God’s power in your life today? “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. ... Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:1; 10
Pastor Sam Estes is city advance director and facilitates the Sanger Community Task Force that meets the first and third Tuesdays every month. He can be reached at pastorsam@ communitiesinc.org.
Pastor Sam Estes
Then his son became ill. Not until late November did the epidemic abate and the sick begin to recover. During that horrific year, Luther took time to remember the 10th anniversary of his publication against indulgences, noting the deeper meaning of his trials: “The only comfort against a raging Satan is that we have God’s Word to save the souls of believers.”