God takes all of us through so many different experiences with purpose in mind. It's difficult to understand that purpose with a limited perspective. However, it is almost always very easy to see God's purpose for different life events when there is time for reflection. This is exactly CSM's story.
Caring for others has always been an important part of Joe's life. He has been they type of friend and person that can relate to others, especially as they endure hard times. This continued throughout his life as he deployed in the Coast Guard, attended Arizona Christian University, and served in many different Christian ministries. The common theme of his life has been people feeling comfortable talking with him about important issues and consistently enjoy spending time engaging in these conversations.
Joe felt as though God was preparing him for ministry early in life. It wasn't until years later when he was Phoenix Seminary that God started to show him the ministry He was preparing Joe to perform. During a lecture in one of his ministry courses, his professor said in passing, "If you want to learn how to care for people, then you should do a chaplain internship at a hospital." Joe took him up on that advice by completing his first unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at Banner Desert Medical Center. God used that internship to show him he has the ability and passion to significantly care for others who are experiencing suffering. Joe had the privilege to care for families in the midst of crisis and trauma; families grieving over their child's cancer diagnosis and treatments; and for adults enduring long cancer treatments. Joe saw God's healing hand in many unexpected situations. God also used these experiences to teach Joe that he has a passion to see broken lives restored. This led him to spend two years earning his hospital chaplain board certification which opened doors for him to work as a hospital chaplain and continue to serve this nation as a military chaplain.
His passion to care for others led him to create Calm Seas Ministry LLC, so that he can extend his care from the hospital and military settings to the greater Phoenix area and beyond.
