[1]ABOARD USS HARRY S. TRUMAN, EAST MEDITERANNEAN (BP)–Through the opening of the hangar bay door, a brilliant view of bright sunlight spills across the rolling Mediterranean waves and into the ship. It’s a welcome change from the high winds and heavy rains that only yesterday created numerous challenges for the ship’s aviators and aircrews.
In the middle of the hanger bay, Avionics Technician 2nd Class Sean Zahornacky, from San Jose, Calif., wearing a white T-shirt with “Old Navy” stenciled in ‘blue,’ sits in a water-filled, green tub. The large container actually is a joint direct attack munitions (JDAM) crate.
What once carried ordnance for destruction now serves as a vessel for an act of obedience that symbolizes the birth of a new creation and a walk in a new life.
Today, the JDAM crate is a baptistery — for the first-ever, full-immersion baptism on board the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). Several excited Christians have gathered to watch.
Many young men and women join the Navy searching for something, ultimately finding God, the chaplains say. That’s the case with Zahornacky, who has lived on the Truman as part of the ship’s company since 1999. He didn’t have any church background growing up, and said it was very hard for him to admit that he needed God, although he knew he did.
[2]“If I don’t see A and B, I don’t believe C,” the avionics technician said. But, after many months of prayer, asking questions and studying the Bible, he accepted Jesus Christ.
Chaplain Cory Cathcart spent a lot of time with the young sailor sharing and making sure he understood what he was “signing up” for. The lieutenant spends much of his time counseling young 18- and 19-year-olds who are experiencing their first deployment away from home — amid 5,500 people on the Truman.
“I really believe that everyone has a God-shaped vacuum inside,” Cathcart said. “Many try to fill it with other things, but in the end, only God will fit your heart.”
The new believer will be matched with a couple of older mentors through the chaplain’s office, and will be encouraged to attend church services and get involved in regular Bible studies offered throughout the week.
“Baptism is an event that has been celebrated for 2,000 years,” said Chaplain Doyle W. Dunn, his hand on Zahornacky’s shoulder. “It began in the life of Jesus who set the example by being baptized by John the Baptist.”
After a few more words and a Scripture reading by Chaplain Cathcart, Dunn and Cathcart prepare to lean the 22-year-old back into the water.
“It is perhaps fitting that this is being done during Operation Iraqi Freedom,” Dunn said. “This box is designed to bring destruction. Today, we use it to represent creation and newness of life.”
After the young sailor was baptized, he stood, wet and slightly shivering from the breeze blowing through the hangar as fellow Christians congratulated him.
Perhaps the chaplain shared the feeling of everyone there: “I walk inches off the ground after something like this,” Dunn said, smiling broadly. “It is such a joy to see a sailor make such a clear commitment in front of his shipmates.”
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(BP) photos posted in the BP Photo Library at https://www.bpnews.net. Photo titles: HISTORIC MOMENT and BURIED IN BAPTISM.