John and Yvonne

Thank you John and Yvonne for the Thanksgiving dinner invite for my son Dan.  He has decided to eat with some friends he has made.

Hello Yvonne,

Good memory! My son's squadron was on the Lincoln, but now that the Lincoln is being worked on, they will go with another carrier on the West Coast.

Hi Yvonne,

I emailed Daina the link to your page and mentioned that your home is open to fellowshipping with Sailors on the weekends and that you would pick her up from the base.  Now its her turn to contact you or let me know to contact you. She has been in Norfolk for 6 days now and is planning on getting a vehicle probably sometime this weekend.  We are pointing her toward CarMax and she's been pre-approved through NavyFED, researching car insurance.  Thank you and John for all you do for our Sailors in providing a safe home away from home filled with the Lord!!  You're welcome on the scripture. I love my new ministry~~  <></

I sent you a friend request 

 Hello John and Yvonne.  I am a mom of a sailor getting ready to go to Italy the first week of January.  He has to check in at the Norfolk base on Jan 2nd and will fly out on the 7th. My husband, myself and our oldest son and a Labrador will all be driving him up from Florida and are looking for a place to stay. I have looked at VRBO and only found 2 places and one is booked. Do you know of any places close to the Norfolk base?...I am not familiar with the area and I am hoping you can give me some advice?

Thank-you so much! Blessings!

Thank you very much for the offer.  I will pass this along to him.  This is an awesome thing you and your husband are doing giving the kids a home away from home on the weekends.

Hi Yvonne and thanks for responding.  Yes, my son is still in Naples, but will be leaving there early next month to come to Norfolk for his next duty station.  I have been following the Norfolk group for a while and think it is an awesome thing you and your husband do and I have already told him about it.  I think he will be taking leave for a few weeks before he officially starts his new duty station, but I was just wanting to get as much information as I can before he gets there.  It will be so great to have him back in the States. 

Hello Mr. & Mrs. Wagner

Thanks so much again for reaching out. My daughter is underway now and I miss her like crazy. wish i could jus hear her voice. When she gets back I will tell her all about you and then ask you for your number so that she can reach out to you. She was able to attend church services at Grace Bible church but she also wants to try another church called Spring Branch Community Church.

God bless you!

Hi Ms. Yvonne!  :)

Hi Yvonne, Yes, it is a small world.  My son is on an aircraft carrier, USS George H. W. Bush.  They've been deployed since Feb.  I'll be in Norfolk soon for homecoming.  I need to let him know about you and John.  There are times he says he's bored and he doesn't have a car out there. 

Thank you Yvonne! I will certain pass the message along. Your hospitality goes beyond measure! Mahalo!!

Thank you. I've been reading about everything the two of you do for our sailors. I've been telling my daughter all about both of you. I will be flying out to Virginia with her so I can spend a couple days with her and so that I can welcome my son back from being deployed. He is on the Bush, I will be telling him about you also. I'm thankful that there are people like you that have our children over for a home cooked meal, it makes it a little easier for me to leave my children. Over the years my daughter has learned some of our family recipes, and she loves to cook. So if you need help she's the girl to go to. 

John & Yvonne, My son is currently stationed in Norfolk, VA.  He would very much like to get in touch with you.  How might he be able to contact you?  Sincerely, Michelle

Yvonne, he is on a sub, the USS Newport News.  They have been going each month for the last couple of months on short underways to get ready for deployment later this year.  I will give him your number and if he does not contact you in a couple of weeks I will give you his number.  He can be shy and not put himself out there sometimes.  Not into drinking and partying and most of the guys on his sub are younger and like to party.  He is 23 going on 33.  It may take someone like your husband saying ok Zach we are expect to see you on xyz day and he will then come.  Thank you so much.  Lou Anne Daniel.  His name is Zachary Daniel btw. 

Thank You again for your generous offer.  It's very hard being so far away. We are waiting to see if he will be able to come home for a short leave before going on to Norfolk but I will definitely be in touch.  

 thanks for accepting my friend request:)  im pretty sure we havent communicated before. I have 3 boys only the oldest is in the Navy. the other 2 are in HS. i sent u a PM. im not the best at navigating this site still.

Check out Portsmouth, Va Moms (clickable link) and let her know if you can help. I remembered that you have helped Sailors for some time. My son was with the TR awhile back, so I saw your posts in that group back then.

Here are 2 sites for parents with Marines: http://www.marineparents.com and http://marinefamilynetwork.com/.  Perhaps one of them will help you. I don't know which is best and they are just in the order I located them awhile back. I have no personal knowledge of either of them. I think that they are actually the same group now, just two different ways to get to the same thing.

The closest thing that I have found for Army is on goarmy.com on the Discussion Board for parents, https://forums.goarmy.com/community/family_discussion/parents_discu.... Here is the one for spouses, https://forums.goarmy.com/community/family_discussion/spouse_discus..., if you need that.

Here are 2 on fB that you can check out https://www.facebook.com/goarmyparents, https://www.facebook.com/groups/ArmyMomsRock/.

I noticed this comment on chat and wanted to be sure that you saw it ...

Pitbullboys wrote:

I don't know how to reply to a conversation, but I just wanted to say thank you to John and Yvonne for opening their home to our sailors. You two are truly a blessing. Thank you again and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

John and Yvonne, I remember a couple years ago when my daughter started her journey I hoped that she would be stationed near you.  God was listening and she and her husband are in Norfolk.  She left to meet her ship on deployment almost as soon as she got there so shes not had time to find a church or even spend more than a night in her new home.  Would you still have room for her to join your group and if so, how would she go about contacting you?

Thank you for your friend request.

I don’t know what to say or do to help my 23 year old son who has been in the Navy since May.  Knowing your husband was a Chaplin in the Navy, I thought maybe he or both of you might have some words of wisdom.  To make a long story short...my son came home for the second half of stand-down, of Christmas vacation, day before yesterday.  Minutes after he walked in the door, I knew something was wrong, as he broke down in tears.  Earlier that morning around 4 am, my son was making his rounds, as it was his 24 hour duty rotation turn.   He came upon one of his fellow submates, new to the sub, only 2 weeks on, with his wrists slashed.  My son, being first on the scene, followed protocol, stopped the bleeding & did all that was required, calling the necessary personal to get the sailor to the hospital on time.  Sometime early this morning, my son’s CO called my son to tell him, the young man did not make it.  My son has barely been in the Navy 7 months, to witness this, plus his sub is in dry dock & he is now so discouraged, that he can’t even be on a “working” sub after all the schooling & preperation he has gone through, I don’t know what to tell him or how to approach him.  When he first came home, I was able to comfort him a little by saying, “you were lucky to get there when you did, you probably saved this young man’s life” , but now even that is out the window.  What do I say or tell him?  If my son wants me to, I will call our Pastor to come & talk with him, but until then, I am at a lose.

Thank You for the message, that is very nice of you, I will le it be known.

Got your cell #.  Thank you.  Will give it to him when he gets settled in VA.   Regards, Linda

John and Yvonne would you give me your number on a private message so I could forward it to my son? He arrived at Virginia yesterday and I mentioned what you do and he said he would like to meet you. Thank you! 

Thank you so much John and Yvonne I'll give it to him today. Have a blessed weekend.

My son has arrived in Virginia Beach as of 05/12/2018; fresh out of Boot Camp, will pass your info along to him, you sound like awesome and wonderful people; God Bless You, sincerely Mary Waggoner

Thank you so much. We really  appreciate your prayers. God is good!

Yes, both of my children are heading to boot camp 10 day apart.  My son hardly will speak to me, because I am the parent who has the rules at my house, no matter what age my children are, and we have had a big difference of opinion, and he chose to not speak to me.  I love him, no matter what, and am praying for him constantly.  My daughter and I are very close, and she will be leaving in 9 days.  my heart is full of pride for my children, and sorrow at the same time, because they grew up way too fast!  Thank you for your friend request.  It is nice to have prayer warriors in our corner!  Sherri

Ah, well that's truly a wonderful invite. Thank you!

Our son is already underway, Submarine Service, stationed in Guam. Left boot camp June of last year, Sub School after that, and C-school all under his belt.

I appreciate your kind offer. -- Archymom

Thank you so much for the kind words! Yes I did see your page and I looked at some of the pictures! You seem to be a wonderful couple. Thank you so much for being so welcoming to those serving. My Husband retired Navy about 5 years ago. We are celebrating 25 years marriage this summer. I guess before I share so much am I allowed to share? Can i post his name? Or pictures? I don’t understand this whole group as of yet and how it all works. Looking forward to learning.

Thank you John and Yvonne!  I am so thankful for the support.  God bless you.

Hi there, Yvonne & John!

Thank you for the message and the kind invitation extended to my son. He's not having the best of times right now and it may be good for him to get out to some normal surroundings. I'll be sure to pass on your invitation to him and I'll get back to you. 

Thanks again for the kind offer.

Hello Yvonne and John,

Thank you for asking about my sailor.  He is doing very well on the ship.  In fact he was just named Junior Sailor of the Quarter!  He has been deployed since Oct. 19, and they have only visited 1 port.  He does truly enjoy his job, so doesn't mind being out to sea.  We do get to talk to him about once every 3 weeks for a short conversation.  Unless they are running silent which they seem to do quite a bit.  Then we don't even get an e-mail.  As the end gets closer, I am getting excited to see him.  Now we are just trying to figure out how do we get on base to welcome home the ship!

YES --- Thank you!!!   I received message but just getting to computer today to respond      sending a PM 

Hi Yvonne! Thank you so much for checking on us. My nephew graduated boot camp on Jan. 4th. We went up for four day's and had an awesome time with him. He proposed to his girl that weekend on top of the Willis Tower. It was perfect. Right now he is in A school at Great Lakes for about 8 months and then to Virginia or San Diego for C School for FC. Not sure as of yet where he will go. I know at this point he is hoping for some place WARM! Poor Florida boy is having a hard time in that cold.

Thank you so much,

Rain

Hello, John and Yvonne-

Thank you for reaching out. My son is likely to be in Goose Creek, SC for around 18 months or so (if all goes well!), so not likely he will be in Norfolk anytime soon. Nonetheless, when my father was in the Navy in the early 50's (Little Creek), there was a wonderful couple who had him (and fellow sailors) over numerous times. The support was wonderful for him! Best wishes to you this holiday season and thank you for all you do!

Hi!

 Thanks for adding me  

My son was in Little Creek and is now teaching at the schoolhouse. He will probably be back in a few years. 

Thank you for the friend request! I'm a newbie in here....my son just passed his MEPS. I just want to learn and know as much as I can about the Navy and what my son is about to become a part of and experience.

Hi John and Yvonne, first let me apologize for my delayed response my daughter just arrived from the mainland with my grandchildren and were getting settled. Keaau is located on Hawaii Island, or the the big Island as everyone calls it. Are you guys still living here ?

Hi John and Yvonne, this is LilDsmom again I just read your profile and realized your no longer in hawaii but also your in ministry like my husband and I we're both Pastors and I certainly don't believe in coincidence so I appreciate you reaching out and hope we can stay in touch, and I don't know where my son will be stationed after he finishes BC but if he's near you guys I'll certainly put him in contact with you. Thank you

Thank you so much. I greatly appreciate you reaching out. My son is currently at BC. He could use prayers right now🙏

Thank you so much for the offer. I am constantly amazed at how wonderful this community of people has been!