North Chicago church makes day merry for Navy recruits
On any other Christmas, Donnita Howard would be at home in Pensacola, Fla., where she is the youngest of eight siblings, eating, laughing and enjoying the holiday.
This year, Howard, 20, is a recruit at the Great Lakes Naval Base and spending her first holiday away from home.
However, thanks to a North Chicago church, she got to celebrate the day.
Howard was among 90 recruits who got to leave the base for just this day, the only day they leave during their 10 weeks of boot camp, to enjoy holiday services, food and activities at Mt. Sinai Baptist Church in North Chicago.
Howard said she teared up during the morning church service, thinking of her family, her faith, and how both have gotten her through boot camp so far.
“I expected it to be hard,” Howard said of joining the military and being away from her family. “But you never really know how much you'll miss people until you're far away.”
It's the 14th year Mt. Sinai Baptist Church has hosted recruits on Christmas, the Rev. Gerald Wilcoxon said. They never have a shortage of volunteers willing to help serve and entertain.
“It brings some Christmas joy to our sailors,” Wilcoxon said. “But for us, it's also the joy of knowing you're giving back, and that is partially what Christianity is all about.”
Sabrina Estrella, 31, of San Francisco said she knew when she signed up for the Navy in early November she would have to be away from her family during the holidays, but she was willing to do whatever it takes to be a part of the military.
Originally form Brazil, Estrella said she has lived in the United States for 10 years and is looking forward to her graduation in two weeks.
“Being in the military is a dream coming true for me,” Estrella said. “It's my way of saying ‘thank you' for all this country has given me.”
When Estrella called her sister on Sunday to wish her a Merry Christmas, her sister got emotional and was happy to hear her voice although they could not be together.
Even just taking the day to relax, sing, play games and eat a home-cooked meal with other recruits was a blessing, said Nick Quarto, 24 of Walla Walla, Wash.
“It's wonderful what they've done for us,” Quarto said, enjoying the spontaneous sing-a-longs and dishes of candy on each table.
With graduation for this class of recruits coming up on Jan. 6, many of them will be seeing their families soon, but that doesn't make being far from home during the holiday season easier, though spending the day off-base was a start.
“It almost felt like home,” Howard said.