Not everyone knows what it’s like to build their own village. Or to do it again 3-5 years later in different states or countries. Or to have your best friend leave for 6-18 months at a time.
Being a military wife, Samantha Steele does know what it’s like, so she decided to start a podcast, Trust Without Borders, which is meant to encourage others walking the same path.
With Keesler Air Force Base and the Seabee base here in south Mississippi, we are blessed with an abundance of military families living in our community. These families are a vital part of the culture in south Mississippi. Newlyweds Craig and Samantha Steele arrived in south Mississippi in 2016 when Craig was stationed at the Seabee base. Since that time, they welcomed a son, plugged into a local church, and have built friendships to last a lifetime.
Their experience these past six years has been full of ups and downs. During those ups and downs, Samantha has leaned heavily on God, family, and a group of friends—several of whom are military wives themselves. Samantha feels that without Jesus in her heart, the downs would seem much lower, and the ups wouldn’t be as sweet.
Being away from her husband, who is currently deployed, has been hard, but Samantha has built her own village of friends that are now like family here in Mississippi. This village continues to encourage her and listen to her because they themselves have experienced some of the same ups and downs.
According to Samantha, plugging into a local church is also vital in building your village. After arriving in Mississippi, her family located Northwood Church through a quick google search. They have been attending Northwood ever since and have continued to grow in love with Jesus and with the people of south Mississippi. It was the love she experienced at the feet of Jesus and with her friends that inspired Samantha to start Trust Without Borders.
Samantha’s main goal for the podcast is to create an inviting atmosphere people can experience through listening. She also wants to create a space where military families feel seen and heard while also getting to hear about Jesus.
She recently uploaded an episode about care packages and is planning several more with topics including boundaries, marriage, building your own village over and over, deployment diaries, how to bloom wherever you are, and how to be a light for not only the community but for the entire world. She is also planning to invite guest speakers on to the show that can share their own experiences with listeners.
Most importantly though, Samantha wants the podcast to let fellow military families know they’re not alone. To know that there are others out there experiencing the same ups and downs. To know there are other families growing closer to the Lord and closer as a family while they serve our great country.
Look for Trust Without Borders wherever you get your podcasts.
