Mission of a lifetime: High Army praise given to O.C. church missionary in Kosovo

Mark Yocom was an Orange County denizen doing church missionary work in Southeast Europe in 1998 when the Kosovo war broke out.

Diligently studying Albanian, the predominant language spoken in the region, he’d spent years working with various groups of people living there.

So, when the nation’s conflict with neighbor Serbia ended in 1999, Yocom became a valuable resource to NATO peacekeepers arriving in the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo, including the U.S. Army, providing translation services and acting as a go-between for personnel and the area’s inhabitants.

In the years that followed, Yocom helped establish a local missionary for his home church — Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa — while also serving as a volunteer civilian chaplain for American servicemen and women stationed in the Kosovo capital of Pristina.

The U.S. Army’s Order of Aaron and Hur is granted by the Chief of Chaplains to those who’ve made significant contributions to the spiritual welfare of Army service members.

(Courtesy of Mark Yocom)

He married Celeste, a woman doing missionary work in Russia, in 2004, and the couple have a daughter, 17-year-old Isabella. The family has since grown roots in Kosovo, which officially declared independence from Serbia in 2008.

For his decades of service to military personnel stationed in Kosovo, Yocom recently received a special honor from the Army Chief of Chaplains Major Gen. William Green Jr. acknowledging his work.

Called the Order of Aaron and Hur — whose assistance to Moses in the Bible’s Book of Exodus helped the Israelites secure a win in an important battle — the medal recognizes “outstanding contributions to the spiritual welfare of the men and women of the United States Army and have supported the work of chaplains through their own humble service.”

In an email last week from Pristina, situated nine time zones ahead of California, Yocom described how his decades of missionary work abroad, and providing chaplain services to people stationed in NATO’s Camp Film City, has shaped his world view.

“As an American missionary/pastor living overseas, I see our country from a perspective that is different from one who has never been outside our country,” he wrote.

“I see it in the context of what other parts of the world are like. One comes to realize and really appreciate the blessings we enjoy as Americans — we have much to be thankful for.”

The Order of Aaron and Hur is given by the Army’s Chief of Chaplains to recognize those who’ve made significant contributions to the spiritual welfare of Army service members.

(Courtesy of Mark Yocom)

John Chubik, an international missions pastor for Calvary Church Costa Mesa, said he was pleased to see Yocom saluted for his long service.

“I think it’s neat that Mark was recognized for something he’s just selflessly done without any thought of reward for 20-plus years,” he said Wednesday. “It’s a blessing that was finally recognized and acknowledged.”