1st Sunday "Down Range"

1 Nov 09
Today is my very first Sunday in the war zone, or "down range" as they called it back home. I was somewhat down this morning due to home sickness and thinking of my family having fun on Halloween without me. It's a lonely feeling, and I've heard people say this can be gut wrenching at times. I understand what they're talking about. So what did I do? I prayed and then went to church!

There are many opportunities to worship here on this post, for people of all shapes and sizes and colors. The chapel has an extensive schedule to meet all of the demands from numerous faith groups and denomnations and worship styles. For example, for Protestant services there is a liturgical service, a contemporary service, 2 gospel services, and a traditional-contemporary mix. It's impressive. There is also Jewish, Catholic, LDS, and Wiccan offerings, too. I'm going to try to experience a few different services these first weeks to see which one I want to get involved with. Each Chaplain must choose to serve at one of the services throughout his or her time here, so I need to make a decision of which one I'm comfortable with. I'll let you know.

(btw: I'm having trouble uploading pictures to the blog due to the poor internet connection here. I'll keep trying, but it's painfully slow. Sorry)