Last Few Weeks

27 July (Tues)

Today is a great day because it marks one of the significant milestones of this deployment: My replacement arrives today!!! His Unit has been slowly trickling in over the past week, and his plane gets here this afternoon. It will be hard to wipe this silly grin off of my face for awhile. Although there is one thing that will dampen my excitement and you can see it for yourself in the attached pictures. We all will have to move over to the other side of this base and into what they call the transient tents. Many of our soldiers are already there, as you can see. The picture of the big empty circus tent with almost 500 beds in it (bunk-bed style) is where we will be. If you look closely in the back of the tent you can see my friend, Stephen, waving at me while I took the picture. It has been very hot over here this past week (almost 110 degrees), and they say the air conditioning in those tents is not great. Many of our soldiers are already grumbling, but hey, what can you do? And besides, it's only for a short while! You can tolerate just about anything if you know it is temporary. ("Embrace the Suck!" as they say in the Army).

The other picture is of the poster I made for my Chaplain Fun Run last Friday. I organized a run around the base (a total of 8 miles) for our Unit and had 8 soldiers come out and join me. It was the 2nd time I made it all the way around this place, which is a significant achievement for me. I have been active in my PT so far and my weight has dropped steadily because of it. I am down to a weight that I have not seen since college! I hope I can keep it off when I get home. It's easy to get into a routine with exercise here because it is expected of you and the facilities to go work out or run on a treadmill are easily accessible. That will not be the case when I get home unfortunately, so it will take more effort to stay consistent.

Anyway, I packed up and moved out of my room yesterday. It was kind of a weird feeling seeing it all empty (except for a few items I am leaving behind for the new Chaplain). He will go right into my room today and I will move out either to the tents or maybe sleep on a cot in a friend's room for awhile. The problem with moving to the transient tents is that it is hard to get back over here to the office every morning for the daily meetings and to train my new counterpart. So I may be in limbo for the first week before I commit to the other side of town. We'll see how it goes. But I did send home two large trunks and several smaller boxes full of my stuff already. It was good to lighten the load (but not cheap on the postage!). Leaving the room for the last time was a weird feeling because it had been my "home" for most of the last year. I am glad to leave it, don't get me wrong, but it was just a strange feeling nonetheless. So please keep me in your prayers trough this transition. Relationships here are strained. We're tired and people are stressed out... myself included at times. So please pray for God's guidance, safety, and grace. Thank you.

Getting Closer to the End

21 July

It has been a fast but hard week since I last posted a blog entry. Since I no longer pay for the internet in my room, I have to walk over to the USO to do this--which is not as easy as I had hoped--and sometimes you still cannot get on the internet from here (too many people trying to do the same thing at the same time). But I got lucky today!

In the last week I have spent hours packing up my room to get ready to move out next week sometime. My replacement should be here by then, and I will give up my space for him. (Not exactly sure where I'll be staying from here on out, but we'll see. I may be in the big transient soldier tents with hundreds of others!). I have mailed home two large tough boxes and a duffel bag filled with military gear and clothing. We are all trying to pare down to the bare minimum from here on out, because each one of us will be responsible for carrying it all the way home! So the less I have with me the better. In fact, I may even send home one more box just before I leave to get rid of even more stuff right at the very end. My poor wife will not know what to do with it all!

I preached on "Forgiveness" from Genesis 50:15ff and Matthew 6:12, 14-15 last weekend. It went really well, and I received many positive compliments from people who stated it was what they needed to hear. I even had a guy come up to me after the morning service and tell me that he has stayed away from "organized religion" due to being hurt by several church members (including a pastor) in his past. He has attended chapel here sporatically, and decided to come last Sunday. He told me it was as if God wanted him there and that I was speaking just to him! That was a nive pick-me-up. Little did he know that God was also speaking to me through my own sermon! He does that sometimes, you know. I have learned over the years that God can give me an idea that He wants me to develop into a Bible study or sermon message, and it was designed with me in mind, too. Those can be convicting and painful messages for me. Anyway, I plan to preach on "Attitude" this weekend and use a clip from the movie, "Facing the Giants" (where the player does the "death crawl" all the way across the field). It's a great scene of not giving up and keeping a positive attitude. [Again, a message that God is using in my own life, too].

And on top of all that, I came down with a head cold last Saturday. I have the sniffles and cough now, but it is slowly getting better. I hope so, because I have organized a "Chaplain FUN RUN" this Friday morning for anyone who wants to run all the way around the base with me -- a total of 8 miles. So far I have a few takers, so I hope to feel up to it by then!

The pictures, by the way, are of a few new friends who came to my service last weekend. TIMMY and APOLLO are therapy dogs who are part of a new project here in Afghanistan. In fact, they are the first therapy dogs in this country being used by the US Military. The Army is opening up a second Warrior Restoration Center in the south east (the first one is here on my base), and they plan to use the dogs for therapy groups and sessions (much like they do at hospitals back home). I have been invited to lead a few therapy groups at the Warrior Center here over the past year, and think this is a great idea. Anyway, their trainers came through here last weekend and showed up to church! I was glad to have them. (I'm not sure if the dogs enjoyed my sermon, through. Timmy slept through it!)

Half-Gan Man

12 July

OK, I am back at my home base now, and it looks like that was our last trip visiting troops before we leave. I am glad for that, actually. Traveling around this country is hard and tiring, and I am exhausted. We only have a short time to go before this deployment is over, and so we will concentrate on getting our office in shape in time for a hand-off to the new Unit Ministry Team that will be replacing us.

But I wanted to share a few photos that made the last trip a success for me. When I first arrived here last year I was told of a man I had to meet when I was out and about. The Soldiers call him "Half-Gan Man," and you can now tell why. I am sorry if that sounds like an insult, but I actually think it is a term of endearment. The Soldiers love this guy, and look forward to visiting his shop at the bazaar near the city of Ghazni. And so I got a chance to meet him, and he immediately charmed my socks off. He was trying to sell me blue stones that he said were "pure gold," but otherwise he was a lot of fun. His English was pretty good as well, so I was impressed. He also charged $2 for a picture of him (and his shop was covered with pictures of him with Soldiers), so it was obvious he made quite a bit of cash on the side from be photographed! He didn't seem to mind the attention at all.

It will be a busy week for me as I am preparing to preach this Sunday, as well as host a movie night on Friday (we'll be watching "We Are Marshall"), and give a brief presentation to our command group on stress and resiliency. The Army is big on this new concept of Soldier Resiliency (in order to avoid burn-out), and we Chaplains are supposed to be the experts. Nobody realizes that we are just as burned-out as everyone else! So please pray for me, as I will definitely need the help and support to make it strong to the end!

Waiting on the Lord

9 July
I was watching the movie, "Fireproof", the other night and was struck by a song on waiting on the Lord that play about 3/4 of the way through the movie. If you have not seen the movie, by the way, I would highly recommend it. But there is this song playing while the main character, Caleb, is trying to be a good husband and keep going with the "Love Dare" book even though he is not seeing any results. The words of the song really hit me:

I'm waiting, I'm waiting on you Lord, and I am hopeful.
I'm waiting on you Lord, though it is painful.
But patiently... I will wait.

I will move ahead, bold and confident,
Taking every step in obedience...
While I'm waiting!

I will serve you... while I'm waiting;
I will worship... while I'm waiting.
I will not faint, I'll be running the race,
Even while I wait.

I will serve you while I'm waiting;
I will worship while I'm waiting!

What a great song, and I know why it means so much to me now. I have been praying for God's wisdom and guidance on new job opportunities when I return from this deployment (maybe something in the ministry or chaplain-related). But He has been silent on the subject so far. So I wait.

Psalms 37:7 and 46:10 are two of my favorite and they speak directly to waiting on the Lord. But this song also hits the important point that we are still to serve Him and to work diligently while we wait. Even if we're uncomfortable and it's painful, we still need to trust Him and continue serving Him where in our current circumstances (i.e., bloom where you are planted), and wait patiently for God. Another great passage, Jeremiah 29:11-13, tells us that the Lord has a plan for our lives, and it's a good one. So we have to trust in His promises, timing, and provision. Even if it means waiting for awhile! Rather than complaining about my circumstances and my desire for a change, I need to keep praying and continue serving and worshiping Him while I wait.

Reading Material

7 July
This year has given me the opportunity to read quite a bit, and this current trip is no exception. I recently started "Jesus Among Other Gods" by Ravi Zacharias, and have been plodding my way through it. He's very deep and philosophical, and so it's no easy pleasure read. Ravi was born in India in a Hindu society, but became a Christian later in life. He is now a brilliant and outspoken Christian author and lecturer. He goes all over the world teaching and preaching about Christ and debating athiests in liberal and secular universities as well. His work is awesome and I am enjoying his arguments for Christianity, especially against Islam and Hunduism, which he knows well. The message of Christ's love and truthfulness is very much needed over here.

The second book I just picked up yesterday is called "Wisdom of Our Fathers," by Tim Russert. This is the follow up book to his earlier "Big Russ and Me," a book he wrote about his dad. You may rememebr Tim Russert as the political analyst on NBC who died suddenly of a heart attack about 3 years ago. Anyway, this 2nd book is a collection of stories people wrote to him about their own dads after reading his 1st book. The stories are touching and personal and meaningful and have me thinking about my own dad as well as my affect on my children. If nothing else, his book reaffirms the absolute importance of a dad in the lives of his children--sometimes in ways he never knew about or expected. I can't wait to get home and love on my kids! So there I was reading this book in the dining hall last night with tears running down my face, hoping no one was looking! What a sight I must have been.

"God, thank you for my dad, and help me to be a little more like him!" Amen

M.A.S.H. (part 2)

5 July
If you followed my blog back in May of this year, you might remember that I had the privilege of praying for (and traveling with) a soldier critically wounded from a blast and who needed to take a medivac helicopter back to a larger base. Well, I am back visiting that same FOB and the same medical personnel at this surgical hospital. It's very much like MASH the TV show (and my buddy Father Mulcahey-- sp?), except that it's not mobile, as in "Mobile Army Surgical Hospital"). These guys are awesome and save lives every day. It's the busiest forward medical facility in the country, and it's been kind of an honor to work with them. Which I did again today. They called me this afternoon to let me know wounded soldiers were coming in. One young man took shrapnel to his lower legs and needed surgery here before being flown out. I was allowed to stand at the head of his bed and spend time with him -- talking, praying, keeping him occupied -- while the medical crew worked on his legs. He was Catholic but didn't care at all what my denominational preference is... just that I was there. It was a privilege.

I also noticed something interesting last night when the Polish priest led evening Mass at this FOB. The chapel was literally destroyed by a rocket months ago (with no one inside), and since they have not rebuilt it, he holds Mass outside to the Polish soldiers at this location. I noticed that at one point that a Polish soldier played the guitar and sang... in English. He was singing a Top 40s tune I knew (but cannot recall the name) and playing very beautifully on the guitar, but I thought it was interesting that his choice of song was not a religious song and it was in English and not Polish. Maybe translating it to Polish would lose all the rhythm of the words and music, I'm not sure. I guess it doesn't really matter since over here you worship where you can, when you can, and with what you got. I remember leading a field service to about 7 soldiers awhile ago and we got rained on! Oh well. You do the best you can and leave the results up to God.

Prayer Needed

3 July
Happy early 4th of July to all. I will be traveling all next week, so please pray for our safety and ministry efforts. There are serious morale issues going on in this battalion and it is effecting me, too. I believe in Ephesians 6:10-18 and know in my heart there is a spiritual battle going on here, too. We're not just at war with the Taliban over here, but the unseen realm as well. I am being attacked and stretched way beyond my comfort zone and at times feel very alone. I know that I am not, of course, as God's Word tells me that He will never leave me nor forsake me, and I am counting on the promises of Scripture. But it can be very hard nonetheless. I also know that He who is with me is greater than anything working against me, so I take comfort in that knowledge as well. I love the story in the Bible of when Elisha prays that God would open the eyes of his servant to see the hills around them surrounded with angels and chariots of fire ready to protect them (2 Kings 6:15-17). At times I wish I could see that, too! I would value your prayers for me and my troops until this thing is over.

Chess and other Recent Pictures

2 July

Yeah, July is here!! I am sitting in the USO here on my base, having just connected to their free WiFi network. The network administrators here have recently upgraded their filters and now it's almost impossible to get to the internet from your work station. Everything (it seems) is blocked. For example, I cannot even get to http://www.strongbonds.org/, which is a website for Chaplains on single and marriage retreat seminars available to all soldiers after returning from deployments. So I came over here and found out I can work for free from here. I wish I had known this 9 months ago!!

The pictures: A momma bird sitting in her nest near my B-hut "hooch", the dining facility (DFAC) getting ready fot the 4th of July, and two shots of a chess board I recently saw at one of the FOBs I visited. A soldier made this set from hand and was selling it. I did not inquire as to the price, but I thought his creation was pretty impressive. Note that it's a chess game of the "good guys" vs. the "bad guys."

And finally, a special thank you to a few friends from my church who helped set up a basketball hoop for my oldest daughter on her birthday. Thanks for helping make her day special guys. I appreciate it and thank God for good friends.