Finally Made It!

31 Oct 09
I made it to my final destination a few days ago, safe and sound. It has been a weird experience flying to the other side of the world and joing an international community at this particular location. For safety reasons I will not state exactly where I am located or what I am doing, but I will try to keep you informed and amused with my activities. So let's get you caught up...
(1) We flew through New Hamshire on the way to Germany and then the Middle East. At the airport in NH a large group of USO and VFW members came out to greet us and serve us coffee and send us off again. It was great. Not to mention it was at 2:30am their time. What a blessing those volunteers were to us. And I'm looking forward to seeing them on the return trip, too! They presented the Chaplain with free phone cards for all the Soldiers, too. I got to be Santa back on board the airplane.
(2) The plane flight was exhausting. See the pictures. We all but missed a full day by flying East like that. We stayed about 2 hours in Germany at the airport and then kepy going. It felt like daylight for a few hours and then it was night again. We landed at another location for a temporary stop for 6-8 hours before moving on again. We shared space in a big open bay with Soldiers from Poland. My first experience with the coalition forces over here.
(3) Home sweet home... or at least for awhile. The Chaplain and his assistant greeted us when we finally landed here at our destination. The final flight was aboard an Air Force jet. We all sat in those net cargo seats, and the engine was deafening (but we all had ear plugs in and it made it easier). However, my body armor (which we all had to wear), was pushing down on my bladder and it made for a very long flight (since there is no potty on those things!!)
Anyway, we got here and finally got settled into our rooms.
(4) My room: The pictures will not do it justice, but we are all now in wooden shacks built years ago to house our forces. It's like a shanty town where we are living. The walls are plywood. I have a space about 10x8, which is feels like a prison cell (but with no toilet!). The bathroom is a port-a-john right outside my hut, and the showers are about 100 yards away. Right now there is a lot of construction going on here and everything is dirty. Dust is everywhere. They make us wash our hands before going into the mess hall for meals, but other than that, this is a pretty dirty place! Bottled water and hand sanitizer is very prevalent here!
(5) Tidbits of information: (a) We had an earth quake here a few nights ago, but I missed it. They said it was a 6.0 on the scale, but I was at the gym on a treadmill, so I never felt a thing. (b) The only laundry available is to have it sent out with a service here which utilized local national workers. I hear they steal things every now and then, especially women's underwear. Some of our female Soldiers are pretty uncomfortable about that. I don't mind. They can steal my women's underwear all they want! (c) And finally, the food here is unbelievable! There are several dining halls here and they are all like eating at Luby's! There is so much food served here it is mind-boggling. And some of it is actually pretty good! I can see why some Soldiers gain weight on these deployments.
Gotta run for now. I'll post more soon. See ya....

Seasons of Change

24 Oct 09
Well, I'm back at my training site again. I was able to go home for an extended period of time due to the funeral, but all good things must come to an end. I had to come back! It was hard being back here that first night, standing in formation in the cold and darkness, wondering what my family was doing at that very moment. No fun. But God is good. He gives you the strength to carry on when you serve him, especially when Satan is trying to discourage you and get you to quit. That's when you need to hang in there the most, and stay in the game and continue the fight.

I am going to sneak in a favorite Bible verse in an invocation prayer I have to give today. This one speaks to me personally...
"...but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not grow faint" (Isaiah 40:31).

God spoke to Joshua to be strong and courageous. He told him that He (God) would never leave him nor forsake him. I love that verse (Joshua 1:9) because it gives me strength as well. But earlier, God spoke to Moses (Deut. 1:6) in a way that also speaks to me here at this training. I have entered a new season of my life--in more ways than one. Several family members have recently gone home to be with the Lord, and I am now far away from those I love the most. But God is using this time of training in my life (and theirs), and He promises to never leave us nor forsake us. I like that! Thank you, God.
I'll Talk you you all again soon.

Dad's Funeral

18 Oct 09

We said goodbye to my dad at his funeral yesterday. It was held as my parent's church, and quite a few people showed up. Friends from old neighborhoods, jobs, and churches came to pay their last respects to my dad and several stood to share memories and pay a final tribute. It was a nice ceremony. My dad had asked me to give the message a few months ago, and I was honored to do so. I broke down a bit at first, but many prayers and kleenex got me through it! I could not have asked for a better earthly father. He loved us, encouraged us, taughted us, disciplined us, supported our sports and music, etc... He was there for us.

I will miss you dad, but I know you're in a better place... and I know I'll see you again someday soon in Heaven! Thank you, God, for my dad.

Goodbye Dad

14 Oct 09

A Sad day. My dad lost his 3-year battle with cancer yesterday (Tuesday, Oct. 13). He passed away in a hospice facility around 1:30 pm. He fought a good fight and showed us how to have faith all the way to the end.

I love you dad, and will miss you dearly. I know you are in a better place and I know that I will see you again when we all get to heaven. (ps: tell Jesus I said HI, would ya?)

I read this poem just today in the funeral home. It's called "Come to Me."

God saw you getting tired, and a cure was not to be, so He put His arms around you, and whispered, "Come Home to me." With tearful eyes, we watched you suffer, and saw you fade away. Although we couldn't bear to lose you, we could not ask you to stay. A golden heart stopped beating, hard working hands laid to rest. God broke our hearts to prove to us, that He only takes the Best." (Author unknown).

I'll go home and spend time with family for a few days before returning to the military training. My dad asked me to officiate at his funeral, and I will be honored to do that. (This picture was taken back in March, 2009, on his 76th birthday). I love you dad.

Memorial Service

8 Oct 09

It has been a hard few days recently, based largely on the specific training I have received this week. They are training the Unit Ministry Team (UMT) to be proficient on topics such as suicidal awareness and counseling, traumatic event management and debriefing, caring for the wounded and dying, and memorial services. Needless to say, it has been a heavy week.

Part of the training included attending an actual memorial ceremony for three Soldiers killed in action in AFG on Sept. 24, 2009. My assistant and I sat in the back and observed, and it was pretty powerful. You could not help but to be moved by the whole experience. I was in tears and I did not even know these Soldiers. It got me thinking just how precious life really is, and that it can be taken from you/us in a heartbeat. God has called me to do something very emotionally difficult, and I can only hope I minister well to my Soldiers if ever we have to go through this. I know that I'll have to lead a mock ceremon as part of my training, but I hope I never have to do the real thing with these guys.

(I found this picture on-line, and it is a good representation of the actual stand they create for a fallen Soldier with boots, helmet, weapon and dog-tags displayed in tribute. Once you hear the last role call followed by a 21-gun salute and then TAPS being played, it makes your skin crawl). Please continue praying for our Soldiers in harms way.

Bed-Time Stories

3 Oct. 09

I had a good laugh at breakfast his morning after learning about a Soldier who played a pretty good practical joke on his buddies last night. This particular Soldier had to leave very early this morning (4am) to catch a flight back home due to a family emergency. Before he left, however, he set his battery-operated alarm clock to go off at 4:30am, and he put it inside his foot locker and locked it shut. This alarm makes the sound of a rooster crowing, and apparently it got pretty loud. The other Soldiers could not figure out where it was coming from, and then could not figure out how to make it shut up! So they put up with it for an hour until it quit on its own! I'm pretty sure they will retailate on their buddy once he gets back here in a few days, but for now, that Soldier got away with it and I'm sure he was smiling on the plane ride this morning!

I am attaching a picture of the barracks where most of the Soldiers sleep. We have many 2-story buildings like this one. They call it an "open bay," and you can see numerous bunk beds on both sides of the room. About 50 men can sleep in this building (25 per floor). Not much privacy, that's for sure. And they turn on the great big fan by the door at night (even when it's freezing), to drown out the SNORING!