Happy New Year 2010

Jan 31, 2009

It's early in the evening for me, and I'm putting away gear and clothing from a recent trip. I have been gone for the last few days visiting a FOB near the Pakistan border (kind of freaky). Our Soldiers are pretty busy there, as one can imagine. It was a nice place, just for the record, but I'm always glad to get back to my own little "hooch" at my base. I will try to upload a few pictures from this trip, including a mountain view from the airplane.

I understand there will be a New Year's Eve gathering tonight, but I'm gonna lay low and stay indoors. I may watch a movie in my room on my computer and go to bed early. Boy, just saying that makes me feel old 'cause that's what old people do!!! I think I heard that some battalions have lifted the general order prohibiting alcohol for this one night. Some companies will allow their Soldiers one beer tonight to celebrate. You should see how excited some of these guys are for that one beer! It's crazy. The DFAC will serve non-alcoholic champagne tomorrow, and that's good enough for me. I will hit the New Year before most of you reading this, so I will lift a toast to you sometime tomorrow (around my lunch-time).

Well, here we are... at the end of 2009. Truthfully, I'm glad. It has been a hard year, as many of you know. If you've been following this blog for awhile you will understand. We've lost several loved one this past year and I was gone a lot. And tough circumstances change you. But I believe now that we have the choice if they change us for the better or worse and I'm working on the better. As I look ahead I see possibilities and change. God is changing me through all of this, and I like what He's doing. Sometimes God uses difficult experiences to strip away everything that keeps you from Him. Pruning is painful, but healthy, and I sort of feel like that's what He's doing in my life. Yes, life will be different when I get home, there is no doubt of that. But just exactly what it will look like is anyone's guess at this point. Except the Lord. I know He has my/our future in His hands and that's good enough for me.

So thank you to everyone who supported us over the last year through your prayers or help. I really appreciate it and thank God for you all. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers over the next year, too, will ya? Thank you.

After Christmas Thoughts

26 Dec 09
It is the morning after Christmas for me and all is well. It was a good Christmas, I must admit. If you have to be away from home, I suppose this was not a bad way to do it or a bad place to be. I was able to attend a worship service in the morning, and then I went with my fellow junior officers and helped serve food to the other Soldiers coming through one of the dining facilities. That was fun --- although I would not want that job day in and day out! Boy, those guys work hard! Then, in the afternoon, I went for a run with one of the male officers who has become a good friend (he's the guy with the blue gloves and the big smile in the food service picture above). The weather here has been wonderful recently, so it made for a great day. After a huge dinner (they feed us well on the major holidays), I finished off the night with a movie. The main chapel was showing "The Nativity Story" in the early evening and since I had never seen it, I thought it would be a nice way to end a good day. The Lord gave me activities and friends and worship to get me through the day.

I hope it was also a wonderful Christmas for you, where ever that may be.

Merry Christmas

Dec 24, 2009
It's actually Christmas Eve as I write this. I am about to go to sleep, but my family is just getting up back home. They already opened one of my packages and enjoyed a few things I mailed them from here. They will spend the evening with family and have a wonderful, traditional Christmas. And I am glad, as I know they will be well cared for and happy. Merry Christmas girls! Dad loves you.

A wonderful thing happened after the Christmas Eve candle-light service tonight. The main chapel here received almost 2000 Christmas stockings (which we all filled with the care packages also received over the last month), and we brought hundreds of them to the service tonight to give away at the conclusion. Many of the service men and women did take a stocking after the service as expected. But what we did not expect was the number of local Afghan men (who work here on base) who also showed up afterwards, too. No, they did not come to the service, but word spread quickly that free stuff was available from the chapel -- and they came out of the woodwork! We had about 50 men going through the boxes and taking the stockings. A few of the Chaplains stayed around to help clean up and we commented that these Muslim men were being blessed by Christian generosity and gifts. Some of the stockings had Christian literature in them (some had Daily Bread devotionals and New Testaments!). I truly doubt many will be read (due to the language barrier), but some might. God works in strange and mysterious ways sometimes! We were more than happy to let them take whatever they wanted. It was awesome.

In fact, I was so moved by the scene that I ran to my office and grabbed the last box of Christmas stockings from my own church back home. I took them back to the men and every one of them disappeared in minutes! These men seemed so impressed to be given free stuff that they were very thankful to those of us standing there. I'll bet that those of you back home who donated gifts to us over here never imagined that they would end up in the home of an Afghan family on a cold winter night. Christmas Eve, to be exact. Trust me, the Soldiers on this base are not lacking for anything. But many of the local nationals are so poor, that a warm pair of socks or a knitted hat (not to mention a tooth brush, soap, and candy) might have made their Christmas a whole lot better -- even if they do not know this Jesus whom we worship and celebrate! Now if that's not a "God-thing", I don't know what is!

Thank you God, for allowing me to be a part of that. And thank you all back home who made it possible by giving to us over here, and to those why truly needed it. Jesus came to love and to give, and that's what He asks of us. I hope you remember that tomorrow. Keep your eyes on Jesus Christ, for He's the reason for the season. Merry Christmas!

Commotion in the DFAC

Tues 22 Dec 09
A funny thing happened in the dining facility (DFAC) last night. But before I can tell you the story, I need to give you some background info about hair styles in the military. As you know, length of hair is regulated in the Army (as well as the other branches of service). Men are not allowed to wear their hair longer than a certian length, except for specific purposes (i.e., some guys can wear a beard, etc). The rules also apply to the women, too. For example, the regulations specify that a woman cannot cut her hair so short so as to be mistaken for a man! No lie. She cannot shave her head bald, or have a crew cut or flat top or high and tight, etc... If a women lets her hair grow, it must be no longer than down to her neck line (or something like that), or if she lets it grow beyond that she must be able to wear it up in a bun during working hours. Ok, got all that???

Well, I said all that to say this.... last night at dinner I was trying to find a seat in the chow hall (did you catch the Army lingo?) and noticed a woman in front of me with long, flowing blonde hair. She was totally out of regulation! And my first thought was, "Hey, why does she get to wear her hair like that? She's donna get in trouble...!" But then I noticed all the men turning their heads to stare at her, and then I saw it. Printed across her jacket, were the letters: C-O-W-B-O-Y-S. And then I knew who she was.

The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders are here for a USO visit (or at least some of them are). And you should have seen all the commotion these ladies caused in the DFAC during dinner. There were four of the cheerleaders sitting in various spots around the room (they split up and sat with Soldiers), and guys were giving themselves neck cramps trying to find them and/or get pictures with them. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was here last week, and nobody cared. But these women show up and the place goes nuts. There is almost as must commotion here today as when the Fox NFL show was in town a month or so ago!

But, just for the record, I didn't see anything. Nooooo sir, I closed my eyes and ate alone and tried to memorize Scripture during dinner! Yeah, that's the ticket. That's what I did. I barely noticed they were in the room. (The woman I saw was the one on the right in the poster above -- at least that's what someone told me!) That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Christmas Week

Mon 21 Dec 09
Did I tell you that my wife sent me 12 gifts to open in the 3 weeks leading up to Christmas? It has been a lot of fun opening one every-other day. I had to disciplne myself not to rip them all open weeks ago, and it has been worth it. It gives me something to look forward to at the end of the day. So far she's given me the picture of her and the girls, two Casting Crowns music CDs (which I love), a few movies (like "Blue Collar Comedy" with Jeff Foxworthy), and the latest gift was a citrus smelling air freshener for my room! Since I share a small building with 5 other guys her gift was right on the money! And greatly appreciated. I suppose this place could use a woman's touch every now and then...

Well, it's Christmas week and things are pretty busy around here. I am please how much religious activity will take place here --even in a war zone. There is Christmas caroling on Wednesday night, several worship services on Thursday night (including a candlelight Protestant service and a midnight Catholic Mass), and then more services on Christmas day for Protestant, Catholic and Lutherans. The Pagan service is tonight, by the way (winter solstice, I think). Yup, we got that here, too. I will probably miss that one but I have to be aware of it as I have 2 in my Unit who prefer the pagan or "Earth religions" to the other options. The guy who leads that service here used to be a Christian. I would like to hear his story sometime to understand where and why his own spiritual journey took a turn. Tragic.

As for spiritual journeys... I am aware of a few things God is doing in my life already since being here. I finished reading a book by one of my favorite authors, John Eldredge, called Walking with God. I enjoyed in enough to order his best-seller called, Wild at Heart. I read that one years ago, but decided to go through it again. There are things in there about understanding a man's heart that I would recommend for any guy, any dad, and any mom of little boys. I think God is speaking to me through these two books recently. I also started a daily devotional on the computer for our battalion and have received many good comments in return. Some of our Soldiers would not be caught dead with a Bible on their desk, but they can access a file and read a daily devotional! Which they are doing. And finally, I made a commitment to read the Bible through over the next year (maybe by the time I return home). So I made that outline available to the Soldiers on the computer as well. Some were asking for Bible-reading helps, and I was more than happy to give them some of my resources.

The pictures are from our recent Christmas party. Some of the guys were playing Wii in a covered shed area. It was fun. My church friends will recognize the red stockings on the tables! They made for great decorations! We're sending them out as fast as we can. By the way, I almost forgot to tell you that I ran in a 5K road race this past Saturday morning. It was called the "Jingle Bells 5K". I did not get there early enough to get a cool T-shirt, but at least I can say I did it (finally). You should have seen me, dressed up in multiple layers, gloves (with hand warmers), hat, etc. I looked like an eskimo, and some of these young 20-something studs were out there in shorts and a T-shirt! At 5:30 in the am. Idiots.

So that's about it for now. Pray for my mom and she'll be spending a white Christmas with my brother's family on the East Coast. It should be fun. And my wife will have some quality time with her side of the family this Christmas as well. It's all good. God has us in His hands this season, and I feel blessed in His love. Take care, keep your eyes on Jesus this Christmas, and tell your family you love them before the time gets away from you. Merry Christmas!

The Week Before Christmas

17 Dec 09

We are working hard to send out all of the care packages we are receiving from all over the country. My assistant signed us up for several on-line programs where people can send gifts and care packages and stockings to us for the holidays. It has been an amazing thing to see all of the generosity from total strangers who want to support the Troops. And a special thank you to my very own church who sent more Christmas stockngs than I can count! Our office is filled with your boxes, by the way. But it is an honor to get to play Santa to the Soldiers because I then send them out to our troops at the FOBs out in the hills. Some of those guys don't get much access to the store, so the gifts are very much appreciated.

I am attaching a recent photo of myself sitting in one of our convoy vehicles. I don't go with the teams that drive these massive vehicles, but they asked me to be there when they left to say a prayer for their safety and to bless the truck! Not a problem. I was happy to do so.

I also just started a Men's Bible study group this past week. I sent out an email to see if there was any interest, and had 13 guys respond immediately. I am excited about the possibilities and would appreciate your prayers on this new ministry opportunity. Thanks.

More Pictures

Pictures from the first snow fall of the winter and recent trip. These are a few friends who posed for me in while it was snowing. The other three are from the FOB I visited. One picture of the local village has a shepherd with his flock in the foreground. Not much grass, though. Notice the walls and the "compounds" that dot the country-side. I love the mountains here!

New Week, New Travels

Dec 14, 09
I've noticed recently the date I type in does not match the date Blogger has officially listed. They seem to be a day behind. Well anyway, it's Monday morning, and we just returned from another trip to check on our Soldiers who are out and about. It's getting cold here (and so I'm wearing the black ski-mask my mom knit for me!), and the mountains are spectacular covered in white. We went to a FOB (forward operating base) south of my home base and enjoyed some local hospitality. We ate at a local restaurant (located on the FOB) and went shopping at some of the stores owned by local nationals. Kind of like going to the Bizaar all over again, but somewhat better (although not much). Most of the stuff you can buy is junk, including pirated movies. Thet's big over here. Someone sits in the back of a theater in China or Russia with a video camera and films a brand new movie, and then they copy it over and over again and sell it for $2 over here. Many service men and women buy that junk all the time -- but it's illegal to ship it home. So why bother? But it's big business to the militray on deployment.

I tried to get a few pictures from the helicopter ride looking down on the landscape passing by. I'll try to upload a shot of a village with the square "compound" looking buildings. They are all over the country-side. I'm not sure why, but maybe it's kind of like our backyard block walls and fences. In that regards, we're all kind of similar, no matter where you live. We build walls around our stuff to protect it, our families, and keep others out.

Anyway, I hope you are all doing well back home, as I miss you all. Things here are good. You kind of get into a routine on deployment. They call it Groundhog Day , after the movie with Bill Murray (because every day starts to feel like the last and the next). Rent the movie sometime, it's funny.

Did I mention that my wife sent me 12 presents to be opened on the 12 days leading up to Christmas? The very first one I opened was a wonderful framed picture of her and the girls that they had done professionally at our church. I love it. So I put it on my shelf and look at them every day. Thanks honey. I love you.

Night time on the computer

It is Tues 8 Dec. 09,

And I wanted to test my wireless abilities this morning from the shop that sets up our internet capabilities. I thought I was still having trouble, so I brought my computer up here and they "fixed" it. We'll see. So I decided to upload another picture to see if they truly did fix the problem.

The picture is of me sitting on my bed at night doing exactly what I'm doing now: emailing or blogging (or some times watching a movie). It's kind of cozy in my shack, so this is often how I spend my late evenings before going to sleep. See ya later.

Christmas packages

Tues. 8 Dec 09

It has been a busy and interesting week since I last blogged. I had some internet trouble, but that seems to have been resolved. I have received many wonderful care packages from friends and family back home, including gifts from my kids and lights from my mom. I have decorated my little shack with the lights already, and it feels a little bit more like Christmas. So thank you.

Not too much new to tell you. However, I did notice an interesting woman in the gym the other day. I say notice her because she was wearing shorts and had tatoos on both of her knee caps. That was probably pretty painful! Anyway, it's cold here, and no one wears shorts! So I suspect she wants you to see her knees. I saw that she was lifting weights and doing one of the same exercises I was doing. But then it hit me... she was lifting the exact same weight as I was on that exercise!! Boy was I embarrassed. So I decided to show her up. I was not going to be beaten by a knee-tatooed Air Force woman... so I added 5 pounds to my bar! (Yes sir, that showed her up for sure!)

My kids sent me a wonderful picture of a Christmas tree, which I immediately put up in the office. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

One Month Down

3 Dec 09
It's official. We've been here in country over 30 days now, which means we qualify for a combat patch on our right shoulder. I understand this tradition may go back to Gen. George Washington, but we know for sure it has been utilized since WWI. Over here we fall under the leadership of the 82nd Airborne Division, so we are authorized to wear their patch, the "AA". There are many jokes around regarding what "AA" stands for, as you can imagine. Officially it means All American, but some say it means Almost Airborne. Oh well. It's a pretty big deal in the militray to have one of these, so I'll wear it with pride. For example, my Colonel worked 24 years before she got her patch, so it is kind of a career maker (or in her case, icing on the cake).

I also recently got to meet the top General in the entire Army Reserves recently. 3-star General Stultz. He came and addressed us last week and then posed for a photo-op. Pretty cool, huh?

And now that December is upon us... we have a new office and a new Christmas tree. Our company Commander's husband sent us a "live" tree, so we put it up two days ago and then had a party in our new and larger office (see photo. The little tree seen here is not the live one). It was fun. Other than that, all is well. We're into a groove now and the Units are operating smoothly. I am busy with helping out at two different protestant worship services here on base, which is keeping me busy. In fact, I preach at one of them this Sunday night! Keep me in your prayers.