Tense Times

First off, I cannot thank you all enough for your prayers and support.  I have received notes and emails from many of you just letting me know that you care.  We also received a few boxes from “operation care and Comfort” on the 22^nd which was a huge lift to our spirits and to the Soldiers in our area.  Along with the prayers and support has come some questions that many of you have about all that has been happening in the past few days.

If you have seen the news then you know all about the issues, and might even know more than I do.  What I know is that at this point my Soldiers are safe and are out of harms way.  When the conflict and tension was at its worst, I will admit that the thought came to me that of my 900 some Soldiers, I am the only one without a weapon.  That is a humbling thought.  Praise the lord for the hedge of protection around this base, and my Soldiers.  And thank God for my assistant! 

Currently, my Soldiers are frustrated, and we are all hoping that we can work through this time with as little conflict as possible.  The cold weather has been nice because it keeps people indoors for the most part which will hopefully mean that everyone has more time to let angers settle down before it warms up.  As many of you know, I am a part of a Sustainment Brigade which has lots of different kinds of units within it.  For example, I am the chaplain for an ordinance unit, finance, postal, customs, HHC (higher headquarters), the riggers, and the retro-sort yard.  We are logistics which means that our biggest concern over the past few days is how to get the necessary supplies out to all the Soldiers that require them.  Imagine how stressed out we can get in making sure that all the smaller bases have everything they need, especially in very difficult conditions or times of conflict.  As the days go on, it seems that things are returning more towards normal, but lots of people are still on edge.  Over the past three days, I have given 14 different briefings to Soldiers in regards to proper ways to handle religious materials.  Tonight I will give my last two and then I can give my voice a rest for a while.  

Thanks for the prayers and support! 

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines day to you all.  I am really happy to say that we were able to pull off our "operation rosebud" on Saturday and it was a great success.  What we did is contact a florist local to Ft. Drum and worked it out so that he would supply a single rose for each spouse/significant other of our deployed Soldiers here at Bagram.  Then, we had each of the Soldiers type a love note to send via email to the FRG (Family Readiness Group) at Drum.  The FRG then printed out the notes, then matched it with a rose.  Then, the FRG planned and executed a brunch meeting for all the spouses/significant others.  At the meeting, we set up a video conference and each soldier got to spend 15 minutes with their spouse and family.  What great fun!  I laughed to myself a little because we had a couple of spouses that didn't want to get in on the conference because they are working on losing weight and want it to be a surprise for the Soldiers when they get home.  I have good access to skype, but it is so blurry that there are a lot of small details that you forget when you haven't seen your loved ones a such a long time.  It is also interesting how God works.  I has just walked out the door from sitting down with my family when the a leader looks at me with a deer in the headlights look and says "chappie, we need you right now!"  I went from playing drums on the table with Ethan and singing "deep and wide" to helping a Soldier that is facing being kicked out of the army.  They feel like everyone hates them and is doing everything they can just to make their time left as miserable as possible.  As we talked and grieved together, I still had "deep and wide" going through my head. 

For those praying for us:
    I ask that you pray for all the Soldiers that have had close calls with injuries or death.  The tendency is to just roll on and ignore it, but then all the stress and anxiety comes to the surface in other ways.  Please pray that they get the help they need as soon as the possibly can. 

Thank you all for your prayers and your support! 
And happy valentines day! 

Whats been going on.

                I apologize for not posting anything in the past month.  It is hard to believe that the weeks have gone by as quickly as they have.  Two of our attempts to visit Soldiers at other FOBS has been cancelled due to weather.  On the last trip I was really excited because we were able to get on a plane and flew halfway to our destination.  Unfortunately we were turned around mid-trip and sent back because of the snow and fog.  

One of the things I love about this job is that even when plans are forced to change, I am still able to minister to our Soldiers.  As soon as we got back into the office after the cancelled flight, A Soldier with issues back home walked in and asked to talk.  It's great how we make our plan, but God guides out path. 

The Pinata that Lindsay Sent me for my birthday has taken on a life of its own.  Every month our Battalion gets together for a meal we spend a little while telling stories about the funny things that have happened since the last month.  Since we are the “muleskinners,” it is only fitting that the person who has done the most embarrassing thing should have to keep a donkey with them until we meet again.   At first they were going to just give out certificates to the winner, but the pinata was just too good of a “prize.”

CH Mead and SGT Webb picking up our latest delivery of care packages!

One of the great blessings is seeing all the support that we get from people back in the states.  These care packages are from different groups that send us stuff every month or so.  Because of their support and care, our many of our Soldiers do not have to purchase toiletries, and snacks (unless they are picky).  Through the K-cups that were donated all the way down to the flip-flops, our Soldiers are blown away by how much care and support they get from people that do not even know them.  One person Soldier was really moved by us giving her a blanket that we received in a care package.

  One of the reasons that I have been too busy to update the blog lately has been that one of our chaplains has been gone for RandR.  This meant that I had to cover down for him on all his duties.  His unit is a transportation unit which means that are the brave Soldiers to drive supplies from point A to where ever it needs to go.  The Chaplain will always be there for the convoy brief to give a prayer/devotion/thought of the day for the Soldiers before they leave on their trip.  Then the Soldiers grab a meal and leave for the trip.  

 

For those praying for us:  

     We are in the phase of this deployment that we are realizing that this is not just a field exercise.  We are here for a year, and instead of being able to go home to our families, we are living with those we work with.  Needless to say, this means that there are growing pains as we continue to live, work, fight, laugh, and eat with the same people, day in, and day out.  Just like any close family...  

     Also, I ask that you pray for Gods protection for our troops.  IDF stands for Indirect Fire, and there have been a lot of them in the past two months.  Thankfully, not of our Soldiers has been injured, and many of the rounds have been duds. 

     Oh!  I have also found out that our church service is going to be changing in march.  We will be combining with some of the other Religious Support Teams to provide a service at the main chapel.  Please pray that God use us as mighty instruments as we lead services for those who are hungry for God.