Its Sunday afternoon here. We have a chapel service that meets at 1000 on Sunday mornings and today was one of the best services since we have been here. As we walked to the DFAC afterwards I just kept saying "whew" under my breath because God is just so good!
Our service is supported by three chaplains, myself, the Brigade Chaplain, and another Battalion Chaplain. The rotation that we have is that one chaplain will preach, one will be the liturgist, and the third will have the Sunday off. On the Sundays that I am not preaching I help lead the worship by singing while my assistant plays the keyboard. Today, the Brigade Chaplain was the liturgist, the other BN Chaplain was the preacher, and I helped with music.
This has been a long and difficult week. The chaplain that preached today was not sure that he would make it back in time because he was stuck at a FOB. The brigade chaplain has faced some struggles this week with all the different details of all the Religious Support Teams in the area, and I felt worn out. For me it feels more like being weighed down by everything that my Soldiers are going through. When I sit down in the crap of life with Soldiers, it sticks to me a little bit and I have to find times to refresh myself and clean some of that stuff off.
So, you have three tired Chaplains who would probably all say that they were not "feeling it" as the walked into that service this morning. And yet, right there God shows up, rocks our socks off, and then with a smile points at us and says, "See! It's not about you, its about me! It does not matter what you feel or don't. It does not matter how tired you are or what burdens you are carrying. This is about me and I am ready so hold on!" ... whew! Praise the Lord!
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Friday, August 10, 2012
About two months to go!
I am so happy that the month of July is done with! For whatever reason, a number of us knew that it was going to be a tough month. On top of the difficult times, three months is just too far away to be getting ready to go home. All of us have our missions to complete, and that does not stop until the day that our replacements take over.
Now, with closer to two months to go, I am letting myself think a little more about coming home. What fun to think about being able to celebrate my birthday, thanksgiving, Christmas, Ethan's birthday, and new years (and on top of all those add my mothers birthday, two sisters-in-law, and my sisters birthday... forgive me if i forgot someone)!
But enough of that, I want to share some good news. My assistant and I are currently in the middle of a battlefield circulation. We flew out on Wednesday, spent the night in another area and flew back to Bagram for less than a day before we hopped on another flight. In my time at Bagram I started my usual pattern of getting all my dirty clothes to the laundry, and cleaning my room and my gear. I just happened to walk through one of the recreation areas (to talk smack to some Soldiers about ping-pong) and a Soldier walked up to me and asked if we could talk outside for a little bit. I said sure, and we walked out to the smoke shack and there, after talking for a while he re-dedicated his life to the Lord. "I feel an empty hole in my life and nothing seems to be able to fill it," he told me as we talked. As we talked, prayed, and even shed some tears. Good stuff. I ask that you pray for this Soldier as he makes these first steps in deepening his relationship with God. I also ask that you pray me as I chat, share, and pray with this Soldier.
Once I get back home I hope to be able to add some pictures.
Thank you for your prayers!
Now, with closer to two months to go, I am letting myself think a little more about coming home. What fun to think about being able to celebrate my birthday, thanksgiving, Christmas, Ethan's birthday, and new years (and on top of all those add my mothers birthday, two sisters-in-law, and my sisters birthday... forgive me if i forgot someone)!
But enough of that, I want to share some good news. My assistant and I are currently in the middle of a battlefield circulation. We flew out on Wednesday, spent the night in another area and flew back to Bagram for less than a day before we hopped on another flight. In my time at Bagram I started my usual pattern of getting all my dirty clothes to the laundry, and cleaning my room and my gear. I just happened to walk through one of the recreation areas (to talk smack to some Soldiers about ping-pong) and a Soldier walked up to me and asked if we could talk outside for a little bit. I said sure, and we walked out to the smoke shack and there, after talking for a while he re-dedicated his life to the Lord. "I feel an empty hole in my life and nothing seems to be able to fill it," he told me as we talked. As we talked, prayed, and even shed some tears. Good stuff. I ask that you pray for this Soldier as he makes these first steps in deepening his relationship with God. I also ask that you pray me as I chat, share, and pray with this Soldier.
Once I get back home I hope to be able to add some pictures.
Thank you for your prayers!
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