Hanging at Kandahar Airbase

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 17:54:11 GMT

Well I have progressed much since my last post- in time at least. I know the date says my last blog was posted February 26, but it was actually written in late January. For some reason I lost the message within this website. Being new to this whole blog thing, I did not know how to retrieve it? But I figured it out today, by mistake mostly. So there are my thoughts about one month ago.

Now, today I have some new thoughts to add to this site. I am so sorry it has taken so long to re-post, but things have been hectice and I have been too tired to write down my thoughts. No excuses allowed.

I have been at Kandahar Airbase (KAF) for nearly a month now and life is not that bad. Really! I have a nice room, internet in my room, great food, a nice office surrounded by other US chaplains and a nice chapel to work in. You may be saying, Kandahar Airbase? I thought you were going to Naray...right? You are right, I was supposed to go to Naray, but things changed on us enroute to Afghanistan. I was laid over in Germany for several days before we got the word of the change. Needless to say we were shocked to hear the news, especially so late in the game. We were prepared for our mission and ready to go in a matter of days! However, with the change of location came a change of mission. This new mission has us working in a different Area of Operation, under a new command structure. We now fall under NATO vs. our own unit.

This change has caused us to spend a little time to train for our new mission. This training has been good and we are ready for what is ahead of us. The days are long and the tasks are many, but we paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division are capable to carry out our mission. For me I operate under a different context of ministry but with the same methods. My context has changed as I work with an international staff of chaplains- Canadian, British, Dutch and Romanian. I am also working collegially with many other US chaplains from the Army and Air Force. The benefits of this mission change is the fact that I am not alone in having to do everything on my own. This is a true blessing! My biggest concern for this deployment was not enemy contact, but burnout from ministry. I was worried I would be overtaxed from having to preach and teach multiple times a week for a whole year! That is not the case at KAF, since we can split the preaching duties to once a month. WHEW!

I am so blessed to be able to email and call Michelle often. Our conversations have been health to the soul as we can hear each others voices from 1000's of miles away. Michelle is a very special woman to me and I appreciate her very much! I would also like to give a shout out to Pupito, our furry liitle dog-child. :) The Lord has been so good through my times of prayer and study of His Word. The chapel services have been great too. I thank God for such good God-fearing chaplains surrounding me.

I have had many opportunities to talk and minister to many of the troopers within my battalion. God is giving me an opportunity to speak into many lives, and I am so blessed. I know it is only with his strength I am able to minister to these young men, since my scope of ministry experience is limited. However, those 5 years of campus ministry experience are paying off. The Lord has been good to me.

Soon I will actually have to leave the friendly confines of KAF and head out into the "highways and by-ways" of Afghanistan. I am really not concerned since I know God's protection will be there with me. I pray that he will protect all those who will also be operating in that same battlespace. Please keep us in your prayers.

Until later, may God richly bless you... AMEN

Reflections on a year past and a year of deployment

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 16:51:47 GMT

WOW, another year has come and gone, just having a recent birthday on February 3rd. Thirty-Four years of life stare at me causing me to reflect on life. Coupled with a current deployment I am also faced with an impending range of emotions from excitement to nervousness. So many questions are still unaswered, but I guess I will never be able to fathom the great mysteries of a loving God. My understanding is limited, as it should be, because I am a flawed human and NOT God. If I had the power of the Almighty I would definately mess things up worst than it may appear now to our human senses.

I had a great time at my pre-birthday party, spending time and cutting-up with some of my closest friends. I tend to act like a different person when I am around family and friends. My personality becomes more sanguine/extrovertive and less plegmatic/introvertive. It is quite the Jeckl and Hyde, in a humorous way, as I am in my comfort zone. I may tend to go a little overboard in having fun with my friends but it is truly a mark of my endearment towards them... in a juvenile 12 year-old type of way, I guess. I hope they can appreciate how I express my affection towards them, bad jokes included!!!

Airborne Chaplain

Hanging at Kandahar Airbase

Reflections on a year past and a year of deployment