troop letter: I am so grateful

August 27, 2010

We’re coming Home-Sweet-Home!  See ya!

Hello to you from rainy Afghanistan,

Yes, it’s pouring down rain right now, which we are told is spurred on by the flooding in Pakistan.  I had originally thought that the rain would be great for all the agriculture and farming for the Afghanis, but actually the torrent of precipitation has been quite a detriment to summer wheat.  So there are no winners out here.  Yet my unit, the 203rd Engineers are winners as we leave here in just a few weeks (yes weeks).  For security reasons, I cannot specify flight times, but I will be back in time for my birthday (and those who celebrate OCT birthdays).  Tonight I have finally found time to give you perhaps the last of a long series of newsletters of my work as the Chaplain of a great groups of Soldiers of the 203rd Engineers from Joplin, Missouri, USA.

There is a sense of accomplishment here as we feel the joy of going home again!  I hear from many of our Soldiers who come into my office telling me what their plans are for the immediate future when they get back to the “Show Me State” of Missouri.  To be sure, car dealerships are going to reap the greatest boon in the influx of the US Army coming home again.  Home Improvement Stores also are going to get a boon of business from our people as spouses are already making up the “Honey do” list for their warrior!  With all the excitement that we have here, it still is somber to note that we didn’t end this deployment as I would have liked due to one more Soldier in our ranks passing away two months after being struck by an IED in a route clearance mission.  I had to quickly maneuver to FOB Ghazni and perform one more Memorial Ceremony, which really helped in the grieving process.  In total, our unit will come home remembering four of our beloved fallen heroes.  God bless the families of those who grieve their lost loved-one. 

With the FOB Sharana change-over comes a huge population shift, and it is unbearable to be in a huge crowd of people wherever one goes.  Consider that there are countless thousands of military and civilians walking around my FOB, and that means huge lines for chow and other services.  I went to the computer lab IOT get on Facebook, but the line was about twenty and counting (and there’s only 10 per half hour).  Needless to say, I am expending my writing envy here in this forum and I hope you find this letter to your liking.

Please pray for the following matters as I and others need extreme wisdom in the weeks and months ahead:

1.  I have many wonderful ministerial possibilities when I get home, and frankly am in a perfect “win-win” situation.  For now, the active-duty window has shut but that hardly matters to me now.  I am very keen on settling down and getting back into teaching, which is my career ambition.  The one reason I am in the military is due to 9/11 and forced to leave one vocation for military service.  Yet, the reality of finishing up my years for retirement is gladly becoming a reality!  Secondly, I got into the Army Chaplaincy which has given me great love for ministry in a manner I hadn’t thought was possible.  I still have the same love for teaching middle schoolers as when I was younger and dreamed of going to college and becoming a teacher.  So I hope to re-certify to teach middle school in any sort of educational setting (though I would prefer a Christian school setting).  But what a total joy to have spent one whole year with the same group of men and women I served here in Afghanistan.

2.  As much as I love the Missouri Army National Guard Chaplains, the State Chaplain and my Brigade Chaplain and Chaplain colleagues who have modeled ministry for my professional development, I do however desire to move closer to my home of record. You see, my whole adult life (and we are talking 28 years) I have resided other places than where my family lived.  So now I am looking to moving outside Missouri.  I did ask the State Chaplain to work with me in guiding my decision by informing of the need to minister to my Soldiers redeploying, who could be at risk 3-6 months after deployment.  So while I am anxious to move, I am not too anxious.  Thanks for praying for divine guidance here!  Incidentally, in a few days, my Afghan email will be voided, so I remind you to use this primary email:  .  Of course I can be reached through Facebook as well.

3.  My unit needs great prayer from the transition of war to home-station.  I have seen great victories from the countless missions our Soldiers went out on daily.  So now in transition, let us pray for our Commander and Sergeant Major to have a joyful time with their families.  And with each Soldier, that they go home and find joy and relaxation.  Yet, sadly, suicide is a grim reality in the Army, and the Missouri Guard is in the thick of it.  I want to be used to stem the tide of suicides and domestic violence and other prevalent crises that besiege people after deployments.  I like the term “New Normal” that we use in the Missouri Chaplaincy, and we seek to guide people to a new, fresh lifestyle that looks forward, not backwards.  I am so pleased to have had the chance to have long term friendships with many Soldiers who wanted to know the meaning of life, the purpose of life, and the path to eternal life.  I have had the thrill of preaching, teaching, counseling, and interacting with life—all this based on the Holy Bible.

4.  Please pray for the Battalion who will be relieving us in the days to come.  They come at a tricky time when the danger level is sky-high.  They need divine guidance and fortitude to lead their forces out on missions to preserve life and security for everyone out here.  This evening I met the incoming Intelligence Officer (S2) who wanted to know how he might help the Chaplain with Bible studies/Prayer meetings.  What a wonderful time we had IOT discuss so many program options to help out with the morale and welfare of our Soldiers.

I am so grateful that you were on my mass email list, as you have proven faithful to us in prayer and support this past year.  Finally, I wish that you know that I am filled with joy and thanksgiving to Almighty God in his divine grace bestowed upon the coalition forces and keeping us as safe as we have been this year.  As I have said many times over again, may we pray the Lord’s Prayer with renewed meaning the point: “...thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven…” Truly let us pursue with our loved ones, sons and daughters, and all the saints combined the most wonderful treasures that are realized in Christ Jesus our Lord!  We’re coming Home-Sweet-Home!  See ya!

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