It's my Birthday

*cue John, Paul, George and Ringo* You say it's your birthday! It's my birthday, too--yeah!

So, I'm sure this comes as little surprise to some of you. I think you got the e-mail. Methinks I have been the subject of two conspiracies. I know of one and I suspect the other.

First off, I was set up by my S-1 (Personnel Officer). She's working on the July edition of the newsletter and was compiling a list of birthdays just yesterday. Curses! I was just finishing up a class on Suicide Awareness when the Executive Officer (XO) asked me to stand by. He then asked me today's date and why that day was special. (Note: I need to do a "This Day In History" study so I can give some world event other than my birthday.) So, I 'fessed up and then those gathered proceeded to sing Happy Birthday. It was after this that I found out that I was set up. D'oh!

The second one is harder to prove. However, I have been getting a large volume of e-mail from all over the States wishing me a Happy Birthday, many of whom I know I have not told it's my birthday. This leads me to suspect a little Husker almuna (Class of '95) who resides in Georgia. I think I have been the subject of a conspiracy of grace on my birthday. And I greatly appreciate and cherish every message.

I had a sad realization yesterday; I will spend two birthdays in a row away from family and friends. The way my deployment works out, I'll be celebrating my next birthday right here in this spot. Such is life. Thanks to you all who make it tolerable. I love you all a lot.

Life at Anaconda

Okay, it's time for me to pull back the curtain a bit so you can understand what my day-to-day life is like here at LSA Anaconda.

Basically, it's like being back in college or Seminary. I sleep on a twin bed. I will have a roommate soon (He's been delayed in deploying.) I have make-shift furniture, mostly made from plywood and wood screws. I am contemplating getting some 4x4's and making a loft and maybe finding a cast-off couch, just to complete the motif. All I need now is some cinderblocks and 2x6's and I can build a bitchin' entertainment center. What I could do if I had a half-dozen milk crates right now.

I have to walk about 500m to a Dining Facility (DFAC, dee-fack) which is the same as walking across campus to go the cafeteria. The food here is somewhat better however the menu repetition is still there. Before long, I'll be playing that wonderful game from college: What's for Dinner? The game is played by looking at only the first item on the menu and then guessing the whole rest of the menu. I was quite good at it in college; I hope it's a skill set that soon returns.

When we arrived, the folks we were replacing had a great big sale of all their refrigerators, mircowaves, TV's etc...just like the last two weeks at college where the seniors and drop-outs are selling all their gear. The only difference is that none of this stuff smells like beer, but some did smell like vomit.

Laundry? I don't do it. No, my mom didn't come with me; the gov't hires contractors just to do laundry for everyone on the LSA. I drop off a bag of dirty stuff and three days later I pick up the clean stuff. Exactly like college! I used to come home on Friday, drop my laundry off, and by Sunday afternoon it was ready for me to take back with me. (Thanks, Mom!) The only catch is that they don't sort socks. I asked Sara if I could send my socks home for her to sort and then she could mail them back to me. She said, "no." And she says she supports the troops. Pshaw!

What do I do with my free time? I play sports and games. I've already told you about the floor hockey games. Plus, I have to do regular physical training (PT) six days a week. This allows me to continue my triathlon training, even though I probably won't have a opportunity to do a tri while I'm here. Also, there's intramural softball coming up soon and I'll probably be roving in the outfield somewhere for that. I've already been drafted as a defensive end for the intramural flag football team this fall. If I could just find a game of 500 or heck, even Euchre, I'd feel like I was 20 all over again.

Most of you who know me can seen the tongue-in-cheek parts of this post. But, the opening statements of each paragraph are true. Am I complaining? Hell no. I am living in the lap of luxury comparted to many. I heard a story from a fellow chaplain who's in Baghdad and had to wait in line for 2 hours to make his first 20 minute phone call home after being deployed for 2 months. I've been able to call my wife weekly and IM with her on the internet. I'm eating three hot meals a day while many of my brothers are eating MRE's morning, noon, and night. I sleep on a bed, not the ground. I have some down-time and the opportunity to play sports and games while so many others are too busy trying to stay alive. I have regular, reliable electricty while others are constantly going without. I am mindful of these blessings every day as I see guys from "outside the wire" who are blessed to come to LSAA for a hot meal, a hot shower, and a real bed for one night while they are gathering supplies or whatever.

Like I said, life at Anaconda is a lot like life at college. But, it could always be worse. Too be honest, I have it very, very easy.

The Good Fight

"Fight the good fight of the faith." --1 Timothy 6:12a

One of my jobs as a chaplain is to prepare a brief 1-2 minute devotional thought for each day's battle update brief (BUB). Today's focused around the verse found above.

The good fight of faith is not one faith against another. Sure, religious ideaology is a main reason behind the enemy's hatred of us. However, every servicemember swears an oath to "defend the Constitution of the United States agains all enemies foreign and domestic..." Part of that is defending the First Amendment which ensures a freedom of religion. In our eyes, this is not a religious fight.

Nevertheless, the fight of faith is fought each and every day. It's a battle waged against all the things that would steal our faith. It's a battle waged against our fears that our loved ones think less of us while we are gone. It's a battle waged against the pessimism and negativism that seems so prevalent in the Armed Forces. It's a battle waged against anything that would steal our faith in ourselves, our brothers and sisters in arms, and our hope.

The good fight of the faith is the fight to keep the faith that we need in order to have hope. This fight isn't just being fought over here in Iraq. You have to fight it each and every day, too. Everyday, there are people or circumstances that seem to conspire against you and try to convince you that you aren't that good, that you are unlovable, that you are worse than everyone else. Everyday, you have to fight the fight these voices back and remember that God has called all of us to a life of hope in Jesus Christ. Remembering this hope is the good fight of faith.

Fight the good fight in your own life today.

The New Has Come...The Old Has Gone

This is definitely a time of transitions here at LSAA. My predecessor has just a few short days left. As he likes to say, "I'm so short I don't even cast a shadow anymore." I wish nothing but Godspeed to him and thank him for his service to this great nation and to the people of Iraq.

As you can guess, it's been a week of "drinking from a fire hose." So far, I have visited all the various yards that our battalion runs, I have studied for and passed my flight line test so that I can visit units near flight operations, I have read all the available Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Anaconda, and I have set up my living area (a.k.a. "hootch") which will be home sweet home for the next 14 and a half months.

The most impactful thing that I have done this week is my first Ramp Ceremony. This is a brief ceremony to acknowledge the sacrifice of a Soldier who has died in service. These ceremonies are usually in the middle of the night, away from possible prying eyes, and are small private affairs. For reasons you'll understand, I can't put his name here, but I have remembered him in my personal, private journal and will continue to remember him for a long time. It's the second hardest duty that I have had to perform. However, while it is hard, it is necessary and it is an honor. I pray that I won't have to do many of them but, if I do, I will do them with all the dignity and respect they deserve.

The other key thing this week is a meeting today with the other chaplains on LSAA. For many of them, I am an appetizer, the first of many expected replacements. I am one of the first chaplains to rotate in, which means that dates that were so far away a year ago are now just around the corner. For them, I am a foretaste of the feast to come; a sign of a promise about to be fulfilled.

One of the lighter things is how people choose to mark time. Some are choosing to count days, others months. The most interesting is the guy who counts paychecks. According to him, there are only 27 more paychecks until we go home. To each his own.

Thanks for checking in; I'll post when I can. God bless!

Greetings from LSA Anaconda, Balad, Iraq

I am finally here. We've known our mission for six months now and yesterday, 11 JUL 2007, it finally got started. I am looking forward to it. Having a mission, something to do, and people to care for, will make this time go a little easier. Knowing that God will do some amazing things through me over the next 14 months and 2 weeks (yes, I've already done some counting down) will set me free.

It's been a whirlwind the last couple of days. We arrived close to midnight on the 11th and I was fortunate to get my housing early. I was in bed and asleep by 0100. In spite of the late night, I was up and at it early that morning, sitting in on the daily Battle Update Brief (BUB) at 0830. Then it was a full day of following my predecessor as he showed me the different areas and yards that he covered and introduced me to some of the senior chaplains on the LSA and so many other things. The day flew by and the next I knew, it was 1700. But my day wasn't over.

While in my future office, I saw a hockey stick. I asked why someone would have a hockey stick in the desert. The young SGT who's leaving soon said, "We play floor hockey two nights a week; do you play?" I haven't played floor hockey since college but I played a bit of roller hockey on vicarage. Still, what else do I have to do. So, at 2000, I grabbed a stick and tried to remember how to put the biscuit in the basket. Well, we use a ball, but you know what I mean. We played for 2 hour straight (with rotating lines, of course) and I was dead tired at the end. It was hard enough to play 12 years ago but now, with the spare tire I keep carrying, it's even harder. Still, it was a great time and something I look forward to doing throughout the year.

I have much more to tell but no time to tell it. Just know that I am where I am supposed to be and getting ready to get at it.

God-dreaming

Still here in Kuwait, Camp Buerhing to be exact. Me and thousands of other Soldiers waiting to "head north" and get started on our rotations. The extra bodies makes it harder to find a computer to use. Used to be able to walk into the computer lab and get right on. Now there's a 10-15 minute wait each time.

Today's Sunday and it's a day of rest. It's not a day off; I still have some work to do and some training to attend, but it's a day of rest. Tonight at 1900 I'll head to a worship service. Worship styles in the military aren't as prolific as they are back home. There's no Lutheran worship to go to, so I have to settle for "traditional Protestant," which is some non-denominational guy trying to be liturgical. (Note: if you don't understand some of these terms it's because you probably don't live church polity every day. However, I need to use the jargon because I don't have time to explain it. 'nuff said.) The bottom line is this: if I were going for the people, I wouldn't go at all. But I go for the Word of God.

You see, I God-dream during most sermons and I have to. As my first year Homiletics professor at Seminary predicted, it's almost impossible for me to enjoy a sermon anymore. Probably the same way it's impossible for an NFL head coach to watch a high school football game. Once you've removed the curtain and seen how it's supposed to be done or how well it can be done, you become hypercritical.

So, I God-dream now. It's like day-dreaming except I don't see myself as a fighter pilot or a heavyweight boxer like the little guy from the Looney Toons cartoons. Instead, I usually wander off somewhere in the Word and see where God leads me. I listen for the Holy Spirit to prompt me to places that I need to go, places that need God's forgiveness, reconciliation, strength, or power. Even though I'm in a room with dozens of other people and a pastor is preaching about something, most times I'm off on my own.

My guess is that many of you do the same thing when you go to church, but you feel guilty about it. You think, "why can't I focus on what this pastor is saying?" The reason is that he may not be saying what you need to hear. The Holy Spirit, which lives inside of us through Baptism, may be leading us somewhere else. The key thing is to make the time to listen.

So, tonight, I'll make the time to listen to God. It will be in the context of worship, but I'll probably be off somewhere else, listening to what God wants me to hear.

More News...I Wish

Well, we're still here in Kuwait...Camp Buehring to be exact. We're getting trained up to head north to Iraq and our final stop. I just wish some of the training was pertinent to a chaplain. :)

We're doing a lot of weapons training, which leaves me out. We're getting some briefs, which are somewhat applicable. Mostly, I just tag along and talk to Soldiers...most of whom seem to be doing well. I have plenty of time to now hang out and catch up on the TV series Lost. I didn't watch it when it started and regretted it. Now I can remedy that situation. I'd also like to get into 24 while I am here, but one series at a time.

I made good on my promise and shaved my head once I got into Kuwait. Sunscreen is now my friend. Although, that's a dual-edged sword. If I keep using sunscreen, my dome will never get tanned and I'll have to keep using sunscreen. Oh well, a white scalp is better than a red one, I suppose. Could be worse, this could be the French-Indian War when white men could lose their scalp. But I digress...

The really exciting news is that we are headed to the field. *sarcasm on* Yea. *sarcasm off* Usually I don't mind going to the field but when the low temp is about 85 degrees or so and the highs are reaching 120, I'd much rather stay close to shade. Whatever. I'm a Soldier and I signed up for this. So, I'll go sleep in the desert and whatever else is out there.

Here's a funny thing, do you know what the hardest thing for me to do is? Call home. I'm doing better here with my company and the friends that I have made, but once I hear my wife's voice, I just lose it. I've only called home once and couldn't say fifty words to my wife. I spent the rest of the time just choking back tears. Even harder when you're in a phone bank with half a dozen military folks and you're trying to appear tough. Don't get me wrong, I've e-mailed her almost every day and she knows how I'm doing. It's just totally different when I get on the phone. They say that time heals all wounds. I hope that this one will scab up soon so that I can at least talk to Sara.

Expect no news for a while; I won't be back until sometime on Thursday. Until then, know that I'm doing fine and hanging in there. And thanks to all of you who have left comments; they really make my day!