Busyness...

Does it sound weird to say that I get blessed by being busy? It may sound funny but it is the truth. From 25 February it has been non-stop. On 25-27 February we hosted a marriage retreat. During the retreat I got word that a Soldier had been shot (he is doing okay thank God, just some damage to his leg). So it was finish the retreat, get back, see him in the hospital. Then on Monday night a Soldier was involved in an accident on his motorcycle (he is currently in ICU, stable, but a long journey ahead of him). Then the whole week it was ministry to his wife and family, the rest of the Battalion, plan for the next retreat, family time, etc, etc, etc, host another family retreat this past weekend, and here we are now. For a few minutes I must reflect but only a few minutes because the work never stops. I feel blessed in all this busyness. All who may stumble upon this post, be sure to keep my Soldiers and their families in your prayers; particularly those recovering in the hospitals. Be sure to prya for me as well, that I will continue to press on despite the pressure to just sit down and do nothing. Blessings.

A while...

Well, I guess my journey is not so new already. Since the last post I have ministered to the great Soldiers of the 192nd MP Battalion, Connecticut Army National Guard, in Iraq, been accessioned to active duty, and have been ministering to the great Soldiers of the 4-3 Air Defense Artillery Battalion, Fort Sill, OK. Ministry is going good. I am on the pastoral staff on New Post Chapel here. I also preach to the Soldiers in the Reception Battalion; just coming into the Army. I am enjoying myself and feel fulfilled in my work and ministry. My prayer is that God will continue to bless, that souls will be saved, and that He will use me to project His love to all. More to follow later. Out.

I believe I stated sometime earlier that if anyone had ever said before I came here that it did not rain in Iraq I would have swore they were crazy. It really does rain here. The problem is, when it rains, it is an absolute mess. There are no storm sewers here, so the water has nowhere to go and the dirt/sand is of such a consistency that it takes forever to absorb the water. This makes for (as I said before), an absolute mess. Beyond that, today was a blessed day of worship. I did not preach today but I did lead our morning prayer. As I interceded to God for the requests made known and the requests on people's hearts that were not made known but known to God, I felt the Spirit move among us and felt an unusual liberty in my prayer. I love Sunday morning worship and I feel like the spirit of Advent/Christmas is really taking over for the Soldiers here. Remember to be in prayer for all of us as we serve. Pray for safety, pray for the salvation of lost souls, pray for a safe journey home for the units of the Wisconsin National Guard, and pray for the safe arrival and easy transition of duties for the units of the Texas National Guard.

I'm out.

Shame, shame, shame on me! I have not posted in a while. It is not because I don't want to, I just stay busy - fulfilled, but busy. Right now I am in the midst of planning the Christmas Eve service here, working on a portion of training for a Chaplain training day we are having this Friday, working on my active duty accession packet, all on top of my everyday duties. I was blessed to be in the rotation to preach in our Sunday morning service for the first Sunday of Advent and if the rotation stays true to form, I will be preaching on Sunday, 20 December, and then again on Thursday, Christmas Eve. So I am staying busy. This is where its at - and it beats the stuffing out of serving in the local church. That is not a knock on any church pastors out there. I know we all have different callings. Anyway, that's all I know for now. Stay upbeat.

Never did I imagine that I would ever see rain in the desert. As I write this it is pouring down rain in Baghdad. It is really wild to have your own visions of how a place is and then you get there. For example, little did I ever know that it was anything but scorching hot here, but then I get here and at this time of year it feels a lot like early fall in Virginia (but its not as pretty though). Now Kuwait is a different story. In Kuwait it is bearable at night but an oven during the day. But anyway, I failed to post yesterday but I was faithful to remember to do it today. Yesterday was a good Lord's day. I guest preached at the 7PM Contemporary service (my service is the general protestant at 10AM, but I was asked to fill the pulpit at the 7PM). It is a good time most of the time. There are some issues which require counseling of Soldiers, and I absolutely hate staff work but that is one of the things I do. I enjoy going out and visiting with my Soldiers and letting them know that someone cares. I am also looking forward to getting promoted to Captain soon and getting my packet together for active duty accession.

There is really not a whole lot to report on because there is really not a whole lot going on. I counsel, I attend staff meetings, I work the worship service and spearhead one of the Bible studies. But the big thing is, I am getting to do ministry and I am feeling fulfilled and further confirmed in my calling to serve. I was telling someone the other day, there was a time when no one wanted to take me seriously as a minister of the Gospel, but now I am being taken seriously, and it is a blessing.

All for now

A photo of the MNF-I Chaplain with our team here


Greetings all,
Today was a good day in the Lord but I was a little more drained than usual. I am always kind of "spent" once I finish preaching but when I get through and get some lunch and then have a short nap I am recharged again (each of us recharge in our own way I guess). But today was different - once I got through preaching at the Traditional Protestant service today one of my Soldiers was waiting for me to talk; and talk he did. We had a very long counseling session over a very hard subject (which I will not devulge because of absolute confidentiality). Anyway, the session went way past lunchtime and I was even more drained than usual. I usually try to take Sunday afternoon as 1/2 of my "down time" (the other half being Saturday afternoon), but I do not refuse a counseling appointment - if a Soldier needs me, I am there for them.

Anyway, ministry is going good right now. For the most part my Soldiers are in good spirits and they are doing well. I have to do some mandatory briefings tomorrow for some Soldiers going home so tomorrow is going to be a busy one. I have instituted a new Bible study on Wednesday nights and am looking at the possibility of starting a midday worship service on Sundays for the Soldiers who are working during the 1000 traditional service and do not want to go to the 1900 contemporary service.

We had a visit from the MNF-I Command Chaplain this week. I believe it was providential because I was able to speak to him regarding my going on active duty as a result of this tour and he spoke with me at length one on one about it and told me what I needed to do (as he has worked as the accessions officer). He even went so far as to let me know that he will do my Senior Chaplain interview for my new packet and will write a report that will get me on active duty. He even went so far as to tell me that whatever experience I was endorsed with becomes null and void compared to the deployment experience when it comes to active duty accession. Perhaps God put me in this place for that very purpose. He definately didn't open the doors He has opened arbitrarily, He has a reason and a purpose.

So, a good week and a good report. I am doing good with my running and will be taking a PT test soon (pray with me that I pass), and in December the folks at the Chief's office do the regular review of the Chaplain 1LTs to make sure we have all we need to be promoted to Captain. All we need is a DA Photo (which I have), completion of our officer basic course (which I have), and a current PT test (which I will have).

Pray that ministry will continue to be fruitful, pray that Soldiers will come to know Christ, pray for our safety, and pray for our speedy return to the country we serve.