I have had a great morning today - and just thought I would share a little about it with you all.  Travelled with one of our Commanders, along with a platoon under his direction, to a very remote Village - situated at the base of a magnificent mountain.  Though the folks kept their distance initially (as I am sure I would, if a platoon of heavily armed men came rolling up to the edge of my town), still - it was not too long before a band of curious children gathered at around us.  

Of course, that was my cue - 'cause there's nothing much that I enjoy more than getting a good game of something started.  I was, as you might imagine, very disappointed to find that no one had brought along a frisbee.  Seems to me, that a good frisbee ought to be a part of your mission essential packing list.  In the future that little failure will not happen again.  It was not, however, a catastrophic failure.  The town did not even possess a soccer ball - but when has a lack of equipment ever stopped children from finding a way to play.  One soldier commented to me a few days ago that, "these kids around here never play - they just carry sticks all day."  I did not say so at the time (wasn't worth the debate), but that could not be further from the reality.  The truth is, these children are extremely creative in their play.  One boy came out with a wire and stick car that he had built - with a steering column that was at least 3 feet long - connected to a steering wheel, that actually worked to turn the front axel, so that he could run around steering his toy all over the place.

Well, thank the Lord - we had a super interpreter along (actually now we are instructed to refer to them as Host Nation Linguists) - and he helped me to teach these kids to play "link-arm tag," which was a favorite at Chattanooga Valley Nazarene - and "train tag," which just turned into a brawl - and finally an Afghan version of "Duck, Duck , Goose."  Of course, they most enjoyed teaching me their games - all of which were combative in nature.  The favorite was a game where I ran from the whole pack, all of whom were bent on the one objective of catching and kicking me.  Sounds a little like a Mujaheddin training camp doesn't it? :-)  The truth is though, it was extremely good natured - and we had a blast.  

There are not too many opportunities to interact with locals in that way it seems.  So, I think it was a productive day on many levels.  Seems to me that, if we are to be very successful in the forging of long term relationships, we would be wise to begin with kindness toward the children of this Province.  It is just true of almost all parents, that we are endeared to those who appreciate our kids - certainly that is true here as well.

Well, don't have a lot of time - but wanted to post a couple of photos (I almost never have that capability and, while I do, had better take advantage of it) - relay some of the events of the day.

grace and peace to you all.