Living Gospel

Hanging out up north again today.  Very glad to be back out on the road!  Also - very much missing my Chaplain Assistant, tending to family for a bit.  Flew in this morning on what is known as a PAW flight (Presidential Air-Ways).  These are civilian pilots (sometimes Russian) flying French made rotary-wing aircraft; at least, I believe they are French made.  Not at all a bad flight really - fairly roomy and smooth ride; and the large windows are nice.  Below, were miles of mountains, streams (though none looked likely to contain a trout population), bright green fields, tall-thin hardwoods serve as boundaries between them.  High-walled mud Qalats are everywhere; some house large fields - where nothing yet grows, others serve as something like family compounds.  I imagine that, in many cases, several extended families share a Qalat - they seem to be subdivided for that purpose.   

The fields are mostly located at the base of the mountains - where the intermittent streams meet wider waters of the valley expanse.  Beyond that, the rocky, sparsely-treed mountains rise abruptly, and the streams are lost from view within their folds.  Trails web the lower hills within the valleys - children traverse them, presumably between Qalats, or on their way back from the mountains with firewood.  Women walk the fields in single file, balancing oversized baskets on their heads, or pots - usually with only one hand raised for support.  The pots are typically brightly colored - but no match for the women's dresses.  When we travel the roads, we are reminded not to watch the locals, especially the women . . . not that there is much risk, all eyes tend to be fixed directly ahead - scanning for potential IED sites, command wires, etc.  So - flight provides the best means of satisfying curiosity. 

I am back on a COP (combat out-post) where our medics have daily provided support to the local populace.  I mentioned in an earlier post, that - last week, these men did everything in their power to save a severely burned young girl.  She finally died, about 10 hours after our soldiers had received her and begun treatment.  It has been a very difficult few days for these men - who are very much heroes in my eyes.  

Still, our Living God works all things together for good.  Word of the compassion and care these men displayed has spread for miles, and a steady flow of visitors come to meet the senior medic, to offer their gratitude - and teary-eyed hugs.  They have heard how these men stayed by her side all night, how they fought desperately for her life, how sincerely they cried with her father - and how tenderly they helped prepare her for burial.  Truly - the Name of our Lord was glorified because of their example - and many who are ignorant of our Christian ethic wondered at the spirit that motivated such love.  Thanks be to God - who has received this child into His eternal Kingdom, and who makes men "well pleased to impart not only the Gospel of God, but also their own lives."