Back again . . .

A Paratrooper improves a fighting position.
Traveling by Gator to lead Easter Worship at an observation post.  Great day.
Easter Worship service in the new Combat Outpost.
Remembering / Proclaiming our Lord's sacrifice together.

Sorry so long without posting.  

Been a great deal of travel lately, though that is nothing new.  We have spent a lot of time in locations without much in the way of connectivity.  So - here I am up north again, at the only location we have with consistently reliable internet service.  So much time has gone by - hard to know where to start - and as usual, not a lot of time to write.  

One of our Troops conducted a very successful campaign - assuming control of a piece of high-value real estate once under the authority of the Taliban.  The anticipated battle for the terrain did not develop (Thanks be to God!) - though our Warriors were prepared for the worste.  So, we spent Easter weekend putting up Hesco barriers and developing a defensible combat outpost, from which we will certainly conduct more patrols deeper into reported enemy strongholds.  

Early intelligence reports suggested a much greater resistance than we found on arrival.  Word on the street is that the insurgents left when it was certain that we were coming.  Another very significant answer to prayer - we expected the roads to be IED saturated, but four days of rain prior to the mission made emplacement of them extremely difficult.  The one or two that we did encounter (the day after) were discovered prior to detonation.  I think, all total, we received three of four poorly aimed rockets - none of which posed any real danger to our soldiers.

And now, the sad news.  A couple of days after the emplacement of the new COP - some of our Afghan Army brethren hit an IED which killed two and significantly wounded two others.  Our soldiers responded immediately, and won the gratitude and respect of the ANA (Afghan National Army) and the folks living in the nearby village.  Certainly a tragic day for all of us - and we continue to pray for the families of these soldiers, and the resolve to ensure victory and a lasting peace in return for the payment of lost lives.

Ok - so this was a very short post.  I will update later.  Before I go though, want to say thank you very much to all who have sent packages, books, items to distribute to our Cavalry Scout Paratroopers!  Thanks so much to all of the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Centers who have taken up our support.  Believe me - our Warriors are grateful.   Thanks again to the Caravan Kids!  - package #2 is waiting for me back at my home FOB.  Thank you Bill and Hermina for the package - what would a deployment be without a box from Hermina?  Thanks to Nana and Papa for the frisbee!  Played my first game of Ultimate here yesterday - and think I might have really hurt my ankle.  No surprise right!  I have been limping all day - but mostly hiding it well, I think.  Thanks very much to my "partner in the Gospel" Mike - you are a one of a kind friend - and I know, a true asset to the Army Chaplaincy!  The books are great - and the DVD too.  I have passed out a couple of the books - and been promised that they will be returned.  :-)  I have received cards and letters of encouragement from so many folks that I would certainly miss someone if I listed them all here.  All of you are very dear to me.  

Of course - I am so very proud and so very thankful to God for my incredible wife - without which, my life would lack the direction that it has.  Not to take away from the Lord - but it is so clear to me that He has most directly led me through Jamie's influence.  She is a treasure.  One of a kind.  

Ok, enough sap I suppose!  

grace and peace to you all - from our Risen Lord Jesus.

matthew

ramblngs

Not sure how to communicate the experience of the last few days. Weather has been terrible - which prevents operations, and some that are of great importance to the long term success of the mission in Paktya. So, there has been a good deal of waiting around - to be sure, taking care of details, upgrading living conditions on the COPS, etc.
For me personally, these last few days have been a time of questioning - specifically, what will I do long term, what is the best course for my family and I in service to the Lord - and general care for one another. Some elements of this ministry are especially hard for me. Like most, I really like having a 'mission.' I realize that ministry, evangelism, bearing witness to the Lord - that is a mission - but one that, for most, is exercised in the context of daily life - in and with the folks with whom we work, sleep, eat, play. It is very much the same in the Army, with the exception (for a chaplain) - that I have to find opportunities to involve myself in the daily lives of soldiers - I have to, sometimes, create them.

In that sense, there is no 'finished product' for me after a day of work. Granted - there are moments - especially after providing especially needed counsel to a soldier - or praying with another for forgiveness and Christ's Lordship - established in his heart, those are moments for which I would not trade anything. Then there are days when I have to 'look' for work - when the military mission is the priority - and the role of the chaplain is to pray - certainly a vital role - but one that sometimes feels like an afterthought, or - maybe more accurately - one that is difficult to justify as employment. I feel sometimes like I am missing the satisfaction of a mission completed - and I don't wonder that most chaplains struggle with this from time to time. This can be the absolute best job in the world, and sometimes the most frustrating.

Very difficult to put words to my feelings. If I were C.S. Lewis - I am sure that I could word this in such a way that you would all be able to immediately comprehend and relate. You know - I am sure that a lot of folks would say, 'I can't imagine what the problem could be! The government is paying you to witness to Christ - and to those who are in perhaps the greatest need of that witness!'
I completely understand that sentiment - still, wonder sometimes if it would not be better to be paid for a product - and the witness to Christ part be free, wrought of love - for Christ . . . not the paycheck. Still, I would do this work (for now) if the Army paid me as an E4 - it is not the money for which any chaplain serves (at least, not at first).

Sometimes too, there is the fear that we are moving more and more toward some grand equivocation - where all religion is considered to have the same end, and thereby equally worthy of acceptance. I understand fully that, a big part of my existence in the military is to support the free exercise of religion of our soldiers - regardless of their bent and conviciton. Still, at this point, I do that because Christ has given all of us freedom of will - I do not do that out of compulsion that just any faith, other than the one faith rooted in Jesus, is worth pursuing. But ours is not a religion like Islam - compulsory - nor has our Lord ever approved of an evangelism that is not grounded in freedom and love. Still - doesn't it seem like the direction of things is more and more toward a toleration that bleeds over into syncretism? I think the day may come when many chaplains will have to choose between allegiance to our Lord Christ and allegiance to the State and a paycheck.

Well, a little over a month and a half have gone by - and this seems to be the time that things start to get hard, at least in the short term. The newness of deployment is dissipating- and through the thinning mist, we can just make out the mountain of days we will climb before the outline of home is visible. I think the next month will be hard for all of us - and a time for consideration too - of what the Lord will do - what He wants to do in our lives. Please Lord Jesus, use this time to speak Your will clearly - and by the grace of difficult days - make us responsive. You never looked for 'work' in the sense that I do Lord, but You dedicated Yourself to the Father, spending your days with Him - and Your life was broken bread for us. Lord Jesus - that our experience of life and work would be the same - dedicated to You, consumed by You, broken bread in Your hands.