Sunday Evening

Beautiful evening here in Paktya! Its been quite warm lately - throughout the day - but cools nicely in the evening. You know, there are a lot more stars in the sky than I used to notice in the lands of ambient light (lower 48 states). Surely there are a few remote places (probably all in Kansas) where you can see the Milky Way - but it sure is distinct out here.

Almost all of the COPs / FOBs out here are "blacked-out" at night. In fact, other than those in the big cities - Bagram, Kandahar, Jalalabad - I suspect that all are blacked-out. Makes for some interesting scenarios - and some very looong walks to your B-hut, when you have forgotten your light. About a week ago I stepped off the side of a walkway and over about a five foot drop! No damage done - but glad no one else was there to witness the event. One of our COPs had to begin marking air-conditioning units with chem-lights, after about the third set of stitches sewn into the heads and faces of soldiers 'finding' the units in the dark! Anyway, it has been a beautiful evening - cool, clear, stunning.

Short entry tonight - just wanted to drop a line and especially let all of you Cav families know that we will be hosting several marriage enrichment retreats on return to Anchorage. We will look for some great locations, nice accomodations - and you have my personal guarantee that the focus will be on "retreat." Plenty of free time for couples, families - our BDE Chaplain is committed to that concept and I am a glad passenger on that bandwagon.

So, anyway - he (BDE Chaplain) wrote today asking that all us Chaplain types report back our particular marriage enrichment training certifications. Among them, I included a few that are not on the Army approved list - such as, "Fly Fish Your Way to a Better Marriage" - my personal favorite; and - "Love at 200 or More Yards: a Guide to Communication and Restraining Orders." Ok - so maybe the last one isn't so funny. Some comments that sound humorous at midnight fail to impress the next day . . . this is probably one of those.

Alright enough nonsense I suppose. Hope you are all well.
May the grace and the peace of Christ be yours.
matthew

Where to Begin?

A rest after a looong walk through the mountains hunting enemy caches.
One of our leaders with his platoon's big find - a very large cache.
B Troop conducting a Shura - meeting with community leaders.
A religious materials table - with some of our new Good and Evil Bibles.  They went very fast - every one of them in the hands of a grateful soldier.  Thanks Chattanooga Valley!
Our Squadron Doctor gives toys to children during a patrol through a busy bazaar.

Well, once more I am apologizing for the delay in updating the blog.  Be sure it is not entirely laziness, frequent travel and lack of connectivity are always hindrances around here.

Been quite an eventful last few weeks around here.  Our soldiers have been increasingly engaged with the enemy, as we all expected they would be around this time of year.  You will be delighted to hear that, while we have sustained some damage to equipment - no injuries have resulted as yet.  That is not the case for the Taliban.  Several times over the last few weeks our soldiers have been ambushed in different regions across the Province; and in almost all of those incidents the Taliban, and the foreign fighters who aid them, have suffered.  I pray, these days, for decisive victories - and the hopeful result that perspective Taliban recruits will consider the futility of that decision.  

The good news is that our Task Force has continually interfaced with the communities we support.  This has emboldened public support and encouraged many Afghans, who otherwise would have kept quiet for fear of Taliban reprisal, to turn over information about bomb-makers, weapons caches, etc.  Just last week, one of our great platoons, acting on such a tip, uncovered a very large cache - one of the largest (I think) found in this part of the country!  

You can imagine that this was a day of celebration and praise, as it is certain that the explosives and munitions found were intended for use against our soldiers, the Afghan government, and any civilian that supports either.  One soldier commented, while removing an IED kit from the hole, "this one might have had my name on it."

Still seems to me that setting IED's is one of the most cowardly acts imaginable.  Worse, I hear reports that the majority of suicide bombers are recruited from the drug infested slums of Pakistan.  So called "religious leaders" convert these poor souls, first by way of deception - holding out the hope that the addict can be rehabilitated.  Then, on arrival at the "rehabilitation center," these men (and sometimes women) are reminded how vile they are in the eyes of God - and encouraged to redeem themselves in Jihad.  I do not know how long this whole process takes - presumably for some, it is a very short distance from the slum, to the terrorist training ground, to the grave.  That this continues to occur in the name of the Creator is beyond sickening.  

Certainly this practice sickens many in Islam too - but my question is, can anyone even imagine such conduct in the Name of Christ?  I cannot.  Speaking of which, I have dear friend here who is an Afghan convert to the Lord Jesus.  He has been "in the light," as he will say, for about the last three years.  His testimony is powerful - and his commitment to Christ is unswerving.  Just last night he shared that story again - and a precious soul was saved.  After the meeting -  a weekly soldier-led Bible study - one soldier hung around to tell me that it was time that Jesus was Lord of his life too!  Thanks be to our loving and merciful God!  

Sadly, this meeting with our Afghan translator turned Christian, had to be somewhat secretive.  It is, after all, a crime in Afghanistan for a local man or woman to convert to Christ.  That crime carries with it the penalty of death.  And while my friend is prepared and willing to die for the Name of Jesus - we are in no hurry to hasten the day!  He is the one who first spoke to me saying, "if the government will once get it's foot off the necks of the people - you will see them leave Islam by the thousands."  

While you continue to pray for us - for our protection, and that the Lord will use this year to build us spiritually - please, let's pray all the more that the freedom finally won here will be a seed-bed for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

grace and peace to you all today!

matthew