Hi, everybody! It's Saturday of Memorial Weekend, and I'm hiding out inside because the temperature is over 113 out in the sun. I'm so grateful that our chapel has air conditioning. And it also has a nice new cross, because the cross that ULC gave me on my last Sunday has finally arrived in the mail. It's now decorating Bearcat Chapel above the pulpit where I preach.

I had my second trip "outside the wire" last week. There is still the same fear knowing that every time I leave, there's a real chance that something might happen, and there are real people out there who are actively trying to hurt me. I'm still coming to grips with that fact in particular -- the danger doesn't come from storms or earthquakes or acts of nature, but from another human being who has intentionally chosen to do everything he can to kill one of us. It's a scary, sickening feeling, and I already know it will be a tough adjustment when I return home to learn how not to act as if crowds of people around me are potential threats.

We drove out with a group of four vehicles, all armed to the teeth, to perform "route clearance," meaning we patrol and overwatch a supply route to make sure the bad guys don't place any IEDs in our sector (Improvised Explosive Device, in case you didn't remember -- a nasty roadside bomb). About 10 minutes away from our base, we drove over a charred spot on the road where one of our vehicles hit an IED only two days earlier. The vehicle was entirely destroyed and burned to the ground; our soldiers escaped with nothing worse than a dislocated toe.

I can't imagine any better way to thank you for your prayers than to say thank you from them. They really have no reason to be alive today, but they are all doing fine. If you ever wondered whether your prayers matter to us, you better believe they do.

And yet, even though we have so far been protected from harm by the power of God, I know the day may come when our soldiers don't walk away from the bomb, when someone loses a limb or a life. What will I say then about the power of prayer, and the protection of God? How will that event affect the soldier's ideas about their Lord? How will it affect mine?

I've thought through these questions many times, but of course I can't know for sure what I'll feel until I've actually been there. I'd rather never have to answer these questions, but I'm realistic. It is Memorial Weekend, after all, and I'm fully aware of all those who have sacrificed their lives in the past, not only for my freedom but for the freedom of our neighbors around the world as well. Somebody once said that none of us can truly be free as long as our neighbor in is bondage. As I meet the citizens of Iraq and listen to their hopes and fears, I have started to think of them as neighbors, and I hope my Lord will teach me how to love them as he wants us to love our neighbors, even in the middle of violence.

Thank you to all who remembered and prayed for me on Memorial Day weekend. We had a great service of remembrance out here, but I'm even more looking forward to next year's Memorial Day back in Red Wing.

God be good to you!
CH Steve Timm