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Return to Messages from Pastor Steve |
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| Hi everybody! It's the 19th of September, and we've turned a couple of corners out here. First, my battalion has been in country for just about 6 months, and if you go by the standard 1 year "boots on the ground" that means we're half done with our time in the desert. It feels like we've crested a pretty big hill, and while we still have a long way to go, we're hoping it's downhill from here. Second, we've made progress against the local IED insurgents, and as a result we have not had any in our area in the last couple of weeks. Third, we had a stretch of days where the highs were 98, 101, and 99, and believe me, that feels COOL out here. It's a 20 degree drop from the highs of a month ago, and we love it.
For me personally, I'm about 40 days away from getting home for 2 weeks of leave. Hallelujah! Michelle and I haven't decided our plans for that two weeks, but I'm definitely thinking of it as a 2 week vacation rather than a homecoming. We'll save that for the real homecoming. I know that the leadership of United Lutheran has already begun thinking about that time next spring when I get to rejoin my church family in person, and let me tell you now I'm really looking forward to it. OK, on to another topic. A few months ago, we put out a request for school supplies and/or medical supplies to use in the local villages around us in the Al Anbar province. In the next few weeks, we will be delivering the last of these supplies and then our mission won't involve as much interaction with the towns after that. The upshot is that if you have supplies to send, put them in the mail now. After October 1, those supplies can go somewhere else. FYI, we've had an estimated $5,500 of medical supplies and $6,000 of school supplies just through the chapel alone. Thank you to all who donated gifts, and especially to the Social Concerns committe for their work in getting those gifts out here. God be good to you! |