Afghan Hands

Lots of cool stuff going on in this country.

I have been blessed to be a small part of a group of incredibly talented folks in Afghanistan, working hard to make a difference and build relationships with the Afghans. Some background info can be found in a recent NY Times article.

The pictures depict a very small portion of the Hands in country today.

Sheer Yakh

A good day, indeed! SHEER stands for MILK and YAKH for COLD, so it is named simply ICE MILK. Everyone that knows me, knows that I can eat ice cream everyday...OK, I DO eat ice cream everyday, and now I know it Afghan style. Of course, it was vanilla.

There's nothing else to say. Ice cream makes me smile.

Skype me, baby!

Just spent about an hour on the phone / video with my beautiful wife and kids. Kay and the boys are all excited about Santa coming to town and I was able to see that live from my laptop here in Kabul.

After we hung up I reflected on the "snail mail" we used to wait on back in the day. This is just a Christmas shout out to developers of Skype and the amazing Internet. What a cool age we live in!

I am going to take advantage of it to keep in touch better in 2011. Ok, there I've already started...New Year's resolutions! Well, what's yours? Please let me hear from you.

Ok, I am still not a pashto ninja. My language skills are fading fast these past weeks. But I could not resist the Skype ninja photo I found.

Take care and have a Merry Christmas, wherever you are!

Christmas Eve in Kabul

For all of those that can't stand the hustle and bustle, I'll trade you straight up. You see, the picture on the left is Norfolk not Kabul. Take 10 minutes to go into that ole koot's neighborhood tonight to just stare at the lights and decorations he spent the last month putting up. They are awesome, aren't they? You'll probably see a manger scene or something to remind you of the true reason.

The decorations along the streets that went up right after Thanksgiving are courtesy of your hard earned tax dollars, but they are beautiful and make most smile. The cakes and cookies and chocolates are hard to escape...including the extra 5 lbs we all strap on...but we love it.

The visits from families that we love (and hate) to be around, but for some reason always end up together with during this time of year...enjoy them.

You see, none of that it is in Afghanistan, except the 5 extra lbs...thanks to all of you and the postman! But I have visions of Christmas past and those of Christmas future in my mind. I am even enjoying the tug and tussle in mall stores and trying to find that last parking spot at the mall, wedged between the suburban and the Winnebago parked out in the back 40! Why? Because I will be with you, celebrating the birth of Jesus!

Until then, I am going to sing some carols tonight during a candle light service, in a walled camp in the center of Kabul, then pop in my [all year long] favorite movie, Christmas Vacation. So, from me, cousin Eddie, and 100,000 others wishing they could trade places, please enjoy the season. Seek Him, wise men! And most of all, have a wonderful Christmas.

Blessed are the peacemakers

I spent a wonderful evening in Kabul with my friend last night. The hours flew by and was a welcome change to the busyness of the command back on the camp. Like so many other times, our conversations gravitated to the war and whether or not there was hope for his country. This man, now a quiet and well mannered professional business man, was once a blood thirsty killer. As a teenager, he fought with his father against the Soviets, and lived to inflict pain and death on the enemies of Afghanistan.

Now, in 2010, with Afghanistan again in a fight for survival, he says he cannot bear to see an animal mistreated nor hunt on the lands he used to roam as a young man. An interesting view of a warrior who has shed the blood of men and had his own blood spilled. The contrast is amazing.

I've seen the pictures of him...soldier of fortune stuff from the 80's. These here could easily be replaced with his, but I will keep them off this blog for his privacy. Shaggy beard gone now, AK-74 turned in for a laptop, hate replaced by a soft heart for the hurting people around him. He said, "I really believe that the peacemakers will be blessed."

Well, that was encouraging enough for me and a good reminder of Jesus' declaration. Like my warrior friend, I'm making peace today, here in the center of turmoil and chaos.

BITS flight complete

In my former life, returning from a lengthy time out of the aircraft would earn you a BITS flight, that is to say, Back In The Saddle. I've been back nearly a week now and I am caught up. A great friend and colleague sat in for me and kept things running smooth. Thanks, Mark!

Ok, it has been forever since my last blog and I have no excuse. Sounds like a catholic confession! But, I'm back in Kabul after a great vacation and Thanksgiving back to Virginia with Kay and the boys. I'm charged up and ready to re-attack this mission here...and do a better job about capturing some cool stuff in this fascinating land.

Ok, since I started off with the saddle reference, I'll use that as a transition to a goal I have for the new year. Before I leave this place, I want to see a Buzkashi match. I cut the following from the website on "Southern travels." From what I understand it is brutal (not just for the dead goat) and very physically demanding.

Buzkashi, which literally translated means "goat grabbing" is the national sport of Afghanistan. Many historians believe that Buzkashi began with the Turkic-Mongol people, and it is indigenously shared by the people of Northern Afghanistan. There are two main types of Buzkashi, Tudabarai and Qarajai. Tudabarai is relatively simple compared with Qarajai, even though they share similar objectives.

In Buzkashi, a headless carcass is placed in the center of a circle and surrounded by the players of two opposing teams. The object of the game, is to get control of the carcass and bring it to the scoring area. Although it seems like a simple task, it is not. Only the most masterful players, (called chapandaz) ever even get close to the carcass. The competition is fierce, and the winner of a match receives prizes that have been donated by a sponsor. These prizes range from money, to fine turbans and clothes. In order for someone to become a chapandaz, one must undergo a tremendous amount of difficult training. In fact, the best chapandaz, are usually over the age of forty. Buzkashi, is definitely not a game for the weak.

The players are not the only ones who undergo arduous training; the horses that participate in buzkashi must train for five years before ever making it to the playing field. Buzkashi, is indeed a dangerous sport, but intensive training and excellent communication between the horse and rider can help minimize the risk of injury.

The different types of Buzkashi: Tudabarai & Qarajai
In Tudabarai, in order to score, the rider must obtain possession of the carcass and then carry it away from the starting circle in any direction. The rider must stay free and clear of the other riders.

In Qarajai, the task is much more complex. The player must carry the calf around a marker, and then return the carcass to the team's designated scoring circle.

In each version of the game, points are awarded for successfully completing the task of getting control of the carcass, and getting it to the proper scoring area. The winner of each match receives prizes which have been put up by a sponsor. The top prizes are usually money, or fine clothes.

To many Afghans, Buzkashi is not just a game, it is a way of life; a way in which teamwork and communication are essential to being successful.

Well, all the matches are generally up North where I don't get to travel. Just to busy right now, but I hope to break out soon. Sounds like I am talking about a prison, doesn't it. : )

Gotta run...

99 and 44/100% Pure

The Quran says "For Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean."



I see it played out here in Afghanistan. Reaching out to the omnipotent God, Allah, Muslims pray five times each day. One interesting ritual before the praying is the act of ablution. This act signifies the washing away of the impurities of life before they approach God. They wash everything, over and over. Check it out on the link above. We all long to make ourselves pure...we long to be pure like our Maker. Yet, it's not good enough, not even 99% is good enough. There is an easier way...through His love, His pure love, displayed in the birth of His Son.

I listened to Gateway's song "Pure" 10 times in a row today. I could not get it out of my head as I walked back to the office. The musical declaration that everything we need lies in His love...His pure love. I'm taking the easy way today.

Eat the seeds!

Exodus 28:33–34 directed that images of pomegranates be woven onto the borders of Hebrew priestly robes. 1 Kings 7:13–22 describes pomegranates depicted in the temple King Solomon built in Jerusalem. Jewish tradition teaches that the pomegranate is a symbol for righteousness, because it is said to have 613 seeds which corresponds with the 613 mitzvot or commandments of the Torah. Interestingly, there have been studies that seem to show the legitimacy of this claim.

This is the season for "anar" or pomegranates. The ones from Kandahar are famous...so large and juicy and so good for you. The Afghans have it with most meals during this season. If you figure out how to cut and peel it, you might agree. The novice ends up with a mess and stained clothes, but the rewards are worth it!

They're probably $3.00 back home...they're 50 afghanis here...about a quarter. Well worth the trouble. Still, I don't plan on counting the seeds to check the theory above.

Props for the blog where I found this info.."My Classroom Called Life" and of course wiki. Let me know if you try it and what you think! On to find my next hidden treasure in Afghanistan...

Simba

Nothing big about this post. Just a great moment when I went to a friend's house recently to share a meal. We had a few minutes before dinner to play with his puppy. This one loves me, of course. Simba jumped up in my lap, cleaned my face and made my night complete.

Ok Katie, I might be weakening. Simba is a German Shepherd...can you find one like him?

By the way, they are training him in "Pashto." Reminds me of the Far Side cartoon...blah, blah, blah, Ginger, blah, blah, blah...

Peace, peace, wonderful peace...

¹⁴ Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. Psalm 34

Eid Mubarak! Today is the last day of Eids. A celebration that comes at the end of Ramadan that breaks the 30 days of fasting. It's like Christmas in September...or August, or whenever it happens. You see, it follows the lunar cycle and will gradually move over the years. Check out the link attached here. Lots of food, new clothes and gift giving! Exciting time of the year for all Muslims.

I just thought I would share these colorful pictures that look not unlike our "season greetings" we will soon start seeing on the Hallmark shelves back home.

My take away is that, deep down, everyone wants it...peace that is. Even the Afghans. Hope there's some of that to come in the near future for them, but I'm not holding my breath here in Kabul.
-------

Wonderful Peace
Words by W. W. Cornell and Music by W. G. Cooper

Faraway in the depths of my spirit tonight,
Rolls a melody sweeter than psalm;
In celestial like strains it unceasingly falls
O'er my soul like an infinite calm.

CHORUS
Peace! peace!. Wonderful peace,
Coming down from the Father above;
Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray,
In fathomless billows of love.

What a treasure I have in this wonderful peace,
Buried deep in the heart of my soul;
So secure that no power can mine it away,
While the years of eternity roll.;

Ah! soul, are you here without comfort or rest,
Marching down the rough pathway of time?
Make Jesus your friend ere the shadows grow dark:
Oh, accept this sweet peace so sublime.

Usual Suspects

Went outside the camp not too long ago. Saw the usual suspects. I thought it would be important to start capturing those images that are in my mind and share them with you all.

The crippled. Not a common sight in my town back in suburbia. Here it is all too common. Lots of it because of a generation of war. IEDs and the like do a lot of damage on their own. Here's a woman that lost her leg. She crawls (pulls herself) along the city street begging for money. I see her regularly. The next time you are grumbling about how tired you are, put this image in your mind.

Let's change the mood. Some really good guys patrolling the streets on my normal drive outside. In my mind this is the target of the whole "win the hearts and minds" strategy. Get to these guys, guys just like my own back home in suburbia and we win the war. We convince a new generation that there is a better life. These boys (and girls) are out working everyday. Most in the city actually go to school but only for 3 hours a day because they are so crowded that they run them in shifts. Girls in the morning and boys in the afternoon, depending on the grades. I often remark to friends here that mine are not even allowed to walk one mile to school through a safe neighborhood...even my new high-schooler. What a different mindset!

Ok, two more. Not sure why, but there are money changers on every corner. There they are carrying wads of Afghanis (name of the currency) just in case somebody is wanting to trade in some other currency. Not sure how they stay in the business since most of us can't go out enough to even spend any Afghanis. We eat, live and sleep back in our concrete camps and bring the vendors to us and we pay in dollars. Too weird. I'll have to get some more background and come back to you on this one.

Lastly, the cell phones are the bomb! No pun intended, I assure you. One thing we have done for this country over the last 9 years is give them a telecommunications network that was non-existent in the Taliban years. Now, on every corner you have guys selling the sim cards for whatever gadget you have, from Nokia to unlocked iPhones. Haven't seen an AT&T store and won't for many years. This guy doesn't need high overhead. He's out on the pavement with me.

More "suspects" to come...

Firm foundations

24-25"These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.

Last weekend I went with some guys I work with to the Ministry of Education. I posted a few of those pictures on Facebook, but I wanted to tell some of the background here. You see, I have been offered a great opportunity to help with the construction of an additional building at the Girl's school in Kabul. I'm no engineer, but I am trying to find my place as the senior military rep. The contractor is a local Afghan that is a good friend after only two visits to the property. He is trying to execute Matthew 6 by applying it to his work. He has taken a long time to build a foundation and finally the slow start is starting to produce visible results. Much better than rushing to completon and painting out a "house of cards."

As I mentioned, along with the visits to the school, I had the opportunity to visit the Ministry and meet with the had engineer. We are trying to get in sync with the Afghanistan plans for development instead of assuming what they need. It was eye-opening and I think was a beginning to a good relationship.

I hope this experience will result in more schools in and around Kabul before I get out of here; we'll use the same process of building strong foundations, slow and steady. Reading through the gospels this week, I came across the principle again. firm foundations...a good reminder to apply this to my life and family and we'll have a recipe for success.

Love your enemies

No, I'm not advocating that for the Taliban and the other enemies of the Afghan people! I was just meditating on God's word and thought I would share this cut from Mathew 5...

----------

^43-47"You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

⁴⁸"In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you."

----------

Not sure if one of you few readers needed that today or if it was just for me. Take it or leave it, but we all probably have a Darth Maul in our lives and we all have a choice. I'm making mine today.

New Year's in August

Reach for the stars, you'll reach the moon. If you don't have a goal, you'll for sure not meet it. You've heard them all, but sometimes you have to stop the daily grind, see where you are and figure out where you want to be.

No, it's not an Afghan New Year or some Muslim cultural thing...it's just August and it's time to be accountable and put it in writing. You see, in 3 months, I hope to be getting on a plane heading home to visit family for 2 weeks of R&R. I figured that I would use that amount of time to get something done. It's not that I haven't been doing anything. It's just a nicer journey if you know where you are going and you can recognize it when you arrive because you've been thinking about along the way.

Let's scratch a few off the old Afghan bucket list. Not doing PX90 even though it matches the amount of time, not running a marathon, not swimming with sharks or any other biting organism. Not jumping out of a plane while it is still powered to fly. No grandiose travel plans...that's a common one, right? Got my fill of that in the last 23 years! It's gonna have to be right here where I am in Kabul, Afghanistan. Here's what I am thinking...

1. Learn a new language. For all those crying foul, I know I had language training before I left, but that was Pashto. I started Dari classes this week and I want to figure it out while I am here while increasing my Pashto.
2. Read the New Testament. It's gonna happen. Just gotta buckle down and get a fresh look at the man that changed my life when I was 15 years old.
3. Write 50 letters. No Katie, not all of them will be to you, but most will be! I have no excuse. It's free and just takes me stopping long enough to jot a few thoughts down and lick the envelope.
4. Run 200 miles. I know a marathon is only 26.2 miles, but that is all at once. Little bites are easier to digest! Yes, I am counting today's 3 miles.
5. Hmmm....what will be my 5th? Perhaps you have an idea? I'll come back to this one after I consult all of my fans out there.

Daylight is burning. Better go get on it!

Another Wiki moment

Ramadan started, so I thought I would share what impact I see here in Kabul.

From Wiki: Ramadan (Arabic: رمضان‎ Ramaḍān) (also Ramazan) During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims refrain from eating or drinking starting from dawn till dusk. To prepare for the fasting, Muslims wake up before dawn and the fajr prayer to eat a meal (Sahoor). Muslims break their fast at Maghrib (at sunset) prayer time with a meal called Iftar. Muslims may continue to eat and drink after the sun has set until the next morning's fajr prayer call. Ramadan is a time of reflecting , believing and worshiping God. Muslims are expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam and to avoid obscene and irreligious sights and sounds. Sexual activities during fasting hours are also forbidden.Purity of both thoughts and actions is important. The fast is intended to be an exacting act of deep personal worship in which Muslims seek a raised awareness of closeness to God.

What does that mean for us guys and gals in Afghanistan? A long month where the Afghan pace gets slower and folks are a little tired and cranky. I'm not making light of it. It's not unlike our tradition of fasting for Lent leading up to Easter. The big difference: We might give up coffee...they give up everything! Even drinking water!! On the other hand, they only fast from sunrise to sunset. So, part of the reason they are tired is because they get up at 0400 to pray...and EAT!! Likewise, when the sun goes down, dinner is priority one!

Still, all in all, their sacrifice and devotion to God (while misguided in my opinion) is inspiring.

Having said that, I respect these people deeply and have many close Afghan friends because of this tour. Gonna keep my eyes open and see what else I can learn. For the record, the girl on the left is not observing Ramadan. My friend on the right is! : )

It's the little things...

I have taken them all for granted. The ability to go down to Five Guys and enjoy a heart attack in a bag with Kay and the boys is just simple pleasure. Just a reminder to enjoy what you have before you. Don't save it for a rainy day when it's pouring outside, and don't ruin today thinking about how good it will be tomorrow.

Kay tried to bring a little home to Afghanistan by sending me an "Everybody Loves Raymond" DVD set. I usually get about 30-45 minutes worth around midnight when I am bedding down. It reminds me of my life so much...I guess that's why we watch it.

Speaking of the little things taken for granted...a quote from the episode I watched last night went like this. When Ray was asked what it was like with 3 kids under the age of 5, he replied, "It's like a frat house. Nobody sleeps, everything is broken and there's vomit everywhere."

I miss the action!

Keep rowing hard, Kay!! I'll be back soon.

Fog of war...

I can't believe my last post was 22 July. I'll just blame it on the fog of war. My actual war is figuring out how to change that footer on the master slide of the brief and then making sure the font is all uniform on the spreadsheet before I print the copies. Life of a staffer, living in Kabul.

I'm not complaining you see. Just saying where I am right now. I'm living in an Army culture these days where it is common practice to work 15-18 hours everyday. All I can think of is a senior chief that once said, "How about a little less hooah, and a little more dooah!"

Well, I will try to break the madness and take a little time out for yours truly during the next 3 months...yes, that's right! I am officially into my 2nd quarter of this deployment today. I will start tomorrow off by making some goals. I'll share them in my blog so I have some accountability. You can judge later if I am just full of "hooah" or "dooah."


I am gonna make a difference while I am here, so I will close for now and go start thinking about those goals. While I am living the life of a REMF (ask a marine) here in Kabul, I will leave you with this solemn thought. There's a lot of bad dudes over here, and your neighbors' sons, daughters, husbands and wives are taking care of business. Keep them in your prayers.

Miss you all...

A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage

No chance for Herbert Hoover's dream here in Afghanistan. Just had to share this picture. Everyone is already getting ready for the parliamentary elections coming up in September. These guys are supporting their picks as they enjoy their "sahar" (morning) chai. I don't think they were expecting visitors that day.