Home Sweet Home

Three weeks from the day I penned my last blog, I flew home from Afghanistan. The tour was over, but it has last an everlasting impact on me. Over the next few days, I will try to capture a few of the last days I had in Kabul. For now, just a few pictures as I headed through Kuwait before crossing the pond to Virginia.

Kuwait. The current location for a "transition course" as Sailors leave the theater of operations. It's supposed to be a place of relaxation before heading home. Everyone's experience in Afghanistan is different. Many military members are truly out "in the s**t" as they say. Some spend more time doing staff work, living on a secure camp.

I would say that both extremes require some reprogramming in the cranium to prepare you for life back home in the USA.

A sobering thought. Before the military had such decompression courses to prep members for returning home, there were many ugly stories of military personnel returning home. An Army data point...In the summer of 2002, five soldiers at Fort Bragg murdered their wives after returning from Afghanistan. Two of the soldiers also committed suicide. At that time, soldiers returning from fierce combat in Afghanistan received the same decompression training as soldiers in peacekeeping missions in Kosovo and Bosnia. But after the Fort Bragg murders, the Army re-vamped its entire program. Read the website in the link above for more information.

I flew home commercial out of Kuwait City International, direct into Dulles. After a short trip down to Norfolk, I was in my wife's arms. That was nearly two weeks ago! More observations to follow about my last days in Afghanistan, but need to get moving today. Heading out in town with my wife -- no body armor, weapons or uparmored vehicles...not sure if I should have left them behind - it's crazy around here!

Suffer the Little Ones (Take 2)

I'm on my last few weeks here in Afghanistan. Never coming back (never say never) and want to do something with these kids. I do have plans to finally go visit a local orphanage soon...not sure if that is smart or not, but gonna do it. Not a security issue -- just can't take them home with me! I really just have to get outside the concrete prison I live in to be able to visit those kids. You'll see them in a future post...inshallah.

My friend wrote me the other day and reminded me of how fragile life is. We often take it for granted -- even our children. He said, "When I hear a baby crying, I think, "that kid is breathing and has got lungs that work." It's all a matter of perspective, I suppose. Sometimes they seem to only annoy us. The amount of energy expended on one child -- even a healthy one -- is enormous! God bless those parents who care for children who have physical and mental challenges.

So, I took a few pictures out in town while I was attending the opening ceremony of the girl's High School. As I saw the transformation from youngest to oldest, I thought if we can only have the vision of what could be, it would change our perspective (and actions) in the present. I snapped a few outside the school and then inside. What a change the investment made!

Here's an encouragement to have the long view and a different perspective as God puts children in your life. Oh, how He loves them.

Drop in a bucket

I don't know how many times I have thought (and said here in this blog) how good I have it! My kids go to wonderful schools one mile from my house back home in Virginia. In contrast, 2007 numbers show an estimated 60% of students in Afghanistan studied in tents or other unprotected structures. Some parents refused to let their daughters attend schools in such conditions, adding to the illiteracy of women in the country.

Went to a school grand opening a few days ago. It's a girls' high school down in south Kabul. Been there many times and know the contractor that the U.S. hired to build the addition that has ten classrooms. This guy is totally into helping others. Sure he makes money and supports his family from these efforts, but his heart is all about education. He realizes that his efforts are just a "drop in a bucket" that must be filled, but he's doing his part.

The minister of education spoke at the school opening. In spite of the beautiful structure as a backdrop to his speech, he declared it was far below the great need of the Afghan children.

Feeling more and more called into doing my part for the "little ones." Sometimes it is easier to rebuke them as the disciples tried to do, but look beyond the present frustration and see what God has placed inside those little ones. They are fearfully and wonderfully made. Suffer them today!