Seasons Greatings

Hey there everyone!

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who have sent me care packages for Christmas. The weather had been bad recently so a lot of the mail had got stuck in Kandahar, but today I got a bunch of boxes from friends and family. Its like a late Christmas. I was busy in my room this morning opening all these boxes filled with thoughtful gifts and cards. I love you all.

Christmas here was good. I tried to pack as much in as I could. I played the piano and sang at the Christmas Eve service at the Chapel (see the pic below). I stayed up all night on Christmas Eve and manned the TOC so that the people who normally do could have a night off. I called home. Then the next morning (Christmas Day), again I played for the praise and worship team for both the 11 AM service and the 9AM Service and I preached at the 11 AM service. Then I crashed for a few hours. Then I woke up and manned the TOC again all night on Christmas night. Needless to say, by Monday morning I was exausted. But I felt that I had given all I could so that Christmas could be special even in Afghanistan.

Merry Christmas everyone and may God bless all of us as we seek His will this coming year.

The Christmas Season

It can be hard sometimes to get in the mood of the holiday season when you are surrounded by rocks and dirt and can only wear a uniform. But I am not letting those factors get in the way of me celebrating this awesome Christmas season. In fact I have never been geographically closer during the holiday season to where it all went down 2000 years ago. So thank you to all of you that sent care packages for Christmas. From candy canes, stockings, baby Christmas trees, fudge, truffles, gum drops, Christmas Coffee, and the like it has all served to brighten my days and the days of my fellow tent mates. So here are a few shots of the Christmas joy around my Middle East World.... I love you all.

Meaning

Here I sit at half past 2 in the morning, listening to the playlist on my sister’s blog. Tears come to my eyes as I listen to the music. Aim so blessed. I look over the pictures on her blog and see the smiles and the kids and warm embraces. The family that I grew up in is now grown. We are scattered all over the globe. Christmas will be different this year. I see the smiles of my own kids in my mind. Life has taken the innocence of a little boy and in its place left sweet memories of growing up. Now I see the wonder of innocence in the eyes of my own son and daughter. And I pray that I can be as good a parent to them as were my parents to me. I dream about my family at night. I can hear my wife’s voice. What did I do to deserve such abundant blessings? Life is frighteningly short. From swaddling to crawling to walking to running and falling it all passes quickly. This war reminds me that some things are worth dying for. But some die too soon; life slipping through my hands and my heart. Like a broken glass, Lord, fill me.