Hello everyone this is Nick posting. Lindsay and I are enjoying our time here in Indiana as I help train our PRT replacements who are just beginning their pre-deployment training.
A few weeks ago, a reporter from the Armed Forces Network (AFN) came out the Laghman to do a story on our strategy for implementing governance and development in our province. Although you may be hearing conflicting messages in the news with regard to a decision on a way forward in Afghanistan, this report gives an overview of how we in Laghman have decided to implement the COIN (counter insurgency) principles on the ground in our AO (area of operation). AFN news stories play on AFN in theater (deployed locations) and on the Pentagon Channel which is played "inside the beltway."
If the inbed doesn't work try this link:
http://www.dvidshub.net/?script=video/video_show.php&id=72915
Friday, November 20, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Finally!
I can finally tell you something very exciting. I get to see Nick this week! I'm still not certain about the exact dates, but I'll be driving up to Indiana tomorrow to meet him, whenever he arrives. Finlay even gets to join me on the trip! Nick will be spending some time training his replacements at Camp Atterbury, where he did his training, but when he's not in training he's all mine! Please pray for safe travel for both of us as he travels from Bagram to Qatar to England to the US and as I travel from South Carolina to Indiana in my car.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Shout Out!
Today Nick and I got a shout out from one of our Baylor friends, Katie Evans Cox on her blog. She wrote the sweetest/most touching post for Veterans Day. I'd tell you to check it out, but their blog is private so Im just going to cut and paste (Katie - I hope that's okay!)
Katie writes:
And now, I have a sorority sister and friend who is fighting her own daily battle as her husband fights in the war in Afghanistan. I am amazed at her courage and blessed by her honesty. Each day as I sign onto my blog to read-up on my Blogger Buddies, I see her blog (Texas Ex-Pats) and I remember... I remember what battle she fights every day. I remember and I pray. Would you pray for her to?
To Katie and to everyone who remembered us today, and who remembers us every day, THANK YOU! I have felt incredible peace (with a few notable exceptions) every day of Nick's deployment. I have not been a basket case, at least most of the time, and I have not moped around with a heavy heart because I know that Nick and I are constantly prayed over by our loved ones, our friends, and even total strangers.
The question of what this peace really means sometimes weighs heavily on me because here's what I am not certain of: I am not certain that everything about this deployment will work out the way that I want it to. When people say things like "Oh, he'll be fine. I pray for him every day," it sometimes upsets me because that's not what prayer does. It does not a guarantee that our desired outcome will come to pass. Our prayers are just our pleas that God's will be done and that we have the grace to deal with it, no matter what happens. To pray for anything else is tempting, but it is also ultimately futile.
That grace is what I've been so blessed with these last five months while Nick's been in Afghanistan. That grace, that peace that truly surpasses all understanding is what sustains me every single day. I am reminded of Natalie Grant's song, "Held." She says "this is...how it feels when the sacred is torn from your life and you survive...that the promise was when everything fell, we'd be held."
I know that there are lots of people who today have said "thank you" to our military men and women and their families. Today, I'd also like to thank all of you who support us with kind words and with your prayers.
Katie writes:
And now, I have a sorority sister and friend who is fighting her own daily battle as her husband fights in the war in Afghanistan. I am amazed at her courage and blessed by her honesty. Each day as I sign onto my blog to read-up on my Blogger Buddies, I see her blog (Texas Ex-Pats) and I remember... I remember what battle she fights every day. I remember and I pray. Would you pray for her to?
To Katie and to everyone who remembered us today, and who remembers us every day, THANK YOU! I have felt incredible peace (with a few notable exceptions) every day of Nick's deployment. I have not been a basket case, at least most of the time, and I have not moped around with a heavy heart because I know that Nick and I are constantly prayed over by our loved ones, our friends, and even total strangers.
The question of what this peace really means sometimes weighs heavily on me because here's what I am not certain of: I am not certain that everything about this deployment will work out the way that I want it to. When people say things like "Oh, he'll be fine. I pray for him every day," it sometimes upsets me because that's not what prayer does. It does not a guarantee that our desired outcome will come to pass. Our prayers are just our pleas that God's will be done and that we have the grace to deal with it, no matter what happens. To pray for anything else is tempting, but it is also ultimately futile.
That grace is what I've been so blessed with these last five months while Nick's been in Afghanistan. That grace, that peace that truly surpasses all understanding is what sustains me every single day. I am reminded of Natalie Grant's song, "Held." She says "this is...how it feels when the sacred is torn from your life and you survive...that the promise was when everything fell, we'd be held."
I know that there are lots of people who today have said "thank you" to our military men and women and their families. Today, I'd also like to thank all of you who support us with kind words and with your prayers.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Big Update
There's lots to cover in this post! Yes, it's been a long time since I last posted, but life has been CRAZY! Since I blogged last, I've been home for Baylor Homecoming/my birthday. It was a great time!
Here's me with my birthday present from my brother and sister-in-law.
I also celebrated my 27th birthday. I celebrated with a party at my office, my girlfriends from church at bible study, and a surprise lunch bash at McCutchen House! Here's a picture from one of the parties - my friend Laura made the cake.
Ever wonder what Nick's really up to over there? This video from Time will tell you a lot about it. The guys talking are in Nick's PRT, and the province they show is Nick's. Check it out here:
If the video doesn't work, go here: http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,42188023001_1926394,00.html
Finally, we're moving again in May/June. This time to Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, New Mexico. Nick will be working for the 3rd Special Operations Squadron there. Yes, the location is strange, but Nick is very excited about the work he'll be doing.
I think that brings you up to speed! I'll try to post again soon.
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