News From the Middle East

Just a quick update on Al... He is now in place in Baghdad... He doesn't always know what he can tell about his mission and/or his whereabouts. I got a chance to talk to him on Sunday for almost two hours. That was heavenly! His mission is not one of great danger, not right now anyway, which is FINE BY ME! :) But of course we all know how fast things change in the US Army. He is in a guard tower which proves to be uneventful, thankfully. They aren't situated in their permanent quarters yet, so hopefully, his communications will pick up as soon as he is more settled. The address on this blog is the correct one... and I know he would love to hear from you.

He did mention that Father is gently digging into some areas of his life and it is good. It may be painful to go through a challenging time, but it is good to grow, which is exactly what is happening, according to him. So keep praying for him, please.

On the family front, it is just so surreal to know that OUR AL is in Iraq, right now. Somehow news aren't just news anymore when you hear about something that's happening there. I find myself praying a hundred times harder for the politicians to make the right decision -- this is personal now. It's been interesting to think that he is now in the place of such historical and spiritual importance... hard to explain I guess.
Helen for Liberator

MacGyver??

I am here in Kuwait, dealing with the heat, cold, blowing sand and Chuck Norris in all the port-a-johns. (You military people know what I'm talking about.) We had our first trip outside the wire the other day and got to see the sights - miles and miles of desert. A bunch of camels crossed the road in the middle of our convoy. The roads are plowed in the sand from point A to point B - similar to back home in the winter on the lakes. The desert is hauntingly beautiful. Flat with scrub vegetation. Camels and sheep being herded around by Bedouins. The sunrises and sunsets are spectacular, but don't blink or you will miss them. The sun seems to rise and set in seconds. Occasionally a formation of Blackhawks will fly by in the distance, to or from another spot in the sandbox.

Back to the title. Several days ago my laptop started acting up. The power cord wasn't connecting very well and the battery was losing its charge. Finally it quit all together. After diagnosing the problem to a poor connection on the motherboard, I proceeded to completely dismantle my computer with a Gerber (the new Swiss Army Knife) and a tiny screwdriver. Once everything was apart, I saw that my earlier prediction was correct and that there was indeed a loose solder joint where the power plug connects to the board. Now all I needed to do was heat up my soldering iron and melt it back into position. But alas, I had mailed it on ahead to Iraq. What would my childhood hero do? Enter a straightened out staple and some super-glue. Running the spring loaded wire between three posts, I glued it into place. I now have a fully functioning and charging laptop.

Yes... I AM A GEEK!! Hey, If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.

Keep your skates sharp, your laces tight, and your stick on the ice,

Liberator...out

Kuwait

Thank you for all your prayers: heard from Al this morning -- he emailed me from Germany during a short layover and just heard a report they made it safe to Kuwait. Also, I found out that while they changed planes in Maine, they were warmly greeted by Mainers :) at the gate. I thought that was especially cool because they made it there about 1 am this morning. . . ummm yesterday, whatever day this is. There were some pictures taken, but you all know Al -- he does such a great job staying in the background that I could only see him in this one picture waaaaaay in the background. But I bet my morning coffee that it was him!! Judge for yourself! Now you have to look waaaay back between the two guys who are looking away.

The Winds of Change

It's been refreshing to notice a rapid change of MN weather turning fallish. Can't say I'm ready to give up on summer yet, but it is nice to snuggle in a sweater and curl up with a good book, instead of standing over the air conditioning vent trying to cool off. (Praise God for air conditioners!!) Summer turns to fall. One season pushes out the other . . . The same with life. We have enjoyed having Al back here for a short, too short if you ask me, leave (yet, we are grateful for a few extra days we could spend together and make more memories) and now, the season of training is giving in to the . . . well, the real thing. Can't share any details right now except for Al's new address:

PFC Arends, Alan W.
849th MAC/164th SECFOR
APO AE 09342-1400

Let me just say this, if you mail something to him now, he will receive it by the time he gets there.

Love you all, thanks to all of you who showed up here on Thursday for our most fun painting/praying party. We give thanks to our Father every day for each and every one of you. I have to say, it's a strange feeling to be going through this -- never been in this season before. I find it to be stretching, to say the least. :) But God is good and we feel His presence in our lives, His provision, His love.

The Flag and our Father

"INCOMING!!!!"       BOOOOM!!  As I opened my laptop to update this blog, thats what was happening behind me.  Small arms fire began popping off and then the sweet music of an M240B machine gun lit up the night sky.  (slight pause)  "RPG!!!"  BOOM!!  "Tower 1 has been hit!!".  And so the night goes here in Mississippi as we are halfway thru our week-long evaluation process.  Hours and days begin to run together.  Missions begin and end and then we turn around and head back outside "the wire".  To any of you who are/were in country, this is not to make light of the real deal but rather to pass on my experiences as they are happening to me now.  I pray that the minimal things that we have had in training never take place for real, but we have trained to at least have a rudimentary understanding of how to respond.

  About two weeks ago I let my guard down and allowed self-pity to rear its ugly head.  This is something that I haven't struggled with much for a number of years and by the time it was recognized, it had grown to be quite large.  Several days prior, I had the opportunity to sit down with some of my brothers-in-arms and we began to drive deep into enemy territory. Darkness was being brought to the Light and it wasn't happy about it.  Someone once said that self-pity is 'the super-glue of hell that binds us to our past and keeps us in bondage to it.'  Father gently began to show me that I was indeed focusing on myself and my place in this world rather than on Him.  I was discontent with my situation and content with my relationship with my heavenly Father.  This is obviously completely opposite of how it should be.  One scripture that confirmed my choice to repent and choose a better attitude is one I've known and taught for a long time: "but seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, then all these things shall be added unto you."

  This is a picture that I took a while back when we were out in the field training.  To me the angry storm clouds represent the darkness and turmoil that bombards each one of us daily.  The flag represents the One who was hung between heaven and earth and bought our freedom with His death.  When we focus on Him, the stuff of life quickly fades away and we can have peace.

De Oppresso Liber - Is 61:1-4

An Announcement

It is official! We are having a baby! Thought we'd share with the rest of you, so you can all be happy for us. :) I know it seems crazy that in a time like this we'd be having another child, but we are so excited. The baby is due in the beginning of Feb. and we can hardly wait!! I was hoping to record baby's heartbeat at my recent appointment and play it to Al on the phone afterwards, but the nurse couldn't find it (the heartbeat), so they ordered an ultrasound to make sure all was OK. I think our Father was just making sure I could send some pictures to Al! :) Even after having 4 children, the miracle of baby growing inside, hidden from all, doesn't stop amazing me.

Al has had some issues getting access to the internet lately and I forgot my password :), so this is Helen updating for Al. They have had a few exciting training exercises and the latest was in Combat Life Saving skills. They got to stick each other with needles, setting up IVs. The soldiers were broken down in teams of two, and Al got stuck with the needle NINE times by his battle buddy! I bet he looked like a heavy drug user by the end of the day. LOL