Hasta Luego, Estados Unidos!

I’m currently in the Baltimore airport awaiting my overseas military flight that will ultimately take me to my final destination in Southwest Asia. I'm officially not permitted to disclose the location, and since I've always been a stickler for the rules, Southwest Asia it is. Unfortunately, I have to wait at the airport for about 7 more hours until I can board the plane. Thankfully, there is a nicely equipped, well-staffed USO here that offers a quiet, comfortable place to relax, watch some TV, access the internet, and get some free snacks. With our federal government entangled in a serious debt crisis, President Obama has recently unveiled his plan for a balanced budget: Ramen noodles at all USOs. They are definitely worth the 20 cents of taxpayer money, I assure you.

One of my favorites since grade school!

This flight is SCHEDULED to take me to Germany, Italy, and finally to Southwest Asia over the next day-and-a-half. I will post in a few days of what actually transpires. These flights are well-known to experience delays and unanticipated “character-building” events. At this point, my time is not my own, and I’m not really in a hurry to get anywhere. We’ll see what happens.

Another INCREDIBLE service the USO offers is called United Through Reading, in which a deploying parent is recorded reading a child's book for his kids, and this is then mailed to the kids. Check out this link below on this program.

http://www.unitedthroughreading.org/

I’ve met a few people here heading to the same place as me, each in different career fields. It’s interesting to hear their perspectives and expectations of the upcoming deployment. None of them have kids, and none are married, so I think we approach this experience from different places. One airman I met who is headed to the same place as I was reading a book entitled “Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough,” by Elmer Tombs. This caught my eye, and we talked a bit about the book and the powerful implications of the title. I’m excited to know we will be at the same base for the next six months, and I’m hoping we can study God’s word together.

More to come. Thanks for following along. I’ll try to have some interesting pictures for the next post. I’ve always preferred books with pictures, and I’m guessing some of you do, too.