Giving Thanks in SW Asia

Though this Thanksgiving was spent many miles away from my Texas home, there were certainly a lot of similarities.  Since I didn't have the opportunity to hang out with E and the kids before the traditional  extended family gathering, I decided to punish myself with a 10K run starting at 6 a.m.  About 100 people from the base came out for the "fun run," and despite the wind and the cool weather, it was quite enjoyable.  I ran it in 46:52, which was pretty reasonable for 6.2 miles for me.  The real reason I ran it, of course, was to minimize the guilt for being lazy the rest of the day.  It was technically a work day, but I had moved my clinic to earlier in the week and didn't have any OR cases, and the Nebraska surgeon was on call.

Starting off the morning in the cool, crisp air, watching the sun rise certainly served to focus me on the incredible creation God has fashioned.  Though I'm away from my precious family, I am still in the middle of God's hands.  Even in this desert land, the Lord provides.  Jesus said: "Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.  The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14-15

The Thanksgiving meal was wonderful.  The food preparation folks did a marvelous job at creating an excellent meal for all of us.  As the pictures show, they really went all out.

As you can see, quite an extensive menu.  The Desert menu was just as long!  I have no idea why I have that look on my face.

What Thanksgiving dinner is complete without a giant butter turkey sculpture?

If you look closely at the uniform, there are two stars under the apron strap.  This is a 2-star general serving my turkey.  Ya, I'm a big deal.

I know the only vegetable you can see in this picture is corn that I mixed with my mashed potatoes, but there's also a sprig of parsley there under the bread.

The cowboy's game didn't start until about Midnight local time, so I didn't stay up for that.  But I did manage to get a good post-turkey nap in.

Thanks for all the thoughtful e-mails.  It's great to see notes from people back home.  Keep them coming!

IIII

Each Sunday morning, as soon as I wake up, I proudly place another check mark on the marker board outside my room to commemorate the end of another week in Southwest Asia.  Today, I happily marked the completion of my 4th week.  4/26 weeks down!  15.3%!  I know there's a ways to go, but each time I add a mark I feel hope rising up.

Today I was able to attend the worship service here on the base.  It is a contemporary service with praise and worship music very similar to my home church.  I've actually been practicing with the band and had the chance to play with them on stage during this weekend's services.  No, mom, I didn't play the spoons, I actually played the acoustic guitar.  And, no, Cory, it wasn't Oscar Schmidt, it was a nice plug-in Yamaha.  Today, the Lord showed me clearly the value of corporate worship; for worshipping Him alongside other brothers and sisters.  Most of my time here has been spent alone, a choice I have consciously made to allow more time for prayer and meditation on God's word, and in listening to his still, small voice.  I've cherished this opportunity, and have grown from it.  Today, though, I experienced the joy of worshipping with the body of Christ, his church.  As other believers lifted their hands and their voices in praise to our King, I felt so thankful for the privilige I enjoy regularly at home.

In "The Heavenly Man," a book that details the persecution, struggle and torture of Chinese Christian Brother Yun, he spends years isolated in prison.  When God brings other Christians alongside him, even for brief encounters, his faith and hope are strengthened.  I can't imagine being alone without Christian brothers for years.

The weather here has turned quite nice, and I'm thankful I missed the 130+ degrees summers.  Most days are cool (60s) in the mornings with an early fog, with high temperatures in the 80s to 90s.  The sunrises and sunsets still stir me.  I can't help but to pause and appreciate the majesty of the Lord with each one.

The stomach bug is now just a painful memory.  I'm getting into a good schedule at work.  Work has been steady, mostly consisting of hernia repairs, upper endoscopy and other minor surgeries.

Living on a joint base, we work alongside personnel from Canada, France, Great Britain, and Australia. Last Friday, 11 November, we celebrated and remembered the sacrifices of military members past and present from all the coalition nations.  It was a special ceremony and was interesting to hear some of the history of the other nations' militaries.

"In Flander's Fields" was read aloud, a poem written in 1915 during WWI by Canadian physician John McCrae.  I recall reading this for the first time as a junior in high school, and still keep a printed copy at home.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
      Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
   Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
         In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
         In Flanders fields.

Veteran's Day Retreat Ceremony

One of the things to pass the time is exercise.  The base here does a great job of offering individual and team events to motivate people to take part.  The four of us pictured below (L->R) Texas Surgeon (me), Virginia OR Nurse, Nebraska Surgeon, Mississippi Anesthesiologist, took part in a 10K relay to raise money for the Combined Federal Campaign, and had a great time.  What I love about this picture is that it demonstrates the Air Force's crazy fixation with REFLECTIVE BELTS and LOGOS!

This last picture is just an excuse for me to look at my beautiful family!  E made the shirts as a celebration of Orphan Sunday.  Great job, huh?  She carefully coordinated the kids' smiles in this pic.

Thanks for all the prayers and e-mails.  Keep them coming.  Thanks, even more, for those who have been caring for my family back home.  E tells me almost daily of someone offering to help her with the kids, the house, or just bring her a cup of coffee and conversation.  It touches my heart that they are so well cared for in my absence.

Romans 4:20-21

"Yet [Abraham] did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised."

Romans 4:20-21

Thanks be unto my Lord, the God of Abraham, and to God's son Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, for His promises.  For who under heaven is able to keep his promises like my God?

As John Mark McMillan wrote, God "loves like a hurricane, I am a tree, bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy."

Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Untitled

I made it safely to my location in SW Asia.  In a way, it's a lot like SW United States.  An abundance of sand, a paucity of vegetation, and ongoing water rationing.  That, I suppose, is where the similarities end. This is a very large base, and, as such, has quite significant facilities.  In some ways I'm a bit ashamed to admit how nice this place is compared with some of the other deployment locations.  Beller, this is no Bosnia.

I'm one of two general surgeons here.  I saw my first clinic yesterday, and will operate tomorrow.  Most of my first few days were spent in-processing.  To those without military affiliation, this basically means taking an out-dated paper checklist all over the base to various unmarked brown buildings to get ID badges, personal body armor, and other various tasks accomplished.  Thankfully, I found someone with a van and a navigator, so it wasn't so arduous.  We got a great tour of the facilities, including all the cool military stuff that doctors like I don't get normally get to see.  I spent the next couple of days, like many of my colleagues, getting and staying sick.  Some stomach bug went around, and let me tell you that it is a bad thing being sick when the nearest bathroom facility is 100 yards away.  Though the food is pretty good here, I stuck with bland foods for the last couple of days, as depicted here.  This was my lunch.  I had to pass on TEXAS barbecue day.  And MEXICAN food day.  Fortunately (or unfortunately, depends on your point of view), since we are on a weekly food rotation, I'll get twenty-five more opportunities to savor such ethnic cuisine.

This was my lunch.

I'm currently living in semi-permanent housing.  Those of us staying 6 months get wait-listed for higher class dorm-style rooms with actual running water in them.  No community bathrooms.  My current facility is just fine, but I'm looking forward to the upgrade in about 3-4 weeks.  My trailer is one of these.  Did you know that the US military spent more money on air conditioning it's deployed troops last year than the entire annual NASA budget??  

http://www.npr.org/2011/06/25/137414737/among-the-costs-of-war-20b-in-air-conditioning 

Home sweet home!  Gazebo has WiFi.

Many of you know that I don't do well with boredom or repetition.  If only my recruiter had told me about that in 1994.  Anyway, I aim to make this place as comfortable and as much like home as possible.  With the Texas drought this year, it might be easier than you think.  It was a great encouragement when I saw this overgrown, healthy, fragrant sweet basil growing about 100 meters from my trailer!  I brought my own vegetable seeds, flower seeds, and herbs in my luggage with me for this very purpose.  I carefully checked the customs regulations, and there were absolutely no restrictions regarding seeds.  Even though there was no mention of soil restrictions, I thought it wise to leave the soil out of my luggage, as many countries (including the US) forbid entry of soils.  I've gotten some leads on where to get some soil, so I'm optimistic I will be successful with my combat garden.

Sweet basil!  I'm considering "borrowing" some of this dark, moist dirt for my own cultivation.

The time I spent getting over my illness was used graciously by the Lord to draw me near to Him.  It forced me to slow down, meditate on Him, and refocus on my priorities of evangelism and discipleship and personal growth.  He has spoken to me through the encouragement of believers back home, His Holy word, and His magnificent nature by which I am surrounded.  As many of you know, I love bird watching with my kids.  I figured in this dry desert there would not be many birds to speak of, but to my surprise, immediately upon my arrival hear (at 0100 hrs, no less), I heard the familiar chirp of sparrows.  Since then, every sparrow I see is a reminder of God's faithfulness (Phil 1:6).

Male House sparrow in the desert

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  But even the hairs on your head are all numbered.  Fear not, therefore;  you are of more value than many sparrows."  Matthew 10:29-31

"And then God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light.  And God saw that the light was good."  Genesis 1:3-4

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." Psalm 19:1

Finally, God has spoken to me during my times of worship.  Through listening to the praises of Christian artists and through my own time of guitar-playing and singing, I have felt the presence of God here in this place.  My good friend Cory was kind enough to let me borrow ol' Oscar Schmidt to take overseas to help me work on my callouses.  Such a self-sacrificing saint, he is!

No pain, no gain!

Thanks for getting to the end of this volume.