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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.