I had an interesting conversation with a US civilian working for us here at the post. She is a Christian and grew up in a like-minded church in northern Virginia. She was homeschooled her whole life, and yearned to get married and have lots of children (a wonderful yearning!). Yet, in God's providence, after attending GMU, she got a job as an Army civilian and ended up here in Afghanistan. What a marked contrast--going from the precious comfort on her upbringing to the invigorating challenges of life in a war zone.
One of the points we kept coming around to in our conversation was how much richer life is during seasons and in places of great difficulty. It seems antithetical to how one would normally view suffering/hardship--i.e., as something to be escaped in favor of a more comfortable seclusion. Yet few things draw someone out of depression, anxiety, anger, etc. more than having to learn to deal with hardship. When one comes to the point of coping with suffering, rather than having the option of escape, they can begin to thrive.
I hate camping. I see it as an implicit desire to overturn the great Industrial Revolution. Why regress to a mode of living that we have progressed beyond, to our great comfort? I'd rather stay in a hotel.
But I love Malawi. And I love the chaplaincy. And when I'm pushed outside of my comfort zone, I love the pastorate. And that last part is key--it is when I am forced to deny myself that I find myself in the gracious grip of my God. And with each of these three things, by the grace of God, I often have no safety valve or eject button. I stop whining and get on with trusting the Lord. (By the way, that's why I also love my marriage. We don't flee hardship--we grow through it by God's grace.)
This is the legacy of many of my heroes. They suffer and they thrive. From Livingstone's "In this work I truly live; In this work I hope to die" to Machen's final words at his untimely death "Thankful for active obedience of Christ. No hope without it."
Now for practicalities. In light of my future receipt of an assistant, the responsibility of PAO (Public Affairs Officer) may be added to my purview (since we have two people and can handle more work).
Here are some of the things I'm working on:
1) Counseling 1-2 people a day. Conversing with a dozen or so. Greeting hundreds.
2) Starting next week, preaching through Philippians on Sunday mornings.
3) Likely starting a weekly Bible Study in the next week or two--either a "No BS BS" on hard issues of the faith, or studies on Christ in the Old Testament and what that means for us.
4) Establish comms (communication) with all of my soldiers in other locations, with the intention of making contact with each soldier about every three weeks.
5) Establish a daily prayer routine for my soldiers, with each soldier prayed for every couple of days.
6) Connect soldiers to chaplain resources and programs, like United Through Reading, which enables soldiers to read books to their kids on DVD and send the book/DVD home.
7) Re-launch the blog I created for my soldiers at sustainedbyforce.blogspot.com.
8) Help push awards through for soldiers who are overdue (like my funeral duty team).
9) Track all soldiers' birthdays and send email and CC the CDR so he can send an email.
10) Track movements of our soldiers off-post to find opportunities to visit our soldiers elsewhere.
11) Cultivate a running culture within the unit to make garner participation in "shadow" half-marathons and build unit morale.
12) Help plan a month of competitive team activities mid-deployment.
13) Gather with other chaplains to compare notes, pray, and learn.
14) Make sure pictures are taken at significant events, a unit newsletter is consistently published, and pictures/pieces of news are provided to our FRG (Family Readiness Group) back home for their newsletter and possible FB page. Also contribute chaplain column to both newsletters.
15) Advise the command on issues of morale, ethical decision making, and religious culture.
16) Hunt for soldiers who are struggling, love them, and get them the help they need.
17) Memorize Philippians and establish regular times of persistent prayer.
18) Keep regular contact with the Wifey and the boy.
19) Keep running half-marathons, take CrossFit and Insanity class, maybe learn some MMA/Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and possibly some boxing/kickboxing.
20) To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
