I'm Here

Hello...I'm now in Arifjan, Kuwait and it has been a very quick 13 days since we have arrived. Much to my mom's dismay I like being deployed and am having an amazing time here (we will get to what constitutes a deployment in a short bit)!


There are many OPSEC (Operational Security) considerations about what I can write on this blog. So, I'm going to describe my week in generalities. Now that I've navigated the Arabic on the blogger dashboard and figured out how to sign into my blog hopefully I can make weekly posts.


A life in the week of a Chaplain at the hospital in Kuwait:


Rounds: I make daily rounds in the hospital, and it takes over two hours. The facility isn't that big, but peoples' lives are. This is truly the highlight of my day. I get to interact with the staff on a personal basis and get to hear their stories, highlights, about their families, and struggles. I truly love the Sailors here and am glad to be a part of their lives. I also get to interact with the patients mostly in the beds. Many of the patients are from other services and it's neat getting to learn about the Army and Air Force.



On my first full day here I was honored to speak to a Soldier who had made the the news around the world (he wasn't aware of it). I was able to minister to him in truly what was one of his darkest hours. It was a sacred honor, and have thought about (and prayed for) him everyday since our encounter.


The people I meet in the beds are so wonderful (sometimes a bit cranky) and I'm fortunate to be their chaplain.


Programs: I was told I would be bored here. I don't do well with bored. There are several ministry programs I'm starting including a weekly prayer kickoff, a straight-up Bible study, a class called "Gravity" where people can ask any question (about religion, faith, spirituality, and life) and we will discuss it. Finally, we are starting a worship service for the duty section and watch standers. I'm very excited about all four of these opportunities! Yeah! I never realized how much I missed preaching.



This week is communion, and it's the first week I'm preaching. I love doing first services, but am always very nervous...please pray.

Catharsis: Being here has been one major catharsis in my life. I have no idea how to explain it, but I don't think I've grown this much since I was a toddler. Things are just different in my life. I have a lot more joy than I've had in a long time. In many ways this is indicative of what I had in Sasebo (without all the criticism and negativity surrounding certain people and situations).

These Are My Favorite Things: My two most favorite things to do in life are dance Salsa and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and I'm doing both here regularly and once a week I do them on the same night! Jiu-jitsu starts at 7pm, we roll for about two hours, I take a shower, drag myself to the shuttle that takes me to another part of the base, and then start dancing Salsa! It's amazing! I've met so many people from this; most of the guys & gals that roll also go to Salsa, so I'm meeting a lot of Soldiers with whom I would normally have no contact.

Pool: We have a huge pool right across from work/where we live. It's very nice because when it's 120 degrees outside, the pool is about 80 degrees. It's all relative because I went to do laps the other night and got chill bumps from the very cool 80 degree water! My XO and I have a challenge going on...a challenge to swim the English Channel. No, we are not trekking off to England, but we are doing the "Swim the English Channel" challenge offered by MWR to swim the 21 miles in less than 45 days. My goal is to swim all 21 miles between 5-10 days. The days that I work I will swim a mile to two miles a day; the day I have off I will try to swim a lot more.

Fobbit: For those of you who do not know what a Fobbit is you can check out this definition on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fobbit). It's a person who never leaves the FOB (Forward Operating Base). This "not so nice" nickname was given to us by those who leave the base into the "real world" of convoys and such. I am a Fobbit, I'll admit it. But, the ministry that comes from the hospital is amazing! Real life occurs whether you are a Fobbit or you travel outside the wire. I'm privilege to serve both!

So unequivocally, yes, I am deployed. Yes, I am a fobbit who enjoys Starbucks, massages, and the pool. I also see the reality of what being deployed does to our patients and to the hospital workers. Each day I interact with our Sailors, Marines, Soldiers, Airmen, and even Coasties (yes, they are out here too) I am more aware of how sacred this call to serve is.

Pictures to come later as soon as I get settled