The other day I went on my first military mission although it reminded me more of missions work than what I believed to be military missions. While our trip served multiple purposes, most of which I cannot share, one of our goals was mission critical. We delivered a wheel chair to an 8 year old Iraqi girl who's only mode of transportation to this point in her life was to be carried by her relatives. While the wheel chair aided her relatives more than the little girl it was very gratifying to be part of such an important mission. Unfortunately you will never read about this in the paper or see it on the nightly news.
There were many children at this home and they were all so beautiful. I know it sounds odd, but that somehow amazed me as though I thought perhaps they would be ugly because of the ugly situation their country is in. These children look just like ours with the exception of most of them being brown eyed, black her and dark skin. They waved, smiled and just got excited seeing the American Soldiers. It was truly a blessing to be there.
One of the elder women of this family spoke to me as though I could understand and speak her language. She kept pointing at a young man, about the age of my son, and was obviously telling me a story about him. The interpreter came over and helped me when he saw I was struggling big time. The lady was telling me that the young man was an orphan. Terrorist had taken his father away and he had no other relatives. They were taking care of him.
Today a Sgt. delivered the message at Chapel on being salt and light to the world. It was delivered very well and really got me thinking about what our young men do. Whether they know it or not they are bringing salt and light to a very dark world. Whether they know it or not they are doing God's work and serving God's people.
I know we have a tendency of thinking of our soldiers as the best trained killers in the world, and they are, but to think that is their sole purpose is a gross misunderstanding of their mission.
These young men & women do what few will for little financial gain. They do it for little thanks and often for a Country that treats them as evil. Oddly enough they may never see the fruit of their labor, but just like us when we labor for the Lord none of it is in vain. The outcome is up to God. We are here to serve His purpose.
God bless you all and do what you can do, not expecting to see the beauty of what is to come.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Wonderfully said, Dale. Many of us have no idea or will ever see what you see . Thank you for your service to our country.
Thank you for sharing this special time of your life with us. It is incomprehensible to me that you are actually in Iraq after just seeing you at the CF picnic. I'll be praying for your safety and that you will have many more missions like the one you described. We are all so proud of you and miss your smiling face.
Mission has more than one meaning! Live them all.
Good morning Dale, Raining here on OBX, a good thing as it is needed. Frank and Don are cleaning and sorting " stuff" in garage. Nancy told me you are praying for our Tricia, that means a great deal to us. We pray for you regularly as well. Thanks for serving.
Hi Dale! We found your blog - how about that for a small world. It was great to eat dinner with you tonite and wonderful to hear your story. We will try to keep up with your adventure. You know where to find us if you need any help while here in Iraq. God Bless You and Stay Safe! Peggy (and Bill)
Since he's not really in the Army, can you two fill a cavity for him if he needs it?
Dale has the same benefits as any military personnel. So, they could definitely fill his tooth if he needed it. I am hoping they can help with Em's braces! It is only a 18 or so hour commmute by air.
Post a Comment