DIGIJOURNAL 019--14 JUNE 2007

DATELINE 14JUN07 LSA ANACONDA

COMMUNION
“This is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Luke 22:19

Every worship service we have, no matter the size, ends with the celebration of the sacrament of communion. I take a small, portable, Army-issue communion set with me wherever I go. I am always struck at how personally meaningful it is to join with other believers in sharing in the presence of Christ.

During the Reformation, one of the critiques that the reformers had of the Church (at the time), was that it did not celebrate the sacraments enough. Tradition held sway that, at most, the people received communion once a year, or, even less infrequently, only on their deathbed. At the time, many believed that to sin after receiving baptism or communion would condemn a person to hell. John Calvin, one of the early reformers in my tradition, believed that Christians should celebrate communion at every worship service.

Now fast forward to today, where one cannot conduct a Roman Catholic Mass without celebrating the Eucharist, while many reformed churches celebrate communion once a month or even only once a quarter. I remember how special, how powerful it was, to watch my friends in high school (I was a protestant who attended a Catholic high school, St. Pius X) go forward en masse to receive communion from the priest. It was powerful because I was able to see, sitting in the stands in the gym, the great leveling and unifying effect communion had. Instead of 800 separate students, faculty, and administrators, we were one.

As a Presbyterian pastor, my efforts to increase the number of times we celebrated communion at the various churches I served often ended in frustration. It was not because parishioners were petty; it was because we as a clergy had failed to educate those whom we served in the importance and meaning of communion.

Why does this matter? Why is this important?

Three weeks ago I visited the EOD (Emergency Ordinance Disposal) team at Patrol Base O’Ryan. Composed of three Air Force personnel, I had a pleasant time just talking about life with them. Later that evening, Airman William Newman and two other soldiers came to our hasty chapel service (due to missions, services tend to be small at OR), and we ended with communion. After the benediction, we always grip each other’s hands and pass the peace of Christ.

The next week, while the EOD team was disarming an IED (Improvised Explosive Device), it detonated, killing William instantly. I met his buddies, the platoon leadership, and his body at the CASH. We said a prayer for the dead and joined together in mourning for our comrade and friend. I had no doubt about his faith and the way he would have wanted to have concluded his life. William also knew where he was going.

The next week, his two other team members showed up to services, and, as we joined together for worship and the celebration of communion, I reminded them that, through the Holy Spirit, through the elements, we not only joined together with each other, but all Christians across the globe and across time. We joined as the living with those who had crossed into the Promised Land. William was as present at Christ’s table that day as he was two weeks ago.

Christians, especially American Christians, who tend to over-emphasize the personal experience of faith against the idea of the communal ecclesia or church, forget that the primary purpose of the sacraments is not to comfort one’s own spirit or give one a sense of uniqueness. In fact, it is the opposite. They remind us that we are not alone, and that not even death can separate us from the love of God and from each other.

As we gripped hands at the end of the service, SGT F, Airman Newman’s team chief, thanked me for the service. I asked that we both thank God for allowing the living to not forget the dead, and for letting all believers in history to sit at the Master’s Table, as one Body, in His love, rejoicing in the abundant life He grants us in the present, and the eternal life He has given us in the future.

SUPPORT SPOTLIGHT
I would like to introduce a new part of my journal updates. Your support, both individually and collectively, has been overwhelming. I feel led to recognize some of the groups that have given so much to our soldiers. It is interesting to see such a wide-variety of people that have come together to support us.

ARMED FORCES SERVICE COALITION, Durango, Colorado
This group has donated literally hundreds of boxes in the past nine months. With their help we have built three separate libraries for soldiers, passed out numerous toys and backpacks to Iraqi children, and have received many unique gifts and tools for our Joes (soldiers). The Coalition is a collection pf public and private individuals and groups who have come together to let our soldiers know that they have not been forgotten. Thank you for being an inspiration to all of us.

NEW ADDRESS
I now have a new, old address. CPL C and I are moving our base of operations back to Patrol Base Paliwoda. The new address is listed below. If you have sent packages to the old one, do not worry, we will still receive them.
Wainwright, Kevin
HHC 3/8 CAV, 1CD
Patrol Base Paliwoda
APOAE 09391

Grace and Peace,
Warhorse Archangel

DISPATCH 015--5 JUNE 2007

CHARACTER

“And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts.” Romans 5:3-5

A few weeks ago I returned from my EML leave. I was again reminded of the sheer daily effort that you all put forth just to keep the children safe and out of trouble, the bills paid, and yourself sane as you continue to keep hearth and home together back in the States. We will never be able to thank you enough for the sacrifices that you have made and are making, not only on behalf of your soldier/family member, but on behalf of our nation.

One of the great joys of leave was being able to reconnect with my family and remind myself that my rank, job, and military service are not the most important qualities that classify who I am--or we are. It is our relationships that are the critical to what really defines us: relationship to God, to spouse, to children, and to friends. It is easy, as this deployment continues, for us to forget who we really are. These important relationships that should ground us instead begin to fade as the responsibilities of soldiering pile up. It is natural to begin to overlook our spouses' role in our lives, for we have no choice but to learn to cope without one another. These are the type of tribulations mentioned in the above Scripture. As our moorings between ourselves and God, between ourselves and our loved ones, are stretched and strained, it is easy for them to break, setting us adrift upon the dangerous seas of temptation, self-absorption, and despair.

So how can we look upon the challenges in our lives with a sense of hope? How can we be positive when so much of the feedback around us is negative?

This is where character plays a part in our destiny. The type of people we are today as we face the difficulties associated with this extended separation will shape who we will become. If we let our hope die, our faithfulness wane, and our joy fade, then how can we not reap a future crop of bitterness? We must not let the day-to-day anxieties that come with the deployment overwhelm us.

How can we do this? Well, it is not about “sucking it up.” Instead, it is remembering the love that God has for us and that we have for one another that will guide us through these dark-valley times. It is by making it through these difficulties that we further strengthen the ties that bind us together as families.

As I de-boarded the plane in Dallas, I had to fight back the desire to rush ahead of my fellow soldiers so that I could see the three “VIPs” that awaited me. In order to get to the customs tables, we had to walk through a glass hallway located above the terminal. Something happened there that reminded me that the annoyances and disappointments of soldiering cannot extinguish the honor of serving our country alongside the great people in Warhorse Battalion. Every person in the terminal, whether he was pushing a mop, preparing to board, or eating her lunch, every person stopped what he or she was doing, stood up, and clapped for us, and they remained standing until all 200+ soldiers made it through the hallway.

They were not just clapping for us; they were also clapping for you. As wives and husbands of combat veterans, you are now part of a sacred band that has stood up and been counted on the roster of character. We make movies and write stories about who you are, what you have sacrificed, and how you have triumphed. When we are reunited once again, the great question is what kind of people will we have become, and what will be the health of our marriages? Blame and frustration are effective tools when it comes to slowly ripping a couple apart. Yet, it does not have to be this way, for our character will produce a hope that does not disappoint, because it is found in the love we have for God and seen in the love we have for one another.

Honor and Courage,
Warhorse Shepherd

DIGIJOURNAL 018--2 JUNE 2007

DATELINE 2JUN07 PATROL BASE PALIWODA

The following is from a conversation between SSG B and myself that took place while visiting a wounded soldier at the Anaconda Hospital. While I was looking at the Purple Heart we would soon award to a Warhorse soldier, I began a light-hearted conversation with SSG B…

SSG B Sir, it is bad luck to touch a Purple Heart.
CH W Sergeant B, I don’t believe in luck.
SSG B Sir, it is still bad luck.
CH W SSG B, God is either in control or He is not.
SSG B That might be true, sir, but we can always minimize risk.

I laughed at how SSG B “got” me. Minimizing risk…that is the best definition for not tempting fate that I had heard in a long time.

I have been spending the last week, or the last seven months for that matter, minimizing risk. After a very relaxing, fun, and overall great two weeks of leave, I have made it back to Iraq. It was hard the first couple of days to get back into the practice of battlefield awareness, but the soldiers I went out with were a great help. I must say again what amazing people they are. One of the byproducts of a long wartime deployment is the sense of closeness and family that begins to develop between us. While I was gone, I did not miss the place, but I did miss the soldiers. It always makes my day when they ask how my leave went, meaning that not only do I care about them but they are also concerned about me. Despite all the rhetoric the flies back and forth, and all the unknowns of how this war will turn out, I still believe that I serve the finest group of Americans that this present generation has produced.

One of the things I did while at home was to reread some of my blog entries. Sometimes I felt like I should turn in my college English degree. My only excuse is that the lateness of hour and the sense of urgency involved combined to make for some interesting and not-well-thought-out or edited writing. I thank all of you who periodically check in to this blog for your patience, understanding, and endurance. As part of a solution, I am going to write shorter but more current entries.

In putting out this blog, my desire was never to draw attention to myself, which I pray you understood. I do have many reasons for taking the time to do this. I want to get the story out there about what our soldiers are doing and what good people they are. If you are looking for objective, riveting reporting on what is happening at the business end of the war on terror, this page is not the place to find it. All that goes on over here is not doom and gloom. In fact, much of what we do is often boring and unrewarding--and some of it is pretty funny. Humor has always been a part of a soldier’s coping skills. I also hope this blog helps family members stay in touch with some of what is going on, as well as providing all of you great Americans who have provided support to us with updates on your packages and their distribution.

As I close, I do want to relate with a sad heart another casualty we suffered while I was on leave. 1LT Andy Bacevich was killed near Samarra on Mother’s Day. I had the opportunity to have dinner with him while I visited our soldiers at his FOB. He was a very intelligent, charismatic guy who cared deeply about his soldiers and their families. My condolences go out to his family: his mother, father, and sisters. Any words I say will sound like a cliché. As soldiers, one of the iron truths of being a combat veteran is that our hearts will never cease to grieve for him or any of the other Warhorse soldiers who have given their lives so that their brothers in arms might live. Requiescat in Pace.

Warhorse Archangel