Wednesday 23MAR2011

IDk why but for some reason I don't feel like being on camera tonight so I decided I'd just type it today. This morning I woke up at 0700 and got ready to run and then went over and woke up Sgt Dow and he got ready. We ran 3 miles with 30/60s the last half. We ended up at a pretty good pace, although I don't know exactly what the pace was. I then showered and went to work.

We were ready squad today so all morning I was on the computer, playing dominoes, and doing other things then after lunch we took our Humvee in and it had so many problems they just decided to do the annual service on it which wasn't due until next month but that way they would get all the problems taken care of.

When I got back I put away my helmet and almost immediately got a ride home. I spent the rest of the afternoon surfing the internet and then went to singing practice. Singing practice for the 1830 service was frustrating because first they were late getting the music so we only had a half hour and they used the time to nitpick songs I knew instead of learning the ones I don't know so two of the songs Chaplain White requested I haven't even gone over so I have to learn them from the iTunes version I downloaded. The practice for the morning service went over fairly well overall but there were only a few of us so we didn't even use microphones. It was pretty fun it had a campfire singing feel to it with all of us gathered around the guitarist.

After singing I went to the Moral Courage Movie Night. The movie was The Pursuit of Happyness. It was pretty nice. After that I came home and I've been trying to contact Lydia but I think her phone is dead or something. I'm trying to decide whether to go to midnight chow because I missed dinner.
Thanks for reading. 

Tuesday, 22MAR2011

Monday, 21MAR2011

Sunday, 20MAR2011

My first vlog attempt.

I realized after I filmed this that some things weren't clear so instead of redoing it I just decided to put some clarifications here. We weren't actually working with another unit, just another squad.
"Get suited up"- Put on body armor, helmets, gloves, safety glasses, and I wear a scarf for the dust.
"Outside the wire"- Anywhere outside of a US base.

Friday 18MAR2011

This morning I got woken up at 0815 by Sgt Dow letting me know I had to be up there at 0900, a change from yesterday when I was told 1300. I got up and got dressed and was about to leave when Sgt Dow came back and told me we were on standby so I started my Bible reading. I did my complete goal for my Bible reading today and then fell asleep. I woke up at 1200 and was going to go to lunch but the next thing I knew I was waking up at 1245 and had to leave to work. I got to work and was told to wash a vehicle so I went outside but no one else was out there so I went back inside and noticed some people were eating lunch so I went to the lunchroom but they were cleaning up already, I was too late. So I didn't eat breakfast or lunch.

I went out and washed our vehicle and got my backpack and I drove Sgt. Dow. Our job today was advance party or advon. Advon is where Sgt. Dow checks the next location and makes sure either the meeting is still on and where or that the plane is on time etc. Our first location was a helipad and then Al Faw Palace, which is where most meetings happen here. After that we went to the airport. For some reason he was flying on an airline that flies all the civilian contractors so while we waited all I saw were people with cool hair, beards, and civilian clothes. It made me really want to go on R&R leave. Also while I was there I saw a truck with an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers sticker in the back. That is the union of which my dad is a member.

After that I came back to the JVB and had supper. After that we got released and I came back and texted with my mom, dad, sister, and two of my brothers, plus Lydia. I had good conversations with all of them. After that I wrote this.

Thursday 17MAR2011

This is going to be my shortest blog yet but since I'm trying to make it a habit I figured I'd type something anyway.

Today I slept until a little after 1300. When I finally did wake up I went to the bathroom and then returned to my CHU where I listened to worship music for a while and then put on the CrossFit Radio podcast while attempting to organize my CHU.

At 1800 I showered and put on clean PTs and got ready for Bible study. A lot of us got to Bible study early so we had some nice fellowship time. The Thursday night Bible study is studying the attributes of God. Tonights attribute was Holiness.

After Bible study I went to the DFAC and got 2 ham and swiss sandwiches and brought them back to my CHU and ate them while surfing the web. Eventually my girlfriend got on Skype and we were chatting and she reminded me to blog.

Wednesday 16MAR2011

I got up at 1100 this morning when Sgt Dow came knocking on my door. I had told him last night "you can just message me" by which I was attempting to imply that if I wasn't online I wasn't awake and didn't want to be bothered, next time I'll just have to spell it out for him. Anyway I got up and did the CrossFit WOD. It was an AMRAP, which means you do as many rounds as possible in a certain time. The exercises were 15 power cleans followed by 30 double unders. Double unders are where you jump rope and spin it fast so the rope goes twice around for each jump. I have to do a substitute which is three regular jump ropes for each double under. I only got two rounds plus like 7 power cleans I think. Sgt Dow was the best in my group with over 5 rounds. My cardiovascular is there my muscles just aren't conditioned enough. I'm confident that that will change over the next year though.

After the workout I came back and showered. I was feeling defeated. My showing on the WOD was pitiful and I was letting that define me. I went to the showers and I played the songs we're singing this Sunday and by the end of the shower I was feeling better. By the time I got dressed there wasn't time for me to go to lunch so I ate an apple I had brought back after dinner last night.

I left for work at 1345 and got to work and helped the Suburban drivers get their vehicles ready because all I have to do is mount my gun and I'm ready so I helped them wash their vehicles. After they left I met with our education officer and he helped me start preparing for college. I started my online application to Idaho State University last night so I figured I'd let him help me. The way he works is a lot of talking in circles so it took forever to get hardly anything done. After that I ate supper then got on the computer.

Some more stuff happened but I'm not sure if it's classified so I won't write about it then finally at a little after 2100 I was released.

Tuesday, 16MAR2011

 Today I woke up to go workout with Sgt Dow but he slept in so I talked with Lydia instead. I had to go to work at 0900 but it was completely pointless. Sgt Miner just wanted to "get everyone out of their CHUs." He saw me at church on Sunday and at the formation yesterday, he knows I'm not just rotting in my CHU. Anyway, we were released after about two hours and I returned to my room and sent out some emails and stuff and then I talked with Lydia again. She was having trouble waking up and therefore wasn't very talkative. 

After Lydia went to work I went to the gym. I did 3 miles of 30/60s which is where you sprint for 30 seconds and then jog for 60. I sprinted at 8MPH and jogged at 5.5 for an average pace that was sub 10 minute mile. After that I did a little fit test for myself based off an article I read in the CrossFit journal that told how much of each exercise you should be able to do. I found out I am much lower than I should be. After I finished my workout I saw my friend Percy so I talked to him and he was almost done so we walked together to our CHUs and then we each showered. I met him at Bible study so when we happen to shower at the same time I always blast Christian music in my iHome. 

After the shower I dropped off my laundry and then went to chow with Percy. He had seen a sign for a MWR event so he invited me to go. He and I and another soldier from his unit went to where it was supposed to be but it wasn't there so we went and checked the flyer and it wasn't even on this base so I'm not sure why the poster was hung up. We decided to go hang out at SG Village. We went and shopped and ate some expensive Chinese  food and overall just had a great night. 

When I got home I text chatted on Skype with both my mother and Lydia. Lydia was busy with school most of the time but my mom told me a lot. My grandpa has a form of dementia and has hallucinations and memory loss so my mom is visiting him. She says his condition isn't getting any better but he does at least still have his personality and his body is stronger than ever so he and my mom have been doing work around his yard and garage.

After that I just wrote this and now I'm headed to bed. I have a late start time tomorrow so I'm going to shut down all my electronics and methods for people to contact me, close the blinds and curtains tight, and pay off my long standing sleep debt.

p.s. If anyone knows how I can use my computers built in computer to make You Tube videos please send me instructions. I would like to try vlogging because you can tell emotion much better in video.

Monday,14MAR2011

Today We had a formation at 0800 for my squads Lieutenant to be promoted to 1st Lieutenant. It was nice and she is leaving on R&R today so its nice that they got it done before she left.

After that we were released for the day so I came home and checked Facebook and then went to the gym. As I walked into the gym I saw Chaplain White also going to the gym he gave me the sermon subject and a couple of song suggestions for this Sunday. After that I started my workout. I did about 2.5 miles on the treadmill on random so it automatically changed inclines. It was tough. The reason I said about was I bumped the emergency shutoff which is a magnet and you're supposed to hook a rope up to yourself so if you fall it will shutoff but I just bumped it and I didn't remember exactly how far I had gone. I did that at a 6.7 MPH or about a nine minute mile pace. I was going to do yesterdays CrossFit WOD but someone else was doing it so I couldn't use the medicine ball so I finished my run but I did the last half at a flat grade and at a 6.0 MPH or ten minute mile pace. When I finished that I had to wait on someone else who was doing the WOD from yesterday but finally I got the ball and did the WOD. The WOD was 10 wall balls followed by 10 pull ups for 7 rounds. It took me 14 minutes but I might have done an extra round because I lost count in the middle. Also I was using a 14 pound ball because that is the heaviest ball they have at the Paul Smith gym.

After the workout my clothes were saturated with sweat. It was awesome. I came back to my CHU and drank some Anabolic Halo and some P90X Results and Recovery formula then went and showered. After that I came back here and I'm listening to a CrossFit podcast while writing this. I'm doing this halfway through the day so that tonight I can just edit it and add the rest of the day.

At1830 I went to the chapel. I was the first one there so I sat and read the Ensign on my iPod and just enjoyed the spirit there, then I helped set up for the Bible study, which starts at 1900. It was a good one. God revealed to me one of the reasons I'm here. I was going to BYU-I and I was going to contract in the ROTC program. If I had done that, I wouldn't be here today, but, I chose to go against God's will, and, as a result, I was asked to leave the school. When God saw that that still didn't change me and I was still going to be proud, being still in my comfort zone around my family, He took all that away from me and I was left with no one to turn to except God, and when I did that, things started getting better and he placed helpers in my path who I met through the body of Christ. Now I have a few people who I consider my friends here and while I still miss home, I am helping to strengthen people in the faith here, and who knows but through this ministry their hearts might be open to the message of the true church someday.

After Bible study I went to dinner with two of my friends from Bible study and we fellowshipped and strengthened each other. Those are my favorite meals. After that I came home.

Sunday, 13MAR2011 First Sunday of Lent

Today I woke up at 0530 and got ready for church. I have to get to church at 0700 for singing practice. I got there on time and everything went well. I had heard the service before so it was difficult to stay awake even though it was a good sermon, I was just really tired. The sermon was on the temptations of Christ mentioned in the Bible during His forty day fast. He said the same categories of temptations tempt us today, in that we are tempted to define ourselves by what we do, who we know, or what we have. All of these are incorrect because we should define ourselves as children of God.

After Protestant service I went to LDS. It was a good service. In Sunday school we studied the parables of Jesus. We only got to the parable of the sower but we were encouraged to read the others on our own. After church I met with the Branch President and he gave me some council.

After that was Victory Gospel Experience. VGE is my favorite church because they worship loudly and proudly and they have various forms of worship, such as the dance ministry. The sermon was by Brother Miller, who runs the Monday night Bible study. I love the way he preaches. He taught about how we need to grow where we are planted and realize that just because we are here in Iraq doesn't mean we gt a break from serving in the church. I'm glad last week I had a talk with my friend and he said as long as I'm serving in the Christian church somewhere that's what matters. I've always felt bad about not serving in VGE because I am always late after Sunday school. After he taught that Brother Miller transitioned into teaching that we all should look for 3 people in the church. Our Paul, Our Barnabus, and our Timothy. Our Paul is our mentor and the one we look to on doctrinal issues. I have a lot of those but if I had to choose just one it would probably be Brother Miller. Our Barnabus is our friend, someone who helps us stay on the strait and narrow. I don't really have one of those, but if I had to choose somebody I'd say my friend Percy. Lastly, our Timothy is the person we are mentoring and strengthening in the faith. I guess that would be Bentley. After VGE I went to eat with a bunch of people from there.

All afternoon I just watched YouTube videos and relaxed then at 1700 I went to church. It was my first week picking songs for that service and the Chaplain complemented one of the song choices so I felt good. I should say here that I couldn't have done it without Sara. She sends me the songs she is going to use in her service and I just approve them or choose new ones.

After church I ate with some people from the 1830 church and then I came home and was online chatting with my brother Evan and Lydia at the same time when Sgt Dow came over and we talked for about a half hour then Lydia called and we talked until I started this blog, now I am going to go work on my Bible reading so that I will finish sometime this century.

Twelve miles today

So, every Saturday morning at 0600 Chaplain Nofsinger runs ten miles and invites everyone on the Victory Base Complex to join him. This is the second week that Sgt Dow and I have run with him. On Wednesday we did squats and when I woke up this morning my quads were still sore. It slowed me down significantly but I still finished. The last couple miles the chaplain came back and ran with me so I asked him about the Christian Science church, since that is the congregation he is in charge of. It turns out they have a lot of common ground with LDS beliefs, such as lack of a paid ministry, a central body putting out the teachings so that anywhere you go in the world you get the same lesson, And a belief that God can't disobey his own laws, therefore Biblical miracles aren't supernatural, but supremely natural. I really enjoyed learning that stuff.

After the run I stopped by the JVB for breakfast then Sgt Dow got the keys for the squad truck and we drove down to where we live. I didn't have time to shower so I just put on fresh clothes and went up for work. At work I cleaned my weapons and then fueled up our vehicles. After that we did the CrossFit Workout of the day, or WOD. The WOD for today was run 1 mile, do 100 sit ups, do 100 back extensions, and run another mile. The loop around the lake where the gym is is a 1.25 miles so by the end of that workout I had run 12.5 miles today. After the workout we had lunch, then, I went to get a haircut and decided to get a shave because I've heard good things about barbershop shaves but either my beard is too thick and coarse, or the barbers here don't know what they're doing because it was one of the least comfortable experiences of my life.

After the haircut we got released and I gathered up my clothes and took them to the laundry. I made up a plan to keep my room clean and hopefully fairly odor free when it starts getting hot. I'm going to try to change into PTs every night when I get off work and take the clothes from that day to the laundry. Laundry is free so there's no reason not to do it often. I also took my linen down to exchange it for clean ones but while I was there I forgot to get a new smoke detector battery. mine's been chirping for like 2 weeks now.

After that I went to dinner then wrote this, now I need to read some scriptures.

My first Lent

As a member of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints I have never participated in Lent. I've heard it talked about and I've had Catholic friends who talked about giving something up but I never really knew what Lent was. Here in Iraq I've found there are many practices that Latter-day Saints don't typically participate in but that can be beneficial and meaningful spiritual experiences. A few weeks ago I decided I was going to participate in Lent. at the time I thought it was only a Catholic thing but I have a friend who is Catholic so I figured he could help me. I later found out that Protestants also celebrate Lent.

In the days preceding Ash Wednesday I was trying to decide what to fast from for the forty days of Lent. On Sunday the preacher at the Episcopal/Lutheran service spoke a little about Lent and said that we shouldn't fast just to suffer but we should fast from things that take us away from God. I tried to think of the things I spend the most time doing and I kept feeling like watching TV was being brought into my mind. I didn't want to fast from TV because WrestleMania is during Lent, but I continually felt like that is what God wanted me to do. The final nudge was when abstaining from TV was one of the things the pastor specifically mentioned in his Ash Wednesday service as a suggestion of things to do during Lent.

After the Ash Wednesday service I returned to work with the ash cross on my forehead. A few people asked me about it and some didn't even know what I meant when I said it was Ash Wednesday. I was feeling really close to God so I just put on my iPod and turned on some worship music and was having a personal worship session when my squad leader walked up and the conversation went something like this:
SL: What is that?
Me: It's Ash Wednesday
SL: What religion are you today? (in a demeaning tone)
ME: I am LDS but I find good in all religions.
SL: But Mormons don't believe in the cross right?
Me: We believe Christ died on the cross for our sins but we don't worship the cross. Personally, I find peace in the cross.
SL: So, drawing that cross on your forehead is against your religion right?
Me: Actually a priest put it there.
SL: Well, separation of church and state right? Where are you now?
Me: Are you saying I have to wash it off?
SL: Yes.
I complied and went immediately to the bathroom and washed it off. I then went to the computer room and Googled soldier Ash Wednesday and came up with multiple articles specifically about how the ash cross is an exception to the uniform policy and one specifically about how soldiers in Middle Eastern combat zones are allowed to wear it even though it may offend the local populace, but, I decided that even if I did send him an email with the articles, it wouldn't put the ashes back on my forehead so I just let it go.

It's kind of late so I'll just skip to today and try to update this every day in the future. Today is Friday, the third day of lent. I am doing a Lent devotional where each day you read a scripture passage, do an activity, then answer a question. Today was on fasting and the activity was to fast from something specific today. I assumed this meant in addition to what I'm already going without for Lent. Normally I would have just done food but since I have a ten mile run tomorrow I didn't think that would be prudent so I did just meat. It was difficult but there are a lot of good foods offered here that don't have meat in them. This is already getting fairly long so I won't put too many details in. Hopefully tomorrow will be more like a regular diary entry.