Boot Camp
Paul telephoned us recently with some great news--he completed the actual work of boot camp about a week ago. For the next ten days, he is preparing for the graduation ceremonies on August 6-7, and helping clean up for the next batch of incoming recruits.
He described the culmination of boot camp as a grueling week. First, he was paired with a buddy, to dig a small fox hole as their bed for the week. When they weren't sleeping, they lay on the ground near the fox hole, on call for long stretches of watch duty. That involved laying still and avoiding getting shot with blanks from other soldiers. Paul said it was hours and hours of waiting and not moving, yet being on total alert. They also took one more long march, carrying heavy packs and other equipment.
But now the hard part of boot camp is finished, and he is looking forward to graduation, as are we.
Serendipity?
Pastor and I both plan for worship weeks, if not months, in advance. It's amazing how often those choices fit well for events that were not known at all during the planning. Today's theme is a good example of God working ahead of time to speak to particular people on a particular day. To my knowledge, God worked out a "triple" today (although there may have been more of which I was unaware).
1) A young child named Logan was baptized, becoming the newest member of our congregation.
2) Our daughter Rachel worshiped at Trinity for the last time before heading to college. The sermon's emphasis on foster families and our forever home with Jesus fit her day very well.
3) We said goodbye today to Irene, one of the musicians in choir and the bell ensemble, who will move out of town this week to live closer to her son. She has been a faithful member of our church for 65 years. "I'm But a Stranger Here, Heaven is My Home," is a hymn I chose weeks ago. I knew she loved this hymn, but had no idea we would sing it on her last Sunday among us, and that it would figure so prominently in the sermon:
The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost 8 – July 19, 2016
Text: Ephesians 2:11-22
Theme: Welcome Home
If you have ever been foster parents or if you have ever been a
foster child, you know that there are some intricacies in that reality
that are not understood by the outside world. Foster children have a
very difficult time feeling comfortable in their lives. They feel as
though if they like the foster home too much, they are abandoning
their birth parents. On the other hand, if they focus too much on
their birth parents, they feel as though they are not moving on with
their lives. They are stuck in the now, neither being able to
appreciate the past nor anticipate the future. This just scratches the
surface of what is a highly complex and hugely difficult emotional
problem. I suppose that only a foster child truly knows what it feels
like to be a foster child and only a foster parent truly knows what it
feels like to be a foster parent. However, having said that, I think
we can all imagine what it feels like to be excluded, to not fit in, to
live in an unstable, unrooted life. We like to know what we are
going to be doing tomorrow, where we will be eating and where we
will be sleeping. No one enjoys living life in a state of flux.
That is how Jeremiah saw his people and that is how Jesus saw
the people in the Gospel for today. People were running to and fro
not able yet to enter their new adoptive home in heaven and yet neither really at home in this world. Harassed and helpless like
sheep without a shepherd. Things have not changed much for us.
We are still living our lives in a state of flux. We can’t get to where
we belong until we die,we have no control over when that happens
and we don’t fit in where we are. So we have to be where we have
to be for now and we don’t know how long the “now” will last. We
are a lot like foster children. We know where we belong but we
cannot get there on our own. We just have to wait. Every foster
child knows that at one time, he belonged to his biological parents.
He knows innately that it was the biological parent’s responsibility
to care for him. No matter how hard people try to explain to him all
of the logical reasons why his biological parents are not with him,
caring for him, watching over him, he probably feels lost and left
behind, abandoned.
We belong to God. We know innately that we need to be with
God as our first parents were in the Garden of Eden. He has
promised that he has a place prepared for us but for now we must
live here in this alien land. Nothing here is as it should be and we
are sometimes heartsick as we live our lives here wanting to be
there, waiting to be there. We hear all of the logical explanations of
why we are here and he is there and logically we can agree that the
brokenness in which we live is a consequence of our sin and when the time is right, God will bring us home. Our minds get it. But
telling our hearts is a harder matter. Getting our heart to fully grasp
the promise of salvation and ignore Satan’s constant taunting that
he will never come for us…that is a difficult matter…that is an
impossible proposition.
But St. Paul gives us hope. We have no fear that Satan will
have his way and we will spend eternity in this place of pain and
tears. The legal battle has already taken place and we have been
purchased. We have been formally adopted by the Father in heaven
and our brother Jesus Christ is on his way to take us home. We sold
our souls to Satan for the price of a piece of fruit, but Jesus Christ
paid the price of that sin by suffering Hell and we are now eternal
citizens of Heaven. Everything is prepared and now we only await
transport. Like foster children, we live in the not yet.
Sometimes we intentionally disrupt our lives with sin because
even though we know that the life Christ has prepared for us is far
better than this life, we are insecure and we long for what we can
know, what we can touch and taste and smell. Sin is what we know.
We know the sour, sickly smell of sin and as putrid as it is, it is also
that comfortable to us. Heaven, perfection, holiness, paradise?
These things we often fear because we fear what we do not know.
We live in between and that is unsettling but Paul promises us that we are headed for a much better home where our Father awaits us
with open arms.
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are
fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus
himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being
joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.”
That is who we are, not abandoned, forgotten children, but
saints, members of the household of God. He gives us his Word and
his very body and blood to empower us to remember who we are
and whose we are. He is coming for us and the day will come when
we walk across the threshold of heaven and see Jesus and hear him
say to us, “Welcome home.”
Letters
A few days ago, Paul received some "freebie" phone time from the army because his debit card had been hacked and he had to handle the problem. Paul used part of that phone time to call Jonathan.
Paul asked for us to let everyone know that any letters he receives at Fort Benning after graduation will NOT be forwarded, and instead destroyed. Graduation is on August 7, and Paul suggested that people stop writing him ten days before that, which is July 28.
1 July 15
Paul saved up all the questions that Jonathan had asked in previous correspondence, and answered them all in one letter:
Dear Dad,
I’m glad to hear your guys’ trip
[to Virginia] was good. I’m glad that
Sarah and Rachel like their gift. It was
something that I actually wore.
So just to answer some of your
questions, the whole nicotine, caffeine thing isn’t a big deal, we just can’t
do it while we are here at basic, not sure why, we just don’t get to ask.
Also shooting is all in itself, I
will explain it to you when I get a phone call.
There’s a lot more than just aim and pull the trigger.
The medal of honor thing, I don’t
even know, about all they told me was they gave my name to battalion for
shooting really good, for a chance to get the medal.
The church services are kind of
like any other service but there’s a chaplain.
I go to Protestant but I’ve gone to Catholic, didn’t like it, but
Protestant is like the youth group services when we went on retreats (guitars,
drums, etc.).
The Bible study is still good, me
and that guy get together and plan it out, see what people talked about the
most from last week, and we plan off of that, but there are about 45 people
that come to it.
I will not be coming home with you
guys [after graduation], I really want to but I have to report to my duty
station right away. I think it’s because
they are deploying soon. I think they
are going to the Middle East.
Also the second language thing
[Russian], I didn’t tell them at first, then they found out, and I told them I
forgot it because I would have had to stay here and get deployed to Europe,
which I didn’t want.
Also safety is a huge thing here,
so nobody has been shot even though it wouldn’t hurt to get rid of some of
these guys, but you know otherwise there isn’t that much injury, mostly people
faking. The thing is that if you miss 72
hours of training then you fail basic training and have to start all over.
Also I am wanting deployment
first because I can come back with a sergeant rank for me from it. I’m going to wait till I’m maybe like 25 or
so.
Another thing in the infantry is
the army’s prized possession, and they train us like the Special Forces (SF)
Reaction Force, and it’s the same exact training that the SF guys get, that’s
why there are so many guys quitting and trying to run away. We have this thing that gets people to quit
really quick, it’s called Full Battle Rattle, which is full battle gear like
everything we own and they wake us up at like 2 am and we go outside and get
smoked till someone quits, fun I know.
Well that’s all I got for now but
I will call you guys over family weekend because I will get my phone back
then. I will keep you posted on what I
do here.
-
love Paul
27 June 15
I previously wrote a postcard to Paul that I would be having an outpatient heart
procedure on June 26th. He
received permission to telephone me on June 25th to wish me well and
again on June 26th after the procedure. Considering that he ordinarily receives his
phone for 10 minutes every five weeks, I was impressed with the Army that they
would allow him to call me. We received
his second phone call as I checked out of the hospital and talked with him for
almost 15 minutes. Here's a letter he wrote the next day:
Hey guys how’s it going? So I know I called you on the 26th
and said I will get leave after graduation.
Well I won’t. I will be shipped
to Washington 30 minutes after the graduation.
So if you made any plans for that, like for me to come home with you, I
would cancel them. Well that’s it that’s
all the news I have since yesterday. I
will keep you posted.
-
love Paul
[June 25, 2015]
In this letter, Paul mentions his friend Neal, who is our pastor’s son, stationed in
Washington State with the Navy. A few years ago, Paul and Neal took a fishing vacation together to Seattle, where Neal's family had lived when he was a young boy.
Hey everyone,
Hope your guys trip [to Virginia] was fun. So I
had a couple of fun days this last week.
We are learning how to move and fire in squads. It’s about 4 guys per squad, and I’m the squad
leader of mine. Tuesday we shot at a
range again but we shot the 40 mm grenade launcher machine gun. It shoots about 60 rounds per minutes. That’s pretty fast for grenades. After that we shot the 50 cal mounted machine
gun, that was even more fun because we got to shoot at old tanks, also there
are tracer rounds like every 3rd bullet. A tracer round is a bullet when fired will
start to burn and you will see it fly through the sky, it’s really cool it’s
like a bright red color. After that we
shot the rocket launcher and that was okay, the explosion when you fire it is
louder than the one when the rocket hits whatever you wanted it to hit.
Today we did the 10 mile road
march, it’s a 80 lbs ruck sack FLC (for amo and water), helmet, and weapon, and
the bullet proof vest. All together it’s
about 160 lbs so not too bad. I did it
in about 2-1/2 hours. I now know where
I’m going but not sure how long I will have till I have to report to base. I’m going to Fort Louis Washington, so I’ll
be stationed at almost the same place as Neal.
It’s pretty much in Seattle. Well
that’s about all I got to say, not much else is happening. Well I can’t wait to see you guys. I miss you all and love all of you.
-
love Paul
20 June 15 Conclusion
On our recent trip to Virginia to visit my family, we left our
dachshund Kentucky in Chicago with our friends the Waldrons. They trained him to sleep in a dog crate at
night and while they were out of the house.
It was a new experience for Kentucky, who did alright.
“Turning Blue” is a ceremony on August 6, the
day before graduation, when a soldier receives his Infantry Blue Cord, signifying that the completion of all requirements to earn the title of U.S. Army Infantryman. According to a letter from Paul's commander, at this ceremony Paul will be joining "the ranks of the strongest, best equipped and most highly trained Soldiers in the world."
Can’t wait to hear how Kentucky
liked the cage. I am pretty sure that
you guys can bring him to the graduation but I’ll have to get back to you on
that one. Also the turning blue, that
cord I’ll have you put it on me, I think it would be better than a drill
sergeant, plus I get a choice in it. Also
my name got sent to a higher people in the military for shooting expert, and
I’ll have a chance to get a medal of honor for it. Well that’s all I have for now, Will keep
writing more.
Love Paul
20 June 15
Paul writes after receiving a large box of toiletries that we shipped to
him. He had specified that deodorant is
allowed, but not antiperspirant. We also
included, at his request, two lacrosse balls.
Dear Dad,
Thanks for the letters and for
the care package, it was good to get it. The deodorant is the Army’s idea not
mine it’s because they want us to sweat, and antiperspirant won’t let us
sweat. The ball is to play wall ball or
push up ball. It’s a game we came up
with, you bounce it hard to someone in a big circle and only bounce one and
they have to catch it with one hand, if it’s two or they drop it or go for it
but change their mind they have to do 10 push ups and every 5 minutes we go up
10 push ups. It gets pretty intense. I also use it to roll out sore muscles, which
actually works really good . . . .
to be continued
Paul 16 June 15
Paul sent Rachel an ID
tag on a chain to wear as a necklace.
Sarah received the name “Stahlke” (backed in Velcro) that goes on the back
of his hat. Paul had received a new
uniform, and he sent the items from the old uniform to his sisters.
Hey everyone
Well today was a complete waste of my time, I spent the
entire day doing nothing at all.
Tomorrow I’m doing shooting with live fire while moving. Anyway I got your letters today . . . .
Well not all that much more to say since I wrote one like
yesterday. Hope Rachel & Sarah like
the stuff I sent them. When I get my new
uniforms I will send some more stuff to each one of the kids. But now I’m going to go knock out a few
hundred pushups and sit ups, then go to bed.
Well I miss you guys and can’t wait to see you guys.
-
love Paul
Paul's Letter 14 June 15
Quote of the Week:
Georgia is "pretty hot" in the summer!
Hey everyone hope you
guys are doing good. I don’t know if you know this but today is the
Army’s birthday. So we got to have cake at chow today but I will
have to work it all off. Tomorrow I’m having my APFT (Army Physical
Fitness Test) and I’ve done the shooting qualifications now, shot expert like
top 4% of the company. So I will be going to my unit looking better
than most, so that’s good. Today we got to sleep in a little, didn’t
have to wake up at 4 am, got up at 6 today. Went to church today,
cleaned the bay, and waiting to go get my haircut. We are now in
Blue Phase so 3 more weekends and I can get off the base for a
while. We should get our phones tomorrow for a little bit, probably like
10 minutes again, then I will have it over the family weekend
again. I got Burger King for shooting expert
yesterday. And as bad as those haircuts look and feel, I’m glad I’m
getting one in a while, because it’s always hot here, add all
the uniform and Rattle Battle Ready stuff (bullet proof uniform/vest, helmet,
FLC (the thing that holds all my amo, magazines, and my water), it gets pretty
hot.
Well not much happening
right now but will let you know if something does. You guys can keep
writing me. I miss you all and can’t wait to see you all.
- love Paul
Paul’s Letter 13 June 15 Conclusion
Leading up to the family weekend for the 4th of July, the
first three phases of Paul’s boot camp, are labeled red, white, and blue. Our good friends, Mark and Cindy Waldron, just drove from Chicago to spend family weekend with Paul.
I also have the white phase test,
today is the last day of white phase.
Tomorrow is last 3 weeks of blue phase.
Well that’s about all that’s going on with me, let me know how everything
is back home. I miss all of you guys and
can’t wait to see you all . . . . – love
Paul
Paul's Letter 13 June 15
Hey guys
How's everything and everyone doing? I'm still good, not much different with me, still wake up at 4 am as usual. So yesterday I earned my first rare badge, which is really good. Remember how I was explaining the marksman stuff in one of my other letters? 0-22 is fail, 23-29 is marksman, 30-35 is sharpshooter, 36-40 is expert. I got expert and was in like the top 4% of the company, so when I get my badge which will go on my ASU's (my dress uniform), they will also give my name to battalion for possible medal of honor (not sure what kind). So my first day I shot a 32 as a sharpshooter, and I ended up having 8 more rounds left at the end, to find out that one of the targets never came up, but because I scored a 32 they wouldn't let me reshoot because I did better than most people. On the next day I shot a 38. I missed two 300-meter targets but I'm really happy with that score.
to be continued
Paul Letter 8 June 15
Paul sent gifts to his siblings from boot camp. Here's his description of the items for David and Peter:
P.S. There should be 2 knives made out of wood for David and Peter. I made them both, and Peter's has my whole platoons guys names on it, including mine. They can do with them as they like.
Paul Letter Conclusion 6 June 15
Saturday we did the 40 mm grenade
launchers that was a lot of fun. You
shoot grenades through windows, at targets, and just to get rid of them. Tomorrow we are going to the range again and
we will pretty much be doing that till family weekend [July 4-5]. Tomorrow will be behind cover though, so
before we were laying or kneeling, now we will be behind stuff like boards or a
wall. Then we will be shooting moving
targets that go side to side. Friday is
the real qualification day. That’s the
one that will be on my dress uniform, and I will hopefully do as an expert
again, plus you get benefits if you do good at PT and shooting. That’s about all that’s happening for me this
week. Then next week is the 3rd
APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test), and I’m aiming to get somewhere in the 280s
for the score. Also the shooting is from
50 meters to 300 meters and we use scores with laser dots now. You can’t see the red dot unless you look in
the scope.
Well let me know how everything
is at home . . . . Not much more to say, just work out all the time and eat,
shoot, and sleep, that’s my life till August.
Write me when you guys can and send me more pictures of anything. – love Paul
Paul's Letter 6 June 15
Hey everyone,
Hope you guys are good, and hope
you guys are enjoying your summer. I’m
stuck here but I am having fun now. So I
know you guys are running kind of a week or so behind on my letters, so I’ll
tell you what I did last week and this week.
We were on the range shooting, then Thursday was practice qualification
and there are 4 different categories to them, actually 5. There’s the unqualified which is 0-22-fail,
then 23-30 is marksman which is army standard for the Army Infantry, then 31-35
is sharpshooter which is good, then 36-40 is expert. All the shooting qualifications are out of
40. If you hit 40 out of 40 it’s deadeye
which Fort Benning has produced 4 so far.
I shot a 37 last Friday for the qualification on Friday, and in the
morning we did the 8 mile ruck march.
Passed my physical fitness test by a lot, got a 248 out of 300 so that’s
pretty good. I could possibly pick up a
special forces contract, or an option 40 contract (Rangers) but not sure if
I’ll take it. I want to deploy
sooner.
to be continued
