Marking Time

The picture is of my second full moon in Afghanistan, seen here setting over the mountains. I didn't quite get the picture right, but the moon sets fast, so I had to do my best with post production. Keeping time by the moon is natural for someone working night shift. Every time you walk outside, it is there looking down at you. Was it Robinson Crusoe that kept time by marking a stick? I can't remember, but I have found that I mark time many ways while I am here. I have a stack of clean clothes in my closet here, since I just did laundry for the fourth time. I keep time by paychecks, and by meals. I can almost keep time by pounds lost (9 so far, which means a ways to go still).

Marking time isn't just a way of looking back at how far you've come, it is a way of anticipating the good times ahead. My church has a coffeehouse called "Ebenezers," the name given by Samuel in the Old Testament to monuments to things God had done. It means, literally "hitherto the Lord has helped us" or, as my pastor would say "so far, so God." The name of the coffeehouse, by the way, is plural, not possessive, marking the many times God has been faithful. Every time we measure our days gone by, we are setting Ebenezers if we do it with gratitude towards God. I have a pile of clean underwear in my closet that is an Ebenezer, and when I have a pile of dirty underwear in my closet, that will be an Ebenezer too.

However, I think of the words "hitherto" or "so far" (as the NIV says) as being also forward looking. "So far" implies something further, and an Ebenezer is not only a mark of what God has done, but a faith-building encouragement of what God still has ahead.

This week are two Ebenezers that are important to me. My son's first birthday is tomorrow, and my wife's birthday is the day after. For me, these days not only mark how far God has brought each of them, but the promise of more days ahead. Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday J. and N., happy birthday to you . . . and many more.

The Mountains are the Feet of Him

The dust here is thin and light. It is easily cast up into the air, and doesn't easily settle again. I would almost expect to see the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg peering at me through the dusty haze, but instead it is the mountains. In the daylight you could almost miss them, mistaking the mountains for a distant cloud. On a clearer day, you might see some contours in the steep slopes. The base here certainly adds to the mix with regular vehicle, foot, and air traffic, stirring up dust which simply circulates around this bowl in the Hindu Kush.

I am at an elevation of about 4800 feet, but the mountains around me rise up another 10,000 or so not too far from here. If you were to follow the chain south and east, you would come upon the Himalayas. They act as a shield here, keeping the monsoon rains in India, and Afghanistan rather dry. It is not without rivers though, as the steep slopes work to gather the water and send it flowing down, eventually reaching the generous Indus river, and then the sea. Alexander the Great followed Afghanistan's Kabul river into the Indus river valley, bypassing the better known (and easier) Khyber Pass. To the north are the mines of Badakhshan, known for its lapis lazuli. Lapis lazuli was once the very definition of the color blue, an expensive source of pigments for Renaissance artists, and called "sapphires" (now used to describe a different blue gem). When the book of Job makes reference to sapphires, it is really talking about lapis lazuli (known for its white veins and golden flecks).

To the west are the ruins of the giant Buddha statues of Bamiyan, destroyed by the Taliban shortly before Operation Enduring Freedom began. Those statues would have been viewed by travelers on the "Silk Road" a network of trade routes that cross through Afghanistan, some not far from here. Perhaps it is because of this trade (and a number of military conquests) that Afghanistan still preserves a diverse population and cultural heritage. These cultures have somehow managed to survive two of the most culturally oppressive regimes in recent history (Soviet Russia and the Taliban, though there are certainly no shortage of other contenders).

And here I am. In the Hindu Kush; an Islamic Republic; a land where once Buddhism held great cultural influence -- an odd place for a Christian. I wonder whether the light of Christianity ever pierced through this dusty air. Perhaps the Apostle Thomas made it this far, but I have my doubts. Even if Christianity has barely reached this valley, the Christian God is not absent from this land. Maybe instead of sitting in a simple valley, I'm sitting in The Creator's footprint. Certainly, He has been here before me, is here with me now, and will be here after I leave this place. Will the people here know Him?

I pray that God would make Himself known in this place, from the deepest cave, to the highest mountain top, and in every river valley. I wish it were my mission here to proclaim Him, but it isn't. In fact, they have rules against any sort of evangelism . . . but not against hope, and not against love. How can I fulfill the Great Commission as well as my official mission here? Can you make disciples without saying a word?

To Reason Why

When people hear I'm headed overseas for six months, they usually ask some variation on the question "why?" In some ways, it is a question that has a lot of answers. I don't think I could really endure six months away from my family motivated by a single reason, it takes a lot of reasons -- and good ones. Many of you know the deciding reason for me going. We should be able to afford a place outside of DC for a price that would allow us to live off of one income, so Jenn could stay at home with Nathan. It will be wonderful to have Jenn be able to be a stay at home mom, something she's probably better at than teaching (which is saying something).

When I deployed to Iraq for four months, I lost a good amount of weight. It helps when you have a gym nearby with little else to do for entertainment. I hope to lose weight again this time, and to stay active and healthy when I get back.

Spiritual growth is also something at the front of my mind. It is easy to fall into the habit of working a job everyday and forgetting the role God is playing everyday in sustaining you and providing for you. The title of my blog I think describes how I'd really like to live. I have heard people say that your faith is weak if you can't give God credit in the easy times and the challenging times. I wonder if it really means you should just seek out more challenges. Do you try to change your faith to accommodate your life, or change your life to grow your faith?

I also think the war in Afghanistan should be fought, and if (believing that) I am in a position to help, I should. The guys in the military don't always have the same choice. I will be going forward for the second time, for a total of ten months, while many in the military have done two or three one year tours. It certainly won't hurt me in my career, either.

I hope to use this blog to keep you informed about how I am doing in these areas and in general. Don't expect much information about what I'm doing, of course. I hope to keep my friends and family informed, but that doesn't mean I'm seeking to be very public. I hope that you'll respect these concerns by not linking to this blog from a publicly accessible site. Thank you to all those who are praying for me.