Dearly Beloved,
Letter from Afghanistan
Dear Nuala, Cissy, Curt, Dick, Harry, and all the wonderful people from St. Gregory's Church,
I received three boxes today from your congregation. It was a wonderful surprise. The soldiers are always grateful to get items. I normally open each package to make sure everything is OK. Then if I know someone in particular who needs items I give them to the member directly. Otherwise we have a building that has a covered porch and it is lined up with stacked plastic drawers and I normally put in the toothbrushes, toothpaste, and dental floss in one drawer, the shampoo and conditioners in another, creams in another, snacks- - well, you get the idea. The soldiers go and take the things they need. I also send boxes down range to some of the other camps.
There was a bag of suckers in one of the boxes. Tomorrow we are going on a humanitarian aid mission where we take packages to some of the very poor villages here. I took the liberty of taking the bag of suckers and will be giving them to the children of the village there. I hope this is OK with you as I know the soldiers don't mind so long as I don't take their chocolate.
There was a question in one of the letters as to what we could use and what it not so helpful. To answer that question, snacks are always welcome as we put them in our pockets and snack when we are out on missions. Regular food like the canned goods are not. We normally eat our main meals in the mess hall and really don't have a way to cook other items. Females always need feminine hygiene products. And everything else is always appreciated.
Harry was asking about sports. We set up a volley ball net and like to play when we get a chance. Some of the larger camps have a gym set up so we can play basketball and work out with weights. We try to have fun when we can in our down time. I hope you enjoyed your hockey tournament.
If you like I can put you on my email list. When I have time I update my friends as to what is going on and sometimes send pictures. Let me know if you would be interested in being added.
Pray for the families of the soldiers we lost recently to the road side bombs, 4 of them were from Illinois. Some had small children at home. One of our soldiers who was a mother of a 2 year old was at the Gate of Camp Eggers when a suicide bomber came in and she was very badly burned and was sent to Texas but we just lost her a couple of days ago also.
May God bless you for your kindness to our soldiers, sailors, Marines, and Airmen who serve here in Afghanistan.
Gigi Banjak, 33rd BCT, Camp Phoenix, APO AE 09320 gigi.a.banjak@us.army.mil.
Congratulations Corner: The Highland Park Character Counts Committee selected Cissy Singleton as one of its 2009 Robert Barnard Character Counts Pillar Award Recipients. The Committee honors nominees whose beliefs, attitudes and actions consistently exemplify the six pillars of character: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship. "It is with great pride," beamed a spokesperson for Highland Park High School, where Cissy works in the Dean's Office, that she has been given this Award by the city of Highland Park "for all of the good work she does in our office as well as for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan."
"Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God" (Romans 15:7).
We need several new ushers to welcome people and work with the Vestry Greeter at the very same service you usually attend on Sunday mornings. Schedules are mailed out every two or three months, as well as reminder cards about a week before your assigned Sunday. This is such an important ministry, and yet one which is occasional and easy- - and rewarding- - to do. If you are interested, please call Carol Hirsheimer (847-945-1678) or email her at office@stgregoryschurch.org.
Faithfully yours,
"We are ambassadors for Christ, God appealing to the world through us." 2 Corinthians 5:20
Comments