Trying To Catch Up!

Dear All,

I think we will hit our first 100 degree day. Day before yesterday the air changed and that nice crispness that was there vanished and you could feel the heat settling in. Though there is a breeze it is like a warm blow dryer coming at you. It does help though having the air circulate. I can’t imagine what it will be like come July. I’ll be sure to share. Well I started this blog two weeks and am just now getting to finish. The weather though warm has not been bad at all. Mild temperatures with somewhat cool nights and mornings!

What makes the days so fun are the troops that come in the center. Though we have many regulars we also get many that are just passing through Balad and find us. I can’t wait to get you a picture as we had another set of brothers come in the other night. Two darling young men and their third brother will arrive here soon. I understand that they were featured on one of your night news shows here recently. I just think of their mother and father. I will send her pictures every time I can get them together.

We got another order of 550 cord in yesterday so the Connecting Through Crafts is back running full swing. I think it is so fun to see the troops have fun doing that kind of stuff. It is one of those relaxing things that they can do and then send home or have for themselves. They are pretty funny about it. Well since I wrote last they have used all the 550 cord. We can’t believe it. We had probably 15 different colors and 500ft of each. They love making the bracelets and key chains. Time to reorder!

I am not sure I have ever told you about the OPSEC training I had some months ago. It is an important issue that all here has to know and follow. OPSEC stands for Operation Security! It is unfathomable to me that there would or could be those out their/terrorist that would go through trash or tap in to phone lines or emails or anything to gain information to try and use against our troops or civilians that are deployed. I am careful to never mention specifics of when we travel. Though it becomes public information quickly that we have mortar attacks here, hence the name “Mortaritaville” I am not to say where any of those may have hit at least not unless it has become public through media. Every package you send me I cut the labels off and the labels are shredded or burned. When I am on the phone I can’t share times and dates of specific events or dignitaries that are coming! All these things if not done properly could put others in harm’s way. This has all been new to me as I have lived a pretty sheltered life and in a very sheltered environment. Exact dates, times, locations are all romper room no no’s to share.
Week before last I went to another special part of this compound and spent the day filming United Through reading. What a thrill. I filmed 61 that day. That represents 105 children. Isn’t that cool? This group of troops rarely has the opportunity for special things so it was so nice to be able to provide it for them. They were so appreciative and being a first for most, it was a day to dry tears and encourage them they could make it through. One young man was so nervous and he finally said that this would be the first time his two year old son got to see him. Hard to believe and who knows why but how wonderful to think this little program had a part in introducing a father and son. I also had another new baby this week. One of my Dr. at the hospital had his third. A baby boy! I just turned in my March reports and we filmed 548 United Through Readings in the month of March. To the best of my calculations we have filmed, and by we I mean all you who have supported this, 1357. Imagine that! That is well over 2500 happy children who were recipients of your support and generosity.

I can’t remember if I mentioned in my blog but my friend Laurie did a chocolate candy drive and we received over four hundred pounds of chocolate. Thank you DynCorp and the Southern Cruisers! The troops have loved it and believe it or not, they have just about gone through it all. They open the fridge and you can hear them say Wow! Chocolate!

The center continues to get busier and busier. We have had many troops volunteer their time and we are trying to put together a schedule so we have the help we need in the center. Our Air Force units are only here for three/four month rotations and so every time we get them trained up they leave. The group that did so much to get our center up and running just left this week and it was another round of sad goodbyes. We have another new addition to our center. They built a deck on the side just outside our lounge. We had our inaugural cook out this past Sunday and the troops had a great time grilling, making guacamole and drinking near beer. The music was cranked up and the night full of laughter.

I need to close. I apologize that I can’t seem to write more often. My ninety to hundred hour weeks, though exciting and great and full of the very thing I love doing, supporting our troops does leave me at the end of the day pretty beat. Thank you for all the books you have sent.

In His Mighty Grip,
Linda