From Iraq

[Janet]

A friend of mine who works in our local Extension Office sent this to me. It was from her son to his family.

enjoy what he has to say as much as I did. Most of the e-mails I get from him are just the "I'm tired, busy and dirty" ones. This one really tells us what he's thinking and why he's there. Please keep up the prayers!

Debbi


From her son, Bart:

hey, this is the life that i have chosen. sometimes i regret it, most of the time anyway, but there are some bright points that keep me doing what i do. not getting anything for christmas is my choice. it is okay. i feel like i have a sense of duty out here. christmas is more about family, and being home for the holidays and enjoying each other. i dont mind sacrificing a little bit of time to make it all that much more sweeter once i get home.

it is kinda like my way of betting on things being better if in the long run i think that they will be better. i dont mean to pull other folks in and make them suffer in the process. i dont want you to hurt because i am here. i dont want you to stress about things. i dont like even hearing it. it is already hard enough out here. i hope that mandi having another little one, morgan, and jeffery coming home from school will keep you occupied. they need you a lot. they love you tons. i am in Gods hands, and those of the men i serve with. if it is to be okay, then it will. once it is accepted, than it is easier to deal with. that dosent
mean that i dont give up on working hard, or take short cuts. once i come
home i have a lot to do, but i will have a time that i will do very little and just drink it in. it is part of what i like about suffering a little, how sweet the homecoming is. this time it is different though.

it is a lot more hard, and it is a lot more lonely. ty and i had a talk tonight on
the roof. we heard a gunfight, and some explosions, nothing new. we talked
about the b.s., and all of the waste that surrounds us. we also talked about home, and how much we are ready to return. then we talked about how
we dont want to come back, or grow old here.

we also talked about how weird it must be to be a teen growing up wathcing the news and wondering if you are going to be pulled into some fight that you dont even know why the country is fighting. most people back home dont care about us, or really only care on the outside. i know that you are different. i know that most of my family understands. if anyone wants to send me something, just pray.

i dont have any needs over here. some love back home would be nice. some understanding by others, and some true concern for the real vets that return. not the posers, the POGs, or the rear echelon wanna be's, or any of the other thousands of folks that this is a paid vacation for. the true warriors are in the fight, and ask for no mention, or visits from hollywood stars. we cant afford to have a day off to jack around at a concert. we dont get the good food, equipment, or supplies. we get the stuff after all of the other rear fellows have picked through it. once it gets to the fight it is usually too late.

once we do fight, we are held back by higher ups that strangle us with their holier than thou are rules and politically correct tactics. i can suffer a bit for you guys, my family, friends and loved ones. it is nothing. it only hurts when the bickering, posing, politing, and meakness peirce us out here. i am here for a better future for my loved ones. iraq will fall into even more turmoil and death
will be in every home. hopefully we wont be here when that happens.

we did throw the first punch on this one though. we were itching for a fight.
now there is talk about iran. our leaders will be fools to fight them. not because we cant beat them as a country, only because what the hell will we do with that mess once we topple the government? this is all a complex mess. i hope that the folks with money and influence are made to have their sons go off into such a dreamy effort.

then maybe we will learn what the minions like me have already been schooled on. this war is making these young men into bitter untrusting warriors. i wonder what we will come home to? a lot has been on my mind.

i am really tired, but i had to get it off of my mind. the thoughts make me awake and i feel alert. hope i didnt ramble too much.

love,
me


You can tell how hard it must be for these young men...please don't forget them in your Thanksgiving prayer and please pray for them everyday !!

[Marilyn]

The politicians need to read this. We would not be in Iraq if it weren't for their oil. If we are there for Iraqi freedom, to stop genocide, to establish democracy, we should be helping the people in Africa. Oh, but they are black and poor and have no oil. No real reason to help them.