For Fun

Running. I try to run at least 4 miles every other day. There are also organized runs here for special occassions. For labor day there was a run, and there was also a run on the Navy’s birthday (13 Oct). To complete a 5K you must run around the camp five times (there are no airstrips here)! Quarteeya and I have also found aerobics to be fun. My roommate, Charnelle, teaches the class. Pastor Blake quoted this in a sermon before I left, “You cannot isolate the spiritual from the physical for we are body, mind, and spirit.” I resolved to be fit in more ways than one.

I also read quite a bit. I brought quite a few books here and usually read before bed. Of most interest, The Heavenly Man (addresses the evangelical growth/persecution in China as an autobiography) and Heaven is for Real (a little boys experience during appendicitis) have been recent reads. Carrie (a roommate) and I both couldn’t tell the story of the little boy fast enough to Charnelle while doing Carrie’s hair one night. Since then, doing Carrie’s hair has become a tradition on Thursday nights; I am learning the most unlikely topic in the most unlikely place.

The camp has activities put on by the morale welfare and recreation (MWR). The first week I was here there was an “Idol” contest similar to American Idol. We have also had four astronauts come as a heroes to space tribute. One was the first astronaut in space and another was the CC of Apollo 13. There are movie nights here every Monday.

I am the designated “party planner”. When we celebrate occassions we buy cakes and pastries from a local bakery.  The cakes are surprisingly good, although the office thinks they don’t compare to Auntie Tootsie’s pound cake which took 8 days to get here! 

As for the Afghans, they celebrated Eid at the end of Ramadan. This celebration marks the end of their fasting. When I was walking to lunch one day, I noticed the girls were dressed up. Here is a picture I took with them during Eid:

Most of all, the people make this place. In some ways the people remind me of my family. Michael says, “You can call me anything, but don’t call me late for supper” and Aaron likes to tap people on the opposite shoulder to make them turn around. Without a doubt, the people are making this place fun.