The last week of the year has proven to be somewhat interesting. I have some more pictures to add to my "what I did not expect to see in the desert" category: snow. Big huge flakes. Enough to dust the ground and make the hills around the base white. I was told this is a rare occurence here. As our commander said, he ordered snow for Christmas but like everything else here it takes a little longer to arrive so it was a few days late.
Those of you who were involved in Operation Little Debbie will be pleased to know the Little Debbie cakes have all been passed out now and they went over like gang busters. They were a huge hit. My office looked like a storage room at the Piggly Wiggly.
Had a little startle this afternoon in the form of a loud zoom and a loud thud - another rocket attack from some of our neighbors here. We continue to have casualties come to us on a regular basis. Last night was a night of firsts for us though as we received two children along with an adult. I helped carry the youngest, a little boy, in from the helicopter. Our team did an amazing job. Both children are recovering at one of our more advanced hospitals.
It has been very cold here but mostly clear. The stars are amazing, at least on the nights when the sky is not fogged from the burning fumes from the area refineries. At least the cold weather has put the creepy crawlies into hibernation.
Our chapel has been spruced up a bit thanks to one of our Master Sergeants with a nack for staining glass. Stained glass truly helps give the old building an appearance of a sacred space.
To all you who helped with donations through Operation Aircare I want to say a special thank you. Not only were Little Debbie donated but many many other food and snack items and other items hard to come by over here. Much of this found its way into our Christmas celebrations. In fact, thanks to your generosity, I was able to fill a Humvee up with donated food stuffs for the Army to have a reception following a Christmas Eve service that they looked to have to cancel because they could not secure refreshments. It has made a huge difference to our folks to know that they are thought of back home.
May God bless all with a blessed and prosperous New Year.
