Catching a Train

A brother chaplain described your first weeks here at Osan as "trying to catch a moving freight train". I have to concur. We are spinning up our Protestant ministries, so I am on a fast moving steep learning curve about how we do things here.

I am responsible for AWANA which has a great leader already thank goodness. Also for PYOC (Protestant Youth of the Chapel) which we are restarting from scratch, but I have the help of a couple of dedicated local missionaries. I am coordinating outreach efforts, with the assistance of a local Korean who helps us with language and liaison items, for local orphanages. I am taking point on the Traditional Service which likely means that I will also be primarily caring for the Liturgical Service as well. Then I have a couple of Groups (a component of the Air Force) each composed of several squadrons as well as a few cats and dogs here and there to watch over. I also find that having my office at the chapel, I get a number of walk in counselings that are often crisis related. I'm also point on a number of projects for our chapel.

It is all work I enjoy doing. I enjoy coordinating events and counseling folks and the worship services I am watching over fit with my preferences traditionally. And I like staying busy, for if I can't be with my family, I'd rather be working than sitting in my room staring at the walls.

I only hope that my efforts can somehow make a difference in the lives of the people I serve. Already I've had several serious occassions to offer support to folks, most individual cases, but there has been one death that lead me to engage with an entire group of folks from the leadership down to the airmen, all grieving the tragic accidental loss of a friend. I also had the challenging privilege of supporting the notification of his wife, a local Korean woman, who spoke little English. Notifications of death is perhaps the hardest thing that we do as chaplains, for here there is no arguing with the reality of our life situation. We die. We offer what comfort can be offered in these occassions, not forcing our religious views on people, but if they share the hope that I share, then I seek to console them with that hope.

I'll have the Memorial Service later this week. My experience at Arlington is invaluable for putting together such an event for it happens quickly. I wish at Arlington that the waiting list was somehow less long, especially for active duty death, but even at 30 funerals a day, which is about the most that can be done without crawling all over one another, there is probably little that can be done to shorten the waiting list. But I do wish we could somehow get the service men and women lost in the line of duty in quicker. I was surprised at how fast Sen. Kennedy's service was taking place. I can only imagine how much work the staff in my former office is engaged in to bring such an important event together. But I also know that for them, each funeral is treated with the same level of respect and care -- each family has lost their loved one and deserves the best and receives the best that the Air Force, Navy, Marine, Coast Guard, and Army staff can offer. I miss Arlington and especially miss my family, but the ministry here has already demonstrated itself as potent and necessary.

Spiders

Korea has some big spiders. And lots of them. We had a burger burn for one of my units last week and this big fat spider about the size of a walnut in his body has a web running between two buildings. And then in the corner where these little yellow and black stripped spindly spiders that stretched out about the size of one's palm. Gives me the willies.

I have finally moved into my permanent quarters on base, fairly comfortable. It is a two room efficiency type apartment. I am pleased to have a kitchen and my internet service back so I can communicate with my family back home. These past two weeks have flown by. It is hard to think that shortly I will have been here three weeks already.

Tomorrow one of the civilians who has been working for the chapel for many years will receive the prestigious Spirit of the 4 Chaplains award. This is a huge award and only given once annually. It says a lot about the civilian staff we have. They are a great bunch of folks.

I am starting to get to know folks and the program here and make some connections with others around. Always lots to do to get connected and spinned up so one can get the mission done. This is a fast paced place.

Now I'm headed for bed as I am up 0 dark thirty for PT. Actually looking forward to it.

First Sunday Services

I led my first services here at Osan today, the early liturgical service and the morning traditional service. I was pleased to learn that there are a number of Lutheran folks in both congregations. The musical director has done an outstanding job. She has a voice like an angel and leads a small but dedicated and skilled choir. A good bunch of folks in general. I enjoyed being back in the saddle again.

Visited the commissary here for the first time yesterday. I'm not going to starve by any means. Very nice. I started to order some items from Walmart for my digs figuring they might be here about the time to move in, but when I saw the shipping cost was more than the items combined I decided to go without. The BX here is ok. I've never been terribly impressed with the selections offered by base BXs but for a situation like here it is fairly good and is tax and shipping free so that part is good. There is a Starbucks here but it is pricey. I'm looking forward to getting my household goods so I can make my own frappucinos.

Making my way through inprocessing. Got most of the big rocks out of the way. Tomorrow I plan to tackle organizing and cleaning out up my office. I also have an invocation for a dedication of a refurbed dormitory here on base.

It has been very hot and humid but at least the monsoon rains have not slammed us like they often do this time of year. We had some rain with the remnants of the typhoon that past through, but it wasn't too bad.

Korea Day 2

I think my day/night cycle is normalizing already - at least I hope so. Today proved to be fruitful. I met my sponsor for lunch and then we toured the base where I got a bit of an orientation to where the units I am responsible for are located as well as where key support agencies are. The chapel is nice and functional. I see that I will have a quick challenge to master. My only experience with a stick is in the desert flat lands where I earned the nickname 13 (for the number of times I stalled it out in a row). I did get the hang of it, but I've not had to drive a stick on hill sides, and guess what Osan has a plethora of. Two of the three chapel vehicles are straight drive. Hence - I anticipate practice in my near future.

We had dinner out in the local area outside the gate at a small mom and pop Korean place. The food was quite good and surprisingly not as spicy as the Korean food I have had stateside. The shopping district reminds me a bit of Gatlinburg only older and of course Korean. But there is a mixture of high quality goods offered and chintzy souvenirs as well. My brother chaplain was proposition on the street by a prostitute, a lovely experience. My biggest surprise was in one shop that did embroidery where my sponsor was placing an order, two American but non-military gentlemen came in. I started speaking to them and discovered they were two Lutheran (LCMS) missionaries from the midwest. I never expected to meet two of our missionaries outside the gate of my base in Korea. Small world.

Am going to visit the two big service tomorrow - the traditional and contemporary to get a feel for them as I anticipate being assigned one of them as my primary service. Found out that I will also be working with AWANA and traveling around Korea a bit to some outlying bases to visit our remote units. This is shaping up to be an exciting, challenging and broadening tour already. I get the feeling the time is going to fly.

Used Skype's video function to talk to family for the first time tonight. While it is not the same as being there, it is certainly better than what I had from Iraq. Helps take the edge off.

Arrival

It is almost 1am in the morning here on Friday and I have arrived at Osan. Actually hit Korea about 163o local time. Fairly simple process to get through the airport to the shuttle to the base, though the cab drivers are very aggressive about trying to get your business as I was warned. I was pleasantly surprised to find that one of the chaplain assistants I will be working with that I knew from DC was also on my flight as he was returning from leave. Nice to have some company in a new country. A large part of our chapel team turned out to welcome me upon my arrival on the base. I am very happy that I have a room on base as many are staying at local hotels. I can tell already that it will be a very busy time but I am looking forward to the diversity and challenges here.

I will say that the dynamics of a 1 year absence from family is quite different from a four month or even six month absence. I think it hit us all harder yesterday when I departed than we anticipated. But thanks to Skype, I think we will survive.

Last Days

Last Friday I had my final funeral ceremony at Arlington, a full ceremony for a fellow Lutheran veteran of the US Air Force. At the start of the ceremony the wind was blowing something fierce and before it was over we had had a short but powerful downpour, but it was warm weather and somehow the scene fit with the ceremony. Following the service, I walked slowly out of section 64, a very meaningful section for me as this is where the victims from the Pentagon who were killed on Sept 11th are found. It was in those days following 9/11 that I started pondering, and looking back, decided to rejoin the military. My family was able to observe from a distance, their first and final time doing so. I was very touched by the kind words of blessing and farewell from honor guard folks who were out for that particular ceremony. I even had the LT who was so helpful to my wife when she catered the big luncheon for the Arlington Ladies commemoration serve as the Officer in Charge over the graveside portion of the honor guard.

I will truly miss Arlington. No doubts as to the truth of this fact. There is an extra special bunch of folks who serve there from those who serve in uniform to the civilian staff who work for the cemetery. As I said at my farewell, each person doing their job well makes it possible for each cermony to be perfect.

The pics are from my last ceremony.

Tomorrow is my last night at home with family for some time to come. It is hard to believe I'll be on a bird to Korea in 36 hours or so for a 12 month tour. I'm looking forward to the change of scenery and to the challenge of service and ministry in that location, but I will miss my family and my friends here. My wife and I went out and tried Korean food for the first time tonight in a local restaurant - very Korean, a bit of a taste in food and culture (including the fact that the folks who work/own the restaurant knew very little english). The food was wonderful. I even decided I like kimchee.

The White House

Through some connections made at Arlington National Cemetery in my time there, we were invited to the White House today to visit the West4Wing where the president, vice-president, and senior officials have their offices as well as the location of the infamous Navy Mess and the press room that is the most commonly viewed room in the White House on television. We also visited and signed out names on the walls of the old swimming pool below the press room not far from where Laura Bush signed her name in 2007. After leaving the White House we explored some of the executive office building next door including the very ornate Indian Treaty Room. Quite a number of the offices are undergoing renovation for the new staff. And they are doing considerable work on the outside of the building as well as evidenced by the scaffolding in place around the entire exterior. The press room in the White House has already been re-done and is quite cozy if small. Saw the infamous large teleprompters in their storage space.

Some things surprised me. It was very quiet. Not much going on on the weekend, though there were a few folks around.

The walls of the West4Wing are covered in pictures and paintings. Some are quite old and famous from well known authors, some from lesser known. Many of the walls are covered in large pictures of the current president and many of the tables have digital frames flashing various pictures of the current president. Outside the oval office was my favorite decoration - two live and very productive red pepper plants in decorative planters. The oval office still boasts President Bush's decor with blue gold stripped chairs and his oval office rug, though I was informed new rugs and furniture have been ordered. It was special to see the Roosevelt room has TR's medal of honor and his nobel peace prize.

The rose garden was very nice and well cultivated though smaller than I expected. We also saw the place on the patio where the "beer summit" was held last week. Again I was surprised at how humble the patio furniture was. But it is a very beautiful and peaceful area. Very little street noise there nor can you see the pedestrians that walk the perimeter outside the grounds due to the heavy vegetation. The garden would provide a nice get away or place to gather one's thoughts.

All in all it was a special treat to wrap up my DC tour in this last weekend for me to be with my family before I depart to Korea with a visit to the people's house.