I just wanted to send out a quick post to ask you to pray for our service men and women who are serving here in Germany and in other parts of our world. God has put it on my heart to share with you some of what I am noticing and experiencing while getting to know these amazing people.
Since being here I have met many very enthusiastic, dedicated, and caring soldiers. I have learned about the types of jobs they do, what they do for fun, where they've traveled, where their from, and about their families. These are ordinary people, just like you and me, the only difference is that they have chosen to dedicate this time in their lives to serving the United States in the form of joining the military. And as we all know, with that decision comes the chance of being sent far away from all that you know and all that is familiar. While at work I can't tell you the number of times I have had a conversation with a soldier that began with "when my husband gets back from Afghanistan...," "I deploy this afternoon to Qatar for 6 mo so...," "I miss my wife, she gets back from Turkey on Sunday," "I'll be gone for 6 months to Iraq...," "I've calculated that my wife is 1,293 miles away, so while she is gone for a year I am going to run that many miles," or "I had to bring a guy back from ___ and I've been stuck in transit at the airport for three weeks and am trying to get back to ___." These types of conversations are so common here. There are many many men and women who are sacrificing so much to serve our country, some with their lives and others with countless hours away from their families and homes. These people need our prayers. I believe they not only need our prayers for their safety but for their happiness, spirits, and hearts as well. I haven't the slightest idea about what it's like to be a soldier so I can't say that I understand what they are going through exactly, but I have seen the faces of those who ARE experiencing these situations and their eyes say more than their words. Please pray for them.
Along with these soldiers, please pray for their families at home (wherever home might be), it can't be easy to be away from your wife, husband, fiance, dad, mom, gf/bf, kids, friends, etc for 6 to15 months at a time. I have spoken with people and have heard them talk about adjusting to having their loved one leave for a period of time and then having to readjust to having them back after their time of service is over, it's difficult. Listening to teachers talk about the types of struggles that their students deal with while a parent is absent is so foreign to me. There is now a brand new generation of children that don't know what life without the effects of war is like. How difficult it must be for them to fully understand why their dad or mom has to leave and why they can't be there to tuck them in at night. Please pray, pray for families like this one who have had to say goodbye to their husband and father while he is at war.
THE NEWS TRIBUNE. Published: April 13th, 2008 01:00 AM.
Kathy Fendelman tries to comfort her twins, Samantha and Benjamin, 9,
on Saturday after saying goodbye to their father, 1st Sgt. Barton Fendelman.
He was leaving Philadelphia for eventual deployment to Iraq.
The soldier is a member of the 304th Civil Affairs Brigade.
It will be his second tour of duty in Iraq.
I have heard stories of the number of infidelities that occur while people are separated by deployments, it is so heartbreaking. There are so many temptations in the world already, throw in lonliness, stress, distance, and change and Satan has his ideal playground. Even for believers this is difficult, imagine what it must be like for those who don't have Jesus to lean on for strength and support.
Thank you for taking the time to read and consider this petition and thank you in advance for your prayers!
Blessings,
Natalie
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