Monday, November 07, 2005
Soldiers and Sailors
Quote for the Day: Soldier Boy, Oh My Little Soldier Boy…............... the Shirelles
Hi Dear Reader
Thought that tonight I would write about something that we are doing.
We have “adopted” soldiers and sailors through a couple of different web sites. Tonight I wanted to share that with you.
I first found out how to adopt by reading our local newspaper and then went to the website Manhattanville College and clicked on the link for My Soldier. This is how we got Josh (we will keep his last name secret) and started our friendship with him by writing a letter. He wrote back to our email and as we learned more about him we sent packages of things that he would request. Some of it was tricky to send since the temperatures in the desert in Iraq can get to over 120 degrees during the day in the summer. He couldn’t tell us exactly where he was but we knew he was in a heavy fighting area from the things that he would say. He is either back in the States or in Europe on another assignment.
Josh getting his promotion.
I found another website Soldiers’ Angels where I could also adopt military personnel. This is where we got Brian, our sailor. Brian spends his time on a ship and can email us almost every day. He has sent us pictures both of himself and of his family. We know he is out on his ‘cruise’ as he calls it and that it is now time to start sending packages. I wish I could go to all the places that he has mentioned he has been to - though not the best way to see the world at this time. Not sure how tricky it will be to send some things to him since he isn’t in the middle of a desert, just on a ship that may have limited room. We are trying to find things to keep him entertained in his down time and snacks that he might not have access to on board.
Brian on board his ship.
We also adopted Matt from Soldier’s Angels. We don’t know too much about him other than he is in Iraq and in either the army or marines - can’t tell from the video that he sent to us. All I know from watching it is; he is way braver than I will ever be as war is a scary place. We keep in touch with him only via written notes and the emails that his wife sends from time to time. It takes forever for our boxes to reach him; we figure that he moves around much more than he stays in a camp. (Sorry, no picture of this one.)
I may not agree with all the reasons for why we are there; but I do feel that it is important to support our men and women who are over there. I understand from the notes and letters that the guys have sent that the majority of the Iraqi people are glad that they are there. I also get a different side from what is reported in the news - more of a positive spin as well as the way things actually happen.
And so Dear Reader if you want to adopt a soldier or sailor you now have the links to do so. Soldiers’ Angels has many other programs to help out the soldiers who are there; those who have been wounded and for those who are returning home. You can participate as an individual, as a family or as a church or civic group. Think about it - it doesn’t take a big time commitment - just a commitment.
