tapiocapuddin

Greetings from the land of Abraham!

Iraq is quite the place for Bible history buffs. The city of Ur, hometown
of Abraham, lies in the far south of the country, near the Arabian Gulf,
along the Euphrates River. Babylon is farther north, but still S by SE of
Bagdad. The ancient city of Nineveh, spoken of in Jonah, is in the far
north near the city of Mosul. And to the east lies Iran (ancient Persia),
where Esther took a risk of Faith and saved her people (the Jews) from
annihilation. Unfortunately, I cannot visit any of these places! J But
it'’s still fun to be in the "“old neighborhood"” and reminisce about places
the Holy Spirit carried my imagination to in Sunday School and as I cut
my spiritual teeth on God'’s Word. All I can say is that, if it was as dry
and dusty in Abraham'’s day as it is now, it'’s no wonder he left!

God is really working here at Al-Taqaddum. Our Chapel services have been
growing in attendance. Our general Protestant service averages around 50
each week, and the Gospel service (more African-American in flavor)
averages 60. Our Sunday evening service, which I lead most weeks, has
doubled in attendance recently to around 40. Several Marines have put
their faith in Christ in recent weeks, and several believers have
rededicated themselves to following Jesus. Of course, this has not come
without satanic opposition. From my previous update you know our chapel
was hit by a rocket. It has been rebuilt and we never had to cancel a
service. Thank God for the Navy Seabees! Ramadan, the Muslim holy month
that ends in early November, has been a more tense time for us since the
terrorists get extra points with Allah if they sacrifice themselves this
month. By the way, "Allah"” is NOT another name for Almighty God (the God
of the Bible). Allah is an ancient moon god that Mohammed kept after he
cleared all the other pagan gods out of the Kaaba in the ancient city of
Mecca. That'’s why Muslim countries have a crescent moon on their flags.
They also like to put swords on their flags, since "conversion by the
sword"” was Mohammed'’s favorite evangelization tool. So don'’t be fooled by
all the "“Islam is really a peaceful religion"” propaganda.

Pray for the Iraqi people. Most of the country approved their new
constitution, except the area that we are in -– which still loves Sadaam
Hussein, and there will be elections in mid-December. The new government
should be in place by early January. Many Iraqis are being trained as
police and as soldiers. We have probably processed as many friendly Iraqi
casualties as we have US forces killed in action. So they are trying to
stand up for their country and their freedom. It is sad that there have
been over 2000 Americans who have died since this war began in 2003, but
those of us over here believe in what we're doing. George Washington, in
his 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation, told our new nation to pray to "“the
great Lord and Ruler of Nations... . to render our National Government a
blessing to all the people... . To protect and guide all sovereigns and
nations... and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord..."”.
So in other words, our President "“George W", is just doing what the
original George W directed! You probably won'’t hear that on the daily
news broadcasts which, for the most part, are against this war (ie.,this
President).

On a more personal note, I'm thankful for God'’s faithfulness to sustain
my spirit. I'’ve been away from home for four months now, with at least
four months to go. I miss my family and missed my 25th wedding
anniversary, and two of my kid'’s birthdays. Of course, the holidays are
right around the corner and my New Year will begin over here. But such
are the sacrifices that military families make to serve our Nation and
the cause of freedom. Beyond that is the stress of being away from home
and in a combat zone. Another rocket hit our camp recently (no one was
hurt) and the ground just shook. It was a sobering reminder that any of
us could be killed at any time. Then there is the stress of living among
Marines, who can be a rough bunch at times and rather vulgar (but they
have hearts of gold too!). I try to remember Paul'’s admonition to Timothy:
"“Endure hardship, as a good sailor (hey, I'’m Navy) of Jesus Christ
(II Tim 2:3)."

God bless you all and keep praying for us. We pray for you too!

Blessings,

Chaplain Alan Garner, USN