dW 05.31.07

scripture

Psalm 118:7

The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies.

Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

quote

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.
T S Eliot

overseas experience

In the Middle East there are great distances between cities, towns, and villages on long, windy dirt roads. If you remember the story about the Samaritan, you’ll remember that these roads are not safe due to thieves that would hide in the clefts of the rock. The same is true to this day. For safety the military has set up check points where you check in and they telephone ahead so that if you don’t make it within a certain amount of time then they’ll come looking for you. Being that we were Americans they decided that we needed “extra protection”. In our case, their presence was as much about safety as it was spying on our doings. The truck that followed us between check points had two officers in the cab, one solder standing in the bed manning a .50 caliber, and then three men on each side of the bed were sitting on wooden benches. Each of these nine men carried their knives and machine guns while chewing their drugs and watching out for our well-being.

You are not supposed to take pictures of their military. I did anyway. We were driving between check points on a narrow, badly paved mountain road. I got my camera out and slide it up against the dashboard just above the glove box pointing out the windshield to get my pictures of our camo clad friends. I turned the flash option off and got ready. Just before I snapped the picture I realize what was going on. 1) there were three or four vehicles traveling together 2) we are all coming up on a blind turn that is bending to the left 3) the head vehicle is a leaking oil tanker and 4) the military truck has moved to the left in order to pass them. It is a great picture! There’s never a dull, calm moment in overseas mission work. J