My setup in Baghdad

Being here in the IZ isn’t too shabby. I’ve been able to go to church and meet some of the members, even having FHE with them last week. I work in the Palace, and sleep in a hardwall building, not a tent. I’ve even got a connected shower (YEAHH!!) so I’ve really got all the comforts that I need. They serve us good food, and I can call my family as often as I want, so I can’t complain too much. I do the same work that I did at home, but maybe not quite as much of it, and the people I work with, who are Army National Guard, are really friendly and relaxed, so that helps keep down the stress level. Another thing that helps the stress level is that the mortars that had been coming into the IZ in the spring seem to have trickled down to nothing. Everyone’s remarking how much better the atmosphere is. We even had a 5K race on Saturday and a barbeque afterward. I’ll have to get a permission slip to be able to take pictures, but I want everybody to see where I am and what it looks like. It’s amazing and kind of surreal. I still can’t get over the juxtapositions here. But you’ll see.