It seems the internet in my room is finally strong enough to load my blog page!  I'm so sorry I haven't been able to write at all.  The only other internet I have access to is at work and all blog pages are blocked per policy.  So hopefully this is the beginning of what will be some regular entries. 

Almost seven months have gone by since I left home.  After about five I felt like it had been long enough and that I was ready to come home.  The work is very rewarding but the cost is very high; not just for me, but for my wife as well.  My daughter probably is unaware of what she's missing but that doesn't mean she isn't worse off for it.  One thing my wife has noticed is that our daughter is awfully fond of men.  At ten months she's a little young to be boy crazy.

We are able to keep in touch fairly well via phone and the Godsend that is Skype.  So I get to see our daughter and how she's changed and she gets to see her dad and wonder why he looks vaguely familiar.  She seems to be fascinated by my image on the monitor though, so that's good.  She claps like a champion and is waving like a pro.  By the time I see her on my leave she will be almost 11 months old.  We're thinking of staging a premature birthday party.

The toughest part of this by far has been knowing how difficult it's been for Hannah.  Nearly every day is a struggle.  With the house, two dogs (one geriatric), her business and the baby she never gets a breather.  Some people from a military spouse support group were over at the house today cleaning up the yard, planting flowers and mowing the lawn.  Apparently the man cutting the grass was doing so in a diagonal pattern.  Now everyone knows that diagonal patterns are superior and as soon as Hannah saw that she knew this man and I would get along.  It's one of those subtle, possible signs of being a perfectionist.  I can't wait to meet these saints and thank them in person.  Really, at least in my case, I don't need care packages and aid sent my way.  Hannah's life is far more difficult and she's the one who needs the care packages, sympathy and thanks.  She's been my rock.  Without her support I couldn't be over here.

Speaking of my life; it is very strange.  I work, I eat, I sleep.  More of the first than anything else.  Typical days are between 16 and 20 hours of work, sometimes without leaving for meals.  Today I worked a short day from 0700 to 2000 hours and never left the building until I left for my ConEx box.  My record work day was 21.5 hours and I've had two of those.  Sometimes to take a break I'll get my lunch to go and eat on the roof of the Australian "Shack".  From there I have a lovely view of the mountains, some privacy, which is a rare commodity with 3 men per 8x20 room, and some sunlight.

It's late here and I need to go to bed.  Hopefully this good connectivity will continue and I'll be able to post regularly.  Keep praying for this country.  These people deserve peace after so much war and death.  I see signs of hope every day but there is a lot to overcome.  One thing I never doubt though is my ability to contribute to the success of the mission here, the "right-ness" of the mission, and the ability of this nation to eventually prosper.  I've driven through the streets on market days and they are full of life and commerce and there is little fear.  Of maybe the fear is simply not enough to keep these resilient people from being controlled by it.  More to follow, hopefully.