It was Christmas Eve and I was in Kuwait waiting for a flight to Qatar that would not happen until Christmas day. I was walking around LSA Ali As Salem and ran into a Chaplain. He told me about an Christmas Eve outside mass and I thought that would be really nice to go to.
It was not very well attended but that is not the point. It was a beautiful clear night out, not a cloud in the sky that could be seen. The final thoughts during the mass were given by a Chaplain from PA who mentioned that this was the first time that he had ever had the opportunity to have Christmas Eve service outside. That would never happen in PA because it would just be to cold even in the southern part of the state where both he and I are from.
But that was the time when he brought to our attention that we were in the Holy Lands and that this was exactly where the shepherds and the wise men were when they found out about the birth of Jesus and looked up in the sky and followed that one star to give their gifts to the new born savior. Well at that time a few of us looked into the sky and on that beautiful clear night where there should have been hundreds of stars in the sky, we could only see 1. In that beautiful sky there was only 1 visible star for us to see.
That really moved me so I thought I would share that little story during this season that we should all be thanking our loved ones around us. Also keep in your prayers those Soldiers that don't have it as well as those of us in Kuwait and Qatar. For my Soldiers in Afghanistan, I know that you will never read this buy my prayers are with you always. Come back to the unit safely. You were sent there because you are the best I have. I cannot tell you that openly but that is the truth.
It was not very well attended but that is not the point. It was a beautiful clear night out, not a cloud in the sky that could be seen. The final thoughts during the mass were given by a Chaplain from PA who mentioned that this was the first time that he had ever had the opportunity to have Christmas Eve service outside. That would never happen in PA because it would just be to cold even in the southern part of the state where both he and I are from.
But that was the time when he brought to our attention that we were in the Holy Lands and that this was exactly where the shepherds and the wise men were when they found out about the birth of Jesus and looked up in the sky and followed that one star to give their gifts to the new born savior. Well at that time a few of us looked into the sky and on that beautiful clear night where there should have been hundreds of stars in the sky, we could only see 1. In that beautiful sky there was only 1 visible star for us to see.
That really moved me so I thought I would share that little story during this season that we should all be thanking our loved ones around us. Also keep in your prayers those Soldiers that don't have it as well as those of us in Kuwait and Qatar. For my Soldiers in Afghanistan, I know that you will never read this buy my prayers are with you always. Come back to the unit safely. You were sent there because you are the best I have. I cannot tell you that openly but that is the truth.
and thats a pretty rad story u got there!!! i am sure that was qute the experience...