Package Clarification

So, I have learned my lesson on posting after midnight as clearly, my brain is not functioning at full capacity. My P.S. post regarding packages caused much confusion so please allow me to clarify:

1. Personal packages, letters, and e-mails can and should be sent to the Captain at anytime. He gladly welcomes hearing from you!! Please do let me know if you need his address.

2. We have had many groups of people and organizations ask about sending bulk supplies (e.g. socks, dental stuff, personal hygiene supplies) to the Captain's unit. After talking to the Captain and his Sergeant, they determined that it would be better to hold off on these bulk shipments until February as they already have a surplus of things and they hope to have a better assessment of their needs by then. (This is what I was referring to in my P.S. post).

SO sorry for the confusion!! I've learned my lesson on late night posts.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!

P.S.

ACK!! I forgot to mention....Care Packages!!


Many of you have been asking about care packages for the Captain and his unit. With the approach of Christmas, there are actually many groups and organizations that are remembering soldiers and sending them supplies. The Captain's unit has actually had to send packages and supplies on to other outposts as they have an over abundance of things. As such, we are holding off on a care package campaign until around February.

That being said - please DO continue to e-mail and send letters to the Captain!!


If you need EITHER of these addresses, please shoot me an e-mail and I will be happy to provide. :-)

Update and more prayer requests for The Captain

Life continues to be an adventure for our sweet Captain! Here's an update:

Praise Report
We are so thankful for the following blessings and answered prayers:

• The Captain arrived safely at his Outpost location.
• After a very sandy/dirty start, the aid station is cleaned up, freshly painted and ready to serve soldiers.
• The porta-potties that were in such TERRIBLE condition have been yanked out and replaced with NEW porta-potties and the Captain said they are "so much better!!".
• The PX at the outpost has been setup and stocked and has a much improved selection of basic necessities that the Captain had been missing (ie toilet paper, wet wipes etc....).

Prayer Requests

• Please continue to pray for the leaders of the unit. Pray for wisdom as they plan their missions and strength to lead with integrity and compassion.
• The water purification system at the outpost is currently only able to function at 25% capacity. As a result, they have restrictions on water use for showers etc...Fortunately, the unit has bottled water brought in for drinking but please pray that they can repair the purification system.
• The outpost is currently experiencing quite the rat and mouse infestation problem. The Captain says the rats are larger than squirrels!! The latest plan is to bring in a large number of cats to help keep the rodent population down. Please pray this works!! So far, the Captain hasn't had any mice/rats in his living quarters but they have had mice in the aid station.
• After a rainy night, the Captain discovered that the roof for his room leaks. Fortunately, the leak is not over his bed but it did mean that he woke to a rather large puddle in the middle of his room.
• Please continue to pray for wisdom for the Captain as he treats his patients. Many of the soldiers have been coming in with sleep issues ~ often they just want medication so that they can sleep at night. The Captain has had some wonderful opportunities to share his faith and witness Christ to these young men. Please pray these soldiers seek Christ for peace & healing for their many sleep issues rather than rely as they have upon drugs. Pray also that the Captain has increased opportunities to witness his faith.

Mama Duck and the little ducks 3

• PRAISE for safe travels north
• PRAY for ease of replacing Mama Ducks identity (both military ID and driver's license). Pray that she not have to return home to accomplish this. Also, please pray they are spared from identity theft.
• PRAISE for sweet baby duck on the way and PRAY for smooth, healthy pregnancy
• PRAY for the little ducks as they are really missing their daddy!!

As always, we so appreciate all your prayers, encouragement and support!

What a blessing you are!!

This family of ducks flew north for the winter!

Hi Everyone -

We've been a bit delayed in posting any updates as life has gotten rather crazy these past few weeks. So, let's bring you all up to speed:

Amidst the Captain's deploying, we had a surprise discovery that another baby duckling is on the way!! Due date = May 25. With this new found development and Mama Duck not feeling 100%, we decided to head north to be surrounded by the love, support, and encouragement of our families and close friends.

Nana Duck came down for a week and helped get the house in order and things packed up. We locked everything up and tackled the unbelievable amount of paperwork to accomplish for the temporary change in location. We hit obstacles the whole way and had a rather harrowing 3 day drive across country. The final blow was that on the last day of our travels, Mama Duck lost her wallet (aka lifeline to all things financial and health related). Needless to say, there was more phone calling and paperwork to do once we arrived north.

But here we are and it sure does feel good to be back in familiar surroundings!! The girls have had a BLAST playing outside and crunching in leaves and Mama Duck sure appreciates having some extra helping hands.

Here are a few photos:

Thanks & Encouragement!

"On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many."
- 2 Corinthians 1:10-11

Words cannot express enough how very much our family appreciates your faithful prayers for the Captain. We wanted to share a quick testimony to one of the many ways those prayers are being answered. Clearly, the favor of God is shining upon the Captain as he walks on this journey. The Captain writes:

"I have been really blessed in my travels thus far. You will remember me telling you of people that were held over for 4 days at the departure point before leaving. Much of our party left early in the morning and I left at 1930 at night. We got to the departure point, and the party that had left our camp 12 hours earlier were just getting on buses to go to their plane. About an hour later, the buses brought them back because their plane did not arrive. Shortly after that, we were picked up on our buses and brought right to our plane and flew out without any delay. The original party did not fly until 24 hours later. So, I have had good travel so far, and am sure that it will continue. All praise goes to Him who holds me close!!"

Indeed! All praise goes to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! For His mercies are new every morning - so great is His faithfulness!!

Happy Halloween

Another fun time of carving pumpkins and dressing up! This year, our little ducklings decided to dress up as Peter Pan, Wendy, and Tinkerbell. Here they are:

Prayer Requests for the Captain

Hi Everyone -

Just wanted to give you an update on our Captain. He is in his final country of destination and will be traveling these next few days to his remote outpost. Please pray for safe travels and that setup at the outpost goes smoothly. While his access to communication may be limited this week, we are hopeful that his phone and internet access will be more steady at his outpost.

The Captain's specific prayer requests are as follows:

• Health for the soldiers - many of them have been quarantined with H1N1 and other strange viruses.
• Wisdom: pray that the Lord gives him wisdom as he attempts to setup a care facility and care for troops with limited supplies and technology
• Wisdom & Strength for the leadership: please pray for the leaders of the unit. Give them wisdom as they plan their missions and give them strength to lead with integrity and compassion.
• Safety: As always, please continue to pray for the safety of the Captain and his fellow troops as they complete their assignment.

We will keep you updated as we can! Thanks so much for all your prayers, they mean the world to our family.