Dave's Random Ramblings...

Finally! A new post!

2010-06-11T03:40:00.002-06:00

Hey ya'll, my apologies for not keeping this updated very well. For a missile test site with quite a bit of techonology around, you would think we would have better internet access on Kwajalein...but, we don't. In my room I have dial-up internet access, usually disconnects halfway through writing something like this. I have better speed at work, but at the Dock Security Checkpoint during the day I don't have much computer time (and most of that time is spent looking up regulations) since I'm usually the one who gets to write all the access violation tickets.

Anyways, right now I'm back in Montana for a few days to make up all the Guard Drills I've missed and am going to miss when I go back to Kwajalein. Most of my time on night shift has been spent catching up on my Air Force Computer Based Training. It's all yearly training, so I usually just click through all the slides until I get to the test and once I pass that, print out my certificate.

And that's about all for now. Hopefully I'll get to write a couple more times before I head back out to the Island.

Greetings from the Marshall Islands

2010-02-05T01:56:00.002-07:00

Hey ya'll,

Just wanted to send a quick update out and let you all know that I'm loving life here in the Marshall Islands. I'm working as a police officer for the Kwajalein Police Department, US Army Kwajalein Atoll/Reagan Test Site. I'm working ALOT, but having a good time at the same time. Hope I can update this more often, if not, look me up on Facebook under calidaveinmt@gmail.com.

Ciao, Dave

My thoughts on "Black Friday"

2009-11-27T21:51:00.003-07:00

Black Friday...what do most people think about when they hear that? Early morning wake-up the day after Thanksgiving, sales and shopping, standing in line for hours, tempers flaring...WAIT A MINUTE! Didn't we all just celebrate Thanksgiving yesterday?! Has anyone stopped to think about our troops over in Afghanistan, Iraq and around the World who didn't have time to pause and say thanks? My brothers and sisters in arms kept on with their jobs, maybe the only thing that reminded them of Thanksgiving was the food in the chow hall (if they even have one...). I volunteered to work my Montana Air National Guard job yesterday so one of the full time guys could spend time with his family (and so I can continue earning at least a little money while I'm unemployed). I seriously wish I could have gone to Iraq or Afghanistan so at least one person could spend time with his wife or kids or even a girlfriend.

I laugh at people who race for the bargains, why can't people be content with what they have? Why not take the money you spent today for "Black Friday" and donate it to the Rescue Mission, Salvation Army or another charity? Or even the homeless person you see on the street every day...

Why has this time of the year become all about getting the best deal? While I don't disagree with gift giving for Christmas, I think alot of people have forgotten the Reason we celebrate Christmas. I haven't had much money the past few years, so I haven't been able to buy gifts for anyone, even my own family. But, that has also helped me to focus on why we celebrate Christmas and the birth of Jesus. I don't expect gifts, I would rather help other people celebrate. This year, if I'm still here in Great Falls, you will probably find me at the Rescue Mission down the street from where I live or working at the Montana Air National Guard again. Since I'm single and my family is spread out all over the World (literally), I would rather work so somebody with a family can get the day off and spend time with them (even if I wasn't single, I'd probably do the same thing, come to think of it...). Ok, I'm done rambling for now. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Long time no update

2009-10-30T22:00:00.002-06:00

Wow, its been a long time since I've updated this blog...sorry bout that. Every time I tried to log in while I was deployed, instead of being an English language site, everything was in Russian instead. Don't have much time to give much of an update right now, just be ready for a longer post sometime this weekend.

Ciao, Dave

Waiting...

2009-02-07T21:46:00.002-07:00

I've been in St Louis, MO since Wednesday night, waiting for tonight. In a couple hours I'm going to get on the plane that will take me to my deployed location. The rough "schedule" is 16 hours of travel time...As soon as we get "boots on the ground", we're going to in-process into our Unit and then get @ least 8 hours of down time before I start working. From the time we start working, we will be on a 3 days on, 1 day off, 9pm to 9am schedule for the next 6 months. As I said before, I'm looking forward to getting back into the "military life" routine again (never thought I would miss it like I do). I'm going to miss all my friends back in Montana, but I'll be quicker than anyone thinks (hopefully before Downpour). I should still have access to Facebook, MySpace and my Gmail, so feel free to send me messages. I'll get my "Snail Mail" address out as soon as I can.

Finally...

2009-02-03T17:38:00.002-07:00

Its finally time to leave Great Falls...almost. I have my itinerary in hand, saying I'm leaving tomorrow @ 12:59pm. Only problem is, I have a 4 day layover in St Louis, MO. We have to be "in country" (boots on the ground) @ our deployed location by the 8th...we're not leaving St Louis until the 8th. Oh well, @ least I'm not the only one who's going to be a day late. I'm really looking forward to the next 6 months, getting back into the "military lfe". Its easy for me to leave Great Falls, but some people just don't seem to understand that its only 6 months and I'll be back. Not sure how long I'll be in the Great Falls area when I get back, but I'll be back for a while anyways. I'm also planning a "road trip" around Montana and down Cali when I get back, no for sure dates yet for that either. And now its dinner time...I'll update ya'll some more when I'm in St Louis.

Quick update

2009-01-23T16:20:00.002-07:00

Hey ya'll, sorry for not updating for a while. I just returned to Montana Sunday the 18th after spending 2.5 weeks @ Fort Bliss, Texas and Camp McGregor, New Mexico @ the Air National Guard Combat Readiness Training Center. The training was ok, not as "in depth" as they could have gotten, but enough to get us ready for our deployment. I am currently scheduled to depart Great Falls the first week of Feb. (I know the date, but am not allowed to share it publicly) I will be "in country" at my deployed location (also not allowed to share that location, even though its been announced on the front page of the paper) the following week sometime. My calidaveinmt@gmail.com e-mail address should still be a good address for me while I'm deployed. Once I know my "snail mail" address, I will share it with everyone. Check out my new pics on Facebook and MySpace if you want. Ya'll have a great weekend.

SSgt Dave Carlson
120 SFS/SFOA
Montana Air National Guard

Hilarious video my mom e-mailed me

2008-12-22T22:42:00.000-07:00

DOES ANYONE REMEMBER WHY?!?!?!?! (warning, this one may offend some of you...but I don't really care)

2008-12-15T06:32:00.003-07:00

DOES ANYONE IN THIS COUNTRY REMEMBER WHY WE'RE FIGHTING A WAR ON TERROR?!?!?!?!?!

Here's a couple videos to remind you!!!! I don't care what you think about the war in Iraq or the war in Afghanistan, whether it was a good idea or a bad idea, whats done is DONE!!!! If our military wasn't over there keeping the insurgents on the run, they would be in our own backyard, killing our sons and daughters...DO YOU WANT PROOF?!?!?!?! Where were you on 9/11/01?!?! Who do you think was at the controls of the planes that hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the plane that crashed in PA???? Instead of blaming our government, why don't you try supporting them?!?! If you're against the War, how can you say you support the troops? Do you have any idea what that does to our morale?

Do I really need to answer any of the questions I just asked????

I BELIEVE that GOD is in control of everything that has happened, is happening and will happen. I just wish He had other things planned for our Country than the direction we're headed...

Its 7am, time for bed. Thanks for taking the time to read and if I offended you, I'm sorry, but I don't care right now...

I got a good laugh out of this video...

2008-12-14T16:53:00.001-07:00

Future...

2008-12-14T15:37:00.003-07:00

So, I've been doing alot of thinking lately about what I want to do when I get back from my deployment...I know for sure I want to quit my current job. I have been unhappy there for quite some time now, the only reason I went back when I got dropped from Blackwater, was because Securitas was the only place who offered me a job @ the time.

I'm also starting to look @ other careers besides civilian law enforcement. I've always wanted to be a civilian cop (seriously, the only memory I have from 1st grade open house is showing my parents a picture I had drawn of myself driving a Sheriff car). But lately, my hobby of running sound/audio engineering has taken off. My Church has a beautiful, Yamaha M7CL Digital Mixing Console and its been an awesome adventure figuring out all the ins and outs of it for the past couple months. My love for "sound" is almost as old as my love for law enforcement. I started helping my Dad run sound for our Church back home when I was 10 I think and started running it on my own when I was 12. True, the system we had back then was extremely basic, but its where I got my start.

Anyways, a couple weeks ago, @ work @ about 2am, bored out of my mind, I did a Google search for audio engineering schools and got quite a few results, but one place jumped out at me, SAE Institute I sent an e-mail asking for more info and in return, got an information packet in the mail and an e-mail from the admissions counseler @ the Nashville campus. Myself and Josh discussed my background in sound engineering and he told me I am an excellent canidate for their program. Only problem now is I have to go on this deployment right @ the start of a new class...But, its still an option in the future.

And, I'm still considering returning to active duty. But, that will have to wait till I get back to the States next Fall.

Hope everyone has an awesome week. And if you're in MT, be careful in these sub-zero temps.

Ciao, Dave

Guilty until proven innocent???

2008-12-08T23:20:00.002-07:00

So, as some of you know, I am a strong supported of Blackwater Worldwide Security and I have been following a case involving them very close for the past year. There was an incident in Baghdad, Iraq last August involving a US Department of State convoy that got ambushed in a traffic circle and the security operators returned fire and multiple civilians got killed in the cross-fire. The operators were from Blackwater (a company I worked for briefly and still hope to work for in the future). Now, 5 of the operators have been indicted in Federal Court on manslaughter charges and various other trumped up charges and the "media" has jumped on the story and are reporting the indictment as FACT. What happened to "due process" and "innocent until proven guilty in a court of law"? Just because a federal grand jury decided the evidence was enought to indict, DOES NOT mean these 5 guys (who are all decorated military veterans) are guilty. You go over there and put your life on the line every day like these guys do and tell me you won't fire back when you're fired upon. I hate to say it, but if I have bullets wizzing by me and I am charged with protecting a US diplomat, I WILL fire back and try to escape and evade at ALL costs. We, the general public, have no idea what the Blackwater operators Rules of Engagement were, so save your judgement of these guys.

This case still doesn't damper my support of Blackwater Worldwide. Without Blackwater and companies like them, ie. Triple Canopy and Dyncorp, our military would be stretched alot more thin than it is now. Why doesn't the media cover the "good incidents" involving Blackwater? How many of you have seen the video of the Blackwater "Little Bird" helicopter landing in a street in downtown Baghdad, to evacuate a wounded diplomat? Blackwater also helps here Stateside...How many of you have heard about the aid Blackwater provided in southern California last year during the wildfires? Who has seen the Blackwater operators who have stepped in to help provide security @ government facilities after Hurricane Katrina? I will continue wearing my Blackwater hat, shirt and sweatshirt as a sign of support for the Company. There are many brave men and women, serving the USA with Blackwater all over the World. Please continue supporting them as well as our Military men and women. We're all AMERICANS, lets not forget that we're all protecting Freedom and our Way of Life.

Ok, I'm off my "soap box" for a while. Thanks for taking the time to read my rant and I hope and pray that you will join me as I support Blackwater Worldwide...if not, thats your "right" to do so. :) Thats what I love about our Country, we have Freedom to choose...

In Memory of Captain Jere Carpenter, Great Falls Police Department

2008-12-04T15:36:00.004-07:00

Detective Sgt Otto (my SFS Chief of Operations) leads the procession after the service

I didn't know Captain Carpenter personally but I am friends with a few guys who worked for him directly. My landlord is a Sgt in the Detective Division and the Chief of Operations of my Air National Guard Unit is also a Sgt in the Detective Division. The professionalism these guys show, reflects how Captain Carpenter ran his Division.

I wish I could have gone to the funeral, not because I knew Captain Carpenter, but because he was a fellow law enforcement officer. I'm not sure how to describe the brotherhood we all feel, whether we're city cops, deputy sheriffs, state troopers or military police, we all enforce laws and put our lives on the line when we strap on that gun belt. When one of us dies, its like a brother dying. I shed a couple tears reading this article in today's paper, Captain Carpenter's death will be felt by many. Captain Carpenter is now protecting the streets of gold in Heaven, Rest In Peace Brother, until we meet again...

Police officer remembered as a loyal community servant

By ZACHARY FRANZ
Tribune Staff Writer

At 11:45 Wednesday morning, the following call came across police scanners:

"All units be advised, Great Falls Police Captain Jere Carpenter is 10-7 — out of service. Rest in peace until we walk the beat again."

Carpenter, 52, died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack Thanksgiving night. He was laid to rest at Highland Cemetery on Wednesday after a funeral service at First United Methodist Church.

Uniformed officers filled the first six pews of the packed church during the service, with more policemen lining the back wall.

Carpenter's oldest daughter, Chrissie Carpenter, shared memories of her dad, including his playful side.

She said the two often debated about politics in the months before the most recent presidential election, and made a bet about which candidate would win. At stake was a turkey dinner on Thanksgiving Day. If Chrissie — a vegetarian — lost, she would have to eat real turkey. If her dad lost, he would be dining on turkey-shaped tofu.

The captain was betting on John McCain.

"So, on his last Thanksgiving, he had to eat tofu turkey," she said.

Although it probably wasn't the meal he would have chosen, Chrissie Carpenter said her father's last day was perfect.

"He went to sleep a happy man," she said. "I think he died with love in his heart."

Carpenter was an avid runner, and recently joined Chrissie in a 10-kilometer race. After Carpenter finished, he doubled back to join his daughter as she ran the final stretch.

As she looked back Wednesday on that race, she said it was a metaphor.

"I know he'll be waiting at the proverbial finish line," she said.

Great Falls Police Chief Corky Grove also spoke at the service, recalling Carpenter's dedication over 26 years as a police officer.

It took Carpenter several tries to get accepted to the GFPD, but once he joined the force, he proved to be an excellent officer, Grove said.

At the beginning of Carpenter's career, Grove was assigned to train the young officer. The two then climbed the ranks together.

"Jere loved law enforcement, and it was his honor to serve his community," Grove said.

Grove said Carpenter, a lifelong Great Falls resident, thought of himself as having three families: his biological family, his police family and the people of the community.

"He had no desire to go anywhere else," Grove said. "He loved Great Falls."

Grove also spoke about a murder investigation that was among the most significant of Carpenter's career.

When Carpenter was 8 years old, one of his friend's parents were murdered. The case went unsolved for decades.

When Carpenter became a detective, he and another officer reopened the file. Their work led to charges in the case, but the suspect was found not guilty at trial.

After Carpenter's funeral service, his remains were taken to Highland Cemetery in a procession that included dozens of police cars.

At the cemetery, the captain was honored with a 21-gun salute. Police officers also presented two American flags to his daughters.

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Excellent verse for a Christian in Today's World

2008-12-02T01:39:00.000-07:00

Colossians 4:2-4 NLT

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."

Restless...

2008-12-02T00:44:00.003-07:00

Its almost 1am and I'm relaxing, but I'm also extremely restless. In less than a month I'm getting activated back to active duty with my Air National Guard Unit. The thought of putting "the uniform" back on full time is exciting (never thought I would miss it like I do). My "sense of adventure" has been kicking in for over a year now, ever since I started applying for Blackwater Worldwide. I love my friends here in Montana, but I feel like I have so much more of the World to explore. I've been here in MT for almost 5 years now and during my active duty Air Force career, the longest I lived somewhere was 4 years...so this last year, I have felt extremely restless. I'm too used to moving on to another base and new friends. I've felt like I've been withdrawing from my close friends around here and I want to apologize for that. I did that when I left Italy, thought it would make saying goodbye easier. Anyways, just had to throw those thoughts down and see what ya'll think.

Have an awesome week.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-24T15:00:00.002-07:00

Oops, I didn't get a chance to post my Thanksgiving post last night...got too caught up in watching a movie and doing some more refresher research for my Air Force Anti-Terrorism Certification and then I succumbed to the "Z-Monster" @ about 2am. Was back out of bed around 4:30am and wandered around the house rechecking my work gear, surfing the net and was back in bed around 8:30am. Seems like I woke up every 2 hours from then on, I finally couldn't go back to sleep @ 2pm, got up, nuked myself a burrito, drank a quart of water, did some pushups and caught up on my e-mail, news, Facebook and MySpace for the day.

Anyways, my original reason for posting...Thanksgiving. Its not all the good food that makes me love this holiday so much (although, its a close second). The chance to look back on my life and realize how much I have to be thankful for is the main reason I love this holiday. First of all, I'm Thankful for my Amazing Savior Jesus Christ, without Him in my life, I would be lost...

I have the most amazing family, who have supported and prayed for me when I was being stupid and rebelling a few years ago. Without them there, bugging me and always letting me know they were praying, I probably wouldn't be living the Life I am today. I know for a fact I probably gave my Mom a little more gray hair than she should have at her young age with my antics, my Dad never had much hair, so I'm not sure about him. My brothers and I have always been close, even now that Lance lives in the Azores and Joel in Kansas. Facebook and MySpace have become our communication hubs (we're still trying to convince our sister to get a Facebook profile, Stephanie, everyone else has one, now you need one...)

I'm also VERY thankful for all my friends here in Montana, not just here in Great Falls, but spread out all over the State. I know I'm going to miss a few, so don't be offended if I don't mention you...

But, Cory Forbrook has been one of my closest friends since we met in late Summer of 2005. We worked the same job together for a little over a year and then he went on to get my "dream job" with the Cascade County Sheriff's Department. We don't get to see each other much anymore, but when we do, we have to catch up on the last month or two of our lives. I'm also proud to say that Cory is the one and only person I have ever given "realtionship advice" to and he's probably the last. But, he's now married to Kim, who's awesome by the way".
....lets see, who's next?

Ah yes, Sarah Waldenberg...whats not to like about her? She's always there with an encouraging word when I'm having a tough time with "Life", but she's also there with the Truth when I need it too. I'm at a loss about what else to say about her...Oh yeah, she's also got an amazing family. I haven't been able to meet all the members of her family, but those I do know are just as awesome as she is...

I'm running out of time...this started out as a "short" post, but has gotten quite long and I still have to get stuff done before work tonight.

And then there's Becca Brady, who has become like a "little sister" to me. We've had out bumps in the road, but we always recover and get back on track. Her working nights has helped me stay sane @ work, we text message each other pretty much all night. We just need to figure out our days off so we can spend some time together before I leave in January.

And to all my friends I have met through the Vision Conference and Camp Fuego, Chae, Ashley, Mia, Pastors Mark, Zach, Hoit and their wives, Lloyd and Abby, the Kluver brothers and so many more...ya'll are amazing. (my brain is still a little foggy cause I haven't woke up completely yet, so if I forgot to mention you, my apologies)

My prayer this Thanksgiving, is that everyone will take some time out of the festivities to sit down and remember the Reason for Thanksgiving. Oh, and if anyone has time after 7pm, I could use a visit @ work @ the Montana Air National Guard (and if you really want to bring food, I won't say no)

What keeps me going from day to day...

2008-11-23T21:03:00.002-07:00

2 Corinthians 4:17 NLT

"For our present troubles are quite small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever!"

Honestly, if it wasn't for God's promises and His saving me, I have no idea where I would be today. I'll have to go back through my old posts on MySpace and re-post my testimony for ya'll here. Not to brag and say "look what I've been through...", but to hopefully help someone who's going through what I've gone through. But, like I started to say, this verse is what I always fall back on when I start getting frustrated with everyday life.

Hope ya'll had a great weekend...I sure did, 4 days off in a row. First time in a few months, we're undermanned @ work right now and we've all been working 51 hours a week, but somehow my schedule changed and I got 4 days off. :)

I'll post a Thanksgiving post later on tonight...

First one....

2008-11-22T00:00:00.002-07:00

Ok, here goes my attempt at writing my own "BLOG". I've been blogging on MySpace for a few years and writing notes on Facebook for a year or so, but doing it this way, I can just write it things once and people can follow my link here. At least I hope they can...

Now, to catch everyone up on this past year in my life...and to make things more fun, I'll do it all in chronological order.

January
I honestly can't remember too much that happened in January besides Base Camp. Base Camp was a small youth retreat for the Generation Church kids from Great Falls Christian Center. We stayed @ a small resort in Lincoln, Montana called Cane Ridge West. I can't remember the dates, but I do remember that it was an awesome time of worship, teaching and FUN. The most memorable moment of the whole trip was the bus full of kids getting stuck on the road in. I decided to take a short-cut through an open field, thinking it was just a little snow...I ended up dropping in to my waist.

February
Not much happened this month either, besides the phone call I had been waiting on for 2 years from Blackwater Worldwide Security in Moyock, NC, inviting me to their High Threat Diplomatic Training Class in June. I couldn't have been happier...

March - May
This months flew by, its all a blur to me right now. I might have pictures on Facebook or MySpace from this time, but I can't remember anything that happened besides lots and lots of paperwork for Blackwater. May 28th, I boarded a plane and flew from Great Falls, to Norfolk, VA. That night I stayed @ a hotel in Virginia Beach, VA and had an interview with a psychologist (I have no idea how I did either, didn't help that she was very attractive and I was extremely distracted the whole time...) The next morning, myself and 54 other people met in the lobby @ 3:30am and loaded up into vans and started our convoy down to Blackwater Headquarters in Moyock, NC. We arrived @ 5am, weighed in and found our seats and got our financial briefings out of the way. At 7am, we headed to the gym area to start our physical fitness testing. These tests consisted of the Illinois Law Enforcement Agility test, sit and reach test, bench press and a 1.5 mile run (the run was the only part of the tests we couldn't do twice). I ran the best 1.5 miles I had run in a long time, 13.25, but I was still too slow. 45 minutes later, after I showered and had breakfast, I was called out of the classroom along with 2 other guys and the head of training informed us we were being dropped from the class.

I took it alot better than I thought I would. I calmly went back inside and gathered my stuff and waiting for a ride back to the hotel. On the way back to the hotel, I texted a few people back here in Montana to let them know what happened. I want to thank my wonderful friend Sarah Waldenberg for her encouragment during that long ride (I still have the texts saved on my phone). Once we got back to the hotel, we had itineraries waiting in our e-mail accounts for our rides back to our homes. I made it back to Great Falls a day and half after I left instead of the year I had been planning on.

I kept my feelings hidden pretty well when I got back, I was ashamed and felt like a failure. But, my close friends being there for me helped me out alot. Becca (who's like a little sister to me) was always there to keep me sane.

June
The job hunt started...I called my old employer, Securitas Security Services, and let them know I was back and available if they needed me. I also went and saw the Air National Guard recruiter and started the enlistment process. I also applied at so many places, I lost track...somewhere in there, I found out that my way to Camp Fuego had been paid.

Camp Fuego, is a youth/young adults camp that is the "brainchild" of Nate Swanson/GFCC's youth pastor and Dave Hoit/Prarie Ave Christian Center's youth pastor from Cour D'Lane, ID. Its an intense week (Sun - Thurs) of worship, teaching, workshops, team activities and fun. I went this year as a cabin leader and the presentation guy (instead of sound guy). The 3rd day I got a phone call from Securitas asking if I wanted my old job back, it was an awesome answer to prayer.

I enlisted in the Air National Guard on June 13th and restarted my military career. :)

Sometime during June, I went up to Fort Benton with a group of friends for the Summer Celebration. While there, I ran into a different group of friends and ended up hanging out with Pat, Kassie and Sarah instead of the original group I went with. We had fun walking around, watching the river and to top it all off, the fireworks @ the end of the night. Sarah and I got to catch up on each other's lives since she lives in Bozeman and our only communication is via texting or Facebook.

July
I restarted my job with Securitas @ the Montana Air National Guard in early July and also had my first Guard Drill. Going from active duty to the Air National Guard was a shock, things are so much more laid back now.

August
The highlight of August was the Downpour Music Festival, 2 days of Christian bands and a HUGE Church service Sunday morning. This year's lineup was awesome, (lets see if I can do this from memory), We As Human, Tracing Days, Seventh Day Slumber, Grits, Jeremy Camp and I know I'm missing some...Anyways, I got to be the assistant stage manager. I've been on the stage/security crew for Double Edge Productions for 2 years now, but being the assistant stage manager opened my eyes to how much goes on in getting ready for shows. COMMUNICATION is a must.

September - Present
These last few months have been spent working, getting my military training up to date and getting a young adults ministry @ Great Falls Christian Center off the ground.

I volunteered for a deployment soon after I enlisted in the Guard and found out in September that I was officially on the list to go. I can't say where we're going exactly, all I can say is its not Iraq or Afganistan. I'm looking forward to it and would appreciate everyone's prayers.

In early September, Pastor Nate called a group of us young adults together and asked if we would like to help in getting a young adults ministry focused @ the ages of 18 - 40 started. I jumped @ the chance...I've been running sound for Generation Church (ages Jr high - 25), but being 31, I kinda stuck out like a sore thumb. I haven't really been a "Leader or staff member", I'm just there. I was invited to leader for a few months, but I didn't really feel included as a leader and haven't been invited now for a few months.

the Gathering is more what I feel called to do, reach out to young adults (primarily military members). I know how lonely life can be seperated from friends and family back home, especially during the holiday season. I'm kinda disappointed that now that we have the Gathering up and running, I'm going to be leaving for a while and have to miss out on things.

WOW, that got really, really long. If you've made it this far, thanks for reading. Have a great weekend. :)