Thanks from Bagram

A few weeks ago, the life group I attend at my home church boxed up a load of goodies and shipped them to my brothers unit in Afghanistan. Nestled safely on American soil surrounded by the comforts of our homes, it is easy to forget how much impact a small gift can have. The following is the thank you note penned by my brother to our class:



To the members of North Monroe Baptist Church:



There are few words that can be written to adequately describe how appreciative we are of your care packages. The wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan, while supported by our country, are often overlooked in terms of the human cost of war. I thank you for taking the time to remember not the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, but rather the men and women who make up these organizations.



I wake up everyday and realize that I am surrounded by children. It seems that these boys and girls that we send outside of these semi-secure walls were just yesterday sitting in their parents laps being rocked to sleep. Now, they are the face of freedom that we send into the fight.



To see the excitement of the kid's faces when they come in the building and see the shelves full is the same look I used to get years ago when my mother would take us to Howard Griffin Land of Toys there in Monroe (ask Barry to explain). The bottom line is that your gift brought joy to a group of soldiers very far from home. Thank you, thank you.






Maj. John Parker
176 Engineer Brigade
Afghanistan