real gains

After a week in country, I was finally able to meet up with the humanitarian volunteer coordinators here. I am so relieved that this program exists, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to meet folks off the reservation.  There are amazing people who have been staffing this little program.  Today we went through what is a weekly ritual of sorting piles of donations to prep for some future field work.  Even though it's going to consume only a small fraction of my work schedule, this “rural” effort is vital... absolutely vital.

Make no mistake... The United States is running Afghanistan... not the Afghans... not the Pakistanis (although they’ll keep trying)... not the coalition... it’s US... and when we leave...

In the thousands of years this nexus of Asia has been contested by empires, warlords, chiefs, kings, communists, and capitalists... with multiple ethnicities, religions, and tribes... a geographically small but infinitely dense meting pot of blood, honor, and revenge... a centralized (bureaucratic) government left to it’s own internal resources just hasn’t worked. These are a feudal people relying on feudal era resources... nomads, farmers, and warriors loyal to their own clans, lacking patience for processes.

And they are beautiful.

Afghans deserve the empowerment to make their own decisions.

RX for survival... basic health, hygeine... a chance to go to school. To seek joy in their lives, their families, their God. The ability to... choose their destiny?

The rules here have changed. You can look up the numbers for yourself... most of the U.S. budget in this country is still behind the military.

But...

Soldiers smile

Soldiers learn to speak Dari and Pashto

Soldiers walk between their fortresses instead of driving their tanks, as dangerous as that may seem, and they stop to say hi to everyone whom they meet

And backed by this huge security budget... Not just soldiers, but farmers, lawyers, doctors, engineers, and social workers are teaching the locals what they’ve lost in the last two decades.

Please help me. We’re reaching out. What a joyous opportunity! Every week the Volunteer Community Relations program unpacks hundreds of packages sent from our loved ones back in the states. Winter is coming, and I want to flood this region with warmth! Clothing, shoes, SIMPLE toys, blankets, hygiene, and school supplies. Please talk to your families, your friends, your churches. There is an entire country out here--in the middle of one of God’s most beautiful mountain ranges--that for so many reasons needs all the help it can get.

Please send "stuff" to this address. Well worth the few bucks for shipping

Mina Mahshid

VCR Program / Chaplain Section

NTM-A / CSTC-A

APO, AE 09356

Thanks!