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January 17--Predator and Presents |
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Note: You can email Ted during his deployment at tedmcgovern@gimail.af.mil. |
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February 4—Super Bowl
In fact, some of the food was really good. We spent the second quarter with the Predator squadron, and they had Alaskan King Crab legs. Talk about a taste of home. People were already sick of me talking about how great Alaska is. Then they served me crab legs. Bon A petit!
As Americans, we love football. We love the game, the visceral struggle that is played out over 60 minutes. As a Christian, it reminds me of my struggle against sin. As a disciple of Jesus, I strive to become more and more like Him. And when I get down, and think that I can’t fight any more, I remember the words from the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews: “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood (Hebrews 12:4).” May God give you the strength and courage to live as His disciple today Ted |
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January 31—Peace and Quiet This week for our Tuesday Night Bible Study we used the Nooma video “Silence.” For those of you who haven’t seen the discs in this series, each one is a short dramatized dynamic message. We watch the video, and then discuss it, taking time to explore the Biblical texts which were presented. It seems ironic that we were trying to quiet ourselves and listen to God in the midst of all kinds of planes and helicopters taking off and landing. But God is amazing! It was a powerful night for all of us, and helped to illustrate the need to “be still” and listen to the Lord.
How is your personal worship time going? Have you been out of whack like I was? Hear the Lord as he speaks to you: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).” And a note of thanks: You all are very generous. We received the second shipment of “Treasures for Troops” boxes. The troops really appreciate it and would like you to know how grateful they are for the goodies and your support. Here is a picture of some of our security guys as we were handing out some of the boxes May God continue to bless and empower you to do his will Ted |
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“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes.” Psalm 133:1-2 It is human to think that the world revolves around us. Yet, the longer that we live, hopefully the wiser we get—and we do ultimately realize that it doesn’t. We begin to see that we are a small (but important) part of God’s world, and that He is the master of it all. I have been pleasantly surprised by the coalition in Afghanistan. In our American mainstream media, we hear the accolades of our country’s commitment to this enterprise (often to the degradation of other coalition partners). I am humbled and full of respect for my brothers and sisters here—we are in this great endeavor together. This is a picture of the Romanian memorial here at Kandahar.
In some small scale, this may be part of what God sees when he looks down on the “sons of men (Ps 53:2).” Sometimes I think that we get so focused on our divisions and denominations that we lose sight of the bigger reality. We fail to realize that in Christ, we have much much more in common than we have to disagree aboot (that’s “about” for our neighbors to the East), eh? May God open our eyes to see His reality all around us. Ted |
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January 21—Maintenance We’re in the midst of the “rainy” season, so it has been with jubilant rejoicing that the last two days have been very sunny. Praise the Lord! But aside from the weather, every day is Sunday when you get to serve God and His people. Our vehicle maintenance folks do an amazing job of keeping our fleet of vehicles running. On a recent visit, they allowed me to use the “power tools” to change our vehicle tire (I don’t think I’m quite NASCAR pit crew material) We also
have some other folks who work on our aircraft. These helicopter
mechanics replaced this engine outside when it was less than 30 degrees
outside. Talk
about dedication.
They were very
One of our Bible Studies (or as one chaplain calls it “Spiritual Maintenance”) is on Wednesday evenings. We study the lectionary texts for the week, digging into the Scriptures and discovering how they apply to our lives as Jesus’ disciples. It has been interesting as we continue to explore the Bible in its context, how many of the names and places listed therein are very near to us geographically. We regularly get out the map and talk it through.
How is your “Spiritual Maintenance” going? Are you challenging yourself to grow as a disciple of our Lord? Are you involved in personal Bible study? How about a Christian Education class at church? I encourage you to make this a priority in your life—dig in! “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.” Psalm 34:8 May God strengthen you for His service, Ted |
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January 17--Predator and
Presents
I continue to be amazed by God's grace and the way that He works in, around and through us. I shouldn't be surprised, but I always am! God created the heavens and the earth, and he still makes miracles happen in our midst. Praise God! One of the groups that Ed and I get to minister to is a squadron that operates Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). These vehicles provide real-time data for commanders on the ground to fight and win the war on terror. We have run into Army folks who are so appreciative of the Predator UAVs because they came through for them during a firefight. Here is a picture of Ed standing next to a Predator The professionalism and competence of these Predator folks jumps out at you when you spend time with them. They keep these planes up and flying even in the most adverse conditions. It is such a blessing to be able to serve these great Americans. Ed and I shared some of the care boxes from First Presbyterian Church’s “Treasures for Troops” campaign with these airmen—here’s a picture
“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the nations (Isaiah 42:6).” Not only were these words applicable to Israel, but they also foreshadowed the coming messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. Do they not also apply to us, disciples of Jesus who continue His ministry here on earth? What has Jesus called YOU to do, right now, right where you are? May God grant you strength and wisdom to go and do it! Ted |
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January
13--Praise and Worship It has been such an amazing week. I praise God for the opportunity to be able to serve God in this capacity. I wake up every morning and am thrilled that I get to do this. Have you ever had a time when you know exactly, without a doubt, that this is what the Lord wants you to do? That's what's going on with me. Praise God!
Our Rescue Squadron is
like an armed ambulance in the sky. They work in conjunction with the
Army Medevac folks to get injured people back to treatment facilities.
Well, the other night they brought in a few injured
soldiers: two from Canada and one from the U.S. (all three are doing
ok). Ed and I had the opportunity to talk with the flight crew after
they returned, and then we went to the hospital to provide pastoral care
to the wounded soldier. We talked with him and he was from the town I
grew up in--what a coincidence? It is a wonder who God places in our
path. It was a blessing to talk and pray with that soldier, and to help
him to call his parents and
There are many worship opportunities for folks here at Kandahar, especially on Sunday. I help lead a Protestant worship service at 9:00am with the help of an Australian Chaplain named Dean. This morning, I led singing of a few worship songs—here’s a picture. I preached on the baptism of Jesus from Matthew 3:13-17. Dean led the Communion part of the service. Next week we will switch. It has been very good spiritually and culturally to work with not only Dean but also our NATO coalition partners—I’ll talk about that in another update. Here’s a picture of Ed and Dean I hope that you all are doing well. May God bless you abundantly as you love Him and your neighbor Ted |
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What a packed few days it has been! Our chapel team has been busy getting situated and finding out where everyone and everything is around here. We are responsible for the spiritual care of roughly 250 people. In our rounds we have heard time and time again from those rotating out how great of a deployment this was. How they felt like they were able to make a difference. That they were proud of their service; and that they were blessed to be part of such a great team. Our rotation hopes for the same. We are in the midst of the rainy season, in which most of their precipitation for the year arrives in just a short time. But it was a great surprise for many when it snowed! One airmen asked me, “Hey Alaska Chaplain, did you bring this stuff with you?” Here’s a picture of our snow accumulation.
I am reminded of Jesus’ words: “Greater love has no one than this: that he lay down his life for his friends,” John 15:13 Please pray for the families and friends of our Canadian brothers, that the Lord may give them comfort and peace during this very difficult time. May God richly bless you as you continue to serve Him Ted |
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Have you ever seen that movie "Planes, Trains and Automobiles," with John Candy and Steve Martin? Well, the running joke of our movement into Afghanistan was that it was just like that! I flew commercial from Alaska to Baltimore, then a military chartered 757 from Baltimore to Ireland, Georgia (not the state in the lower 48), and Kyrgystan. I then spent about a day and a half receiving equipment and waiting for a flight to Afghanistan. Today we flew on a C-17 with a bunch of Army Special Ops guys to Kandahar. I brought along some of the First Pres "Treasures for Troops" goodies and handed them out to the guys. They were very appreciative and I wanted to thank you for helping to bring some smiles to our soldiers. My Chaplain Assistant is a Master Sergeant from Iowa named Ed. I feel very blessed that we've been able to work together already at our pre-deployment training in Nevada last October, and also traveling together the last few days, ministering to people along the way. Ed's right when he says that our mission and focus is on taking care of our troops.
"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer" Psalm 19:14 I pray that our thoughts, words and actions would bring glory to God not just here at Kandahar, but wherever else we go. Now it's time to find out where I'll be staying and get a shower. God Bless You! The attached is a picture of Ed and I at the entrance to our compound. Ted |
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Although
halfway around the world, Super Bowl Sunday is just as much of an
American cultural celebration here as it is back in the states. Of
course, it came on a lot earlier (kickoff was 4am). But those people who
were on shift during that time were already up. So Ed and I joined them
for fellowship, food and fun. 
I
know that I especially needed to hear this message and apply it. Early
on in the week I had a funny feeling that something was out of whack.
Well, surprise, it was me! I’d been so busy trying to visit people, or
conducting worship services, or leading a prayer group or study that I
had neglected my personal worship time with the Lord. 
our fellow coalition
chaplains have been to
me
personally and professionally. It has been a joy to serve with fellow
chaplains of different countries, bound together in Christ, seeking to
serve Him in all that we do. Who knew that some of my closest partners
in ministry would be Brits and Australians? Here is a picture of one of
our recent gatherings:
focused
on getting this thing repaired and back into the fight. I continued to
be humbled by the drive and commitment of my fellow countrymen.
The
other night, we were studying Isaiah 42, and we came across God’s words
through the prophet: 
fiancé
to let them know that he was going to be ok. God is good!
Along
with the rest of the camp, we attended a ramp ceremony for two Canadian
soldiers who died. Ed’s words seem to best capture the essence of the
event. He writes: “Early this very morning I stood in a rare Afghanistan
snowstorm as two brave Canadians were sent home in flag draped
containers. As the bagpiper passed by me wailing Amazing Grace, two
things struck me one that this rare snow might just have been the frozen
tears of Canada, and that no matter what I'm most proud of my brave
family and the massive sacrifice they have made all these years for
peace and liberty.” 
It's
amazing who the Lord puts in your path. We've met so many amazing people
and are looking forward to some great ministry here. I pray that God
would use Ed and I in the lives of those we meet. This brings to mind a
great verse from my morning Psalm: 