EASTER IN IRAQ

i haven't got the pictures yet when i do i will post them sorry.

I was having a really hard time feeling the spirit of Easter yesterday, being in a place where Christ was nothing more than a mortal prophet and not the resurrected savior of the world, but then something happened. As the extremely boring and long shift came to a close, there arose an opportunity to go to visitation (the place where the families wait to visit their loved ones that are detained) and give out candy, stuffed animals, and random left over items from packages sent to soldiers. At first i didn't want to go, I thought to myself , that will take forever and i don't have that much time as it is, but then i remembered it was EASTER!!! So I swallowed my selfishness and volunteered to go. I'M SO GLAD I DID!!! When we first arrived there was some little Iraqi boys playing soccer in the heat. I instantly got excited, the thought of doing anything different than sitting on my butt watching the tragedies of the war here excited me. Not only did i get excited to play, but it was an opportunity to interact with some of the local children, something we unfortunately haven't had the chance to do(The youngest detainee that Ive seen i think may have been around eighteen). It took me back to Russia on P-day playing soccer with the youth. The boys loved us!!!! One thing i realized though is weather or not they love you they still want to be on the winning team. One minute they where on your team the next you'd pass the ball to them and they would take off the other direction!!! Hahahahah!! it didn't matter though it was just fun to laugh and play like a little kid again. After working up a good sweat(meaning my shirt was soaked in sweat) we took some pictures with them and went back to preparing the bags of candy and stuff.
What happened next broke my heart. As the sons, daughters, mothers, and so on finished there visits and returned to the exit of the base, we handed out the bags. These little kids who, inevitably, had just been torn from their fathers arms, came out heads down streaks of tears marking the tragedy we are all involved in. It was nice to see little smiles crack slowly across the saddened faces and a bit of joy momentarily replace the pain that seems to be their lot in life. It made me think of my boys and how painful it is to be torn from them. I was glade that i had the opportunity to maybe share alittle peace on such a wonderful day and thought they may not believe in Christ his spirit was there with those children. It made me think of the scriptures when Christ says, "suffer the children to come to me" and though he may have been tired and hot and worn from all the teaching, he loved them. I'm sure that our heavenly father and his son shed many tears because of those sweet Iraqi children as they look down upon the pain their children cause each other.
It was kind of a bitter sweet Easter this year for me. On the one had i was able to help, in a small way, those children, but on the other i was extremely humbled at the effects of war on families and children. It made me really appreciate my life and the blessings i have been afforded in a free country. It reminded me that although i may be temporarily torn from those i love, I will leave and go back to my life rarely looking back on what will seem a dream. But for those children it is their lives, there is no end to, at least not for many years.
There is too much pain in this world, too much hart ace, too much war, too much suffering, and too much hurt to wake up and be sad when i have as much as i do!!!! There is amazing news for all though!!!! HE HAS RISEN and some day all will bow on bended knee and know what he has done. ALL will have a chance...ALL Muslim, Jew, catholic, black, white, yellow, green, it doesn't matter does it. O how then how important it is, for those of us that already know, to work, work, work, and not stop till they know and have the peace we have!!!
HE HAS RISEN!!!!