Well, I am now in Iraq. We headed north a few weeks ago from Kuwait and convoyed here to Tallil AB (also known as LSA Adder). The convoy itself was rather uneventful (thanks be to God). The roads were practically lined with barefoot children looking for us to give them something (mostly food and water). Other than that, it looks pretty much like the middle of Texas or New Mexico or Arizona: hot, dry, and dusty with just hint of green in spots...except, of course, for the burned out T-72 tanks along the road.

Tallil is a fairly large post just outside of An Nasiriyah. It's pretty quiet here right now, but the Air Force Security Force (it's an Air Force base) always seem sharp, alert, and on the bounce. The Italians and the Dutch are also quartered here, and we occasionally see a Japanese or Romanian or some other nationality from the Multi-National Corps strolling through.

There was a talent show last night that was modeled on “American Idol” complete with a “Simon” of its own. That was pretty entertaining. The commentary was the judges was the most engaging aspect of the show except for two really good peformers who absolutely beautiful voices. It was a welcome respite from the doldrums of daily life in camp. Other than a fairly small MWR facility at which you can play board games, foosball, or ping pong and talk on the phone or use a computer, there really isn't much to do. Of course, there's always the softball, soccer, or (flag) football fields to use as well, not to mention the largest PX in Iraq.

Speaking of the PX, you can get a haircut for a mere $3! Unfortunately it even comes complete with a head massage. I've never really had a head massage since it was my understanding that massaging solid bone matter wasn't all that beneficial. That might explain, however, why this guy was practically pounding my skull in. It didn't really hurt, but it was rather uncomfortable. He was probably trying to knock some sense in to me, but I didn't have the heart to tell him it was too late for that now.

One of the best parts about Tallil is that the ruins of Ur are right here on post. They even organize tours. Ur, of course, was the birthplace of Abraham. What a once-in-a-lifetime chance to visit such a place. It's only mentioned a few times in the Bible, but imagine that something so old and so profound in our faith still exists for us to visit and marvel at the strength of God and the faith of Abraham. I've only been here about a month, but I can assure you that I wouldn't want to walk or ride (camel, horse, or beast of burden of your choice) across the face of Iraq all the way to the “Promised Land.” It's bad enough riding around in a HMMWV! To have so much faith in God that you would risk everything on nothing but a promise...when every person who ever promised you anything probably failed (because that's how we are as sinners) is amazing. That must be why it was credited to him as righteousness. I pray that God would lead us all to that kind of faith.