At Freedom Rest

Well, I'm in the midst of taking Soldiers on a retreat to "Freedom Rest," a "resort" located in Baghdad where they Soldiers are able to relax, unwind, and have some fun. We have spent some time in discussions groups, where I've led sessions on personal wisdom from a Godly perspective, as well as looking at wisdom in personal finances. We will also talk about goal setting, priorities and purpose, as well as conflict resolution and communication. But most of the time is set aside for Soldiers to relax, and enjoy the time off. We have played basketball, flag football, water basketball, tug of war, and various other things.

But we're never too far from combat. Earlier today, there was an explosion close to us and we took cover. We then saw the smoke rising nearby, on the other side of the river, and a number of us went to the top of the high dive at the pool (about 4 stories up, see the pictures), and we able to see the Apache helicopters circling, the responses teams, and other things. It sounds like it might have been a car bomb, but I haven't seen the reports yet.

All in all, though, this has been a very nice time for the Soldiers we brought, and there is still plenty to come for them.