Gone Fishin!

Here they are! ATMG or Army Ten Mile Guys running for orphans! In this picture from left to right are DS Jason Johnson, DS Scott Miranda, Chaplain Borders, SSG Rethi "Chewy" Chhoeun, DS Mark Glasgow and DS Mark Johnson! Please pray for us as we train to run ten miles. The race is on October 8th. We are running to support the mission of Hopegivers International. It is a ministry that brings hope, shelter, food and clothing to orphans in India and around the world. If you'd like to find out more about hopegivers just log onto www.hopegivers.com

A .50 caliber round of plastic filled with gooey paint flies past your face and you just knew that was a close one. Then out of no where you feel bee like stings in your leg and back and all you hear is laughter behind you. You turn to find your buddy has just snuck up on you and taken you out of the game and he thinks it’s hilarious that your covered in day-glow green paint! You are playing paintball. Its probably one of the coolest things you can do, other than catching a 20” rainbow on a fly that you tied, but its pretty close. I had the honor of being invited by our Bravo Company for a day a competition in the woods near Columbia. It was an amazing time. We played for hours and got really tired. We laughed a lot and SFC Stratford and I shot each other at point blank range. I put ferns in my headgear but it didn’t provided much concealment. I also found out the difference between cover and concealment. Concealment is useless if they see you! Here’s a picture of us before we got back...

Their first fish! There are days in life that mark you. Then there are those days that never leave you. Both my kids this past week had the time of their lives actually landing their first fish. I'm sure that fishing for a little guy can be an exercise in futility. The line gets all tangled, the bait is squishy and yucky and the lure never goes quite where you want it to. But then there's that one day when it all comes together. You get the right bait, in the right water, near the right fish at the right time and you got one! Okay, reel it in, keep the line tight, don't let him go! Now the size of the fish doesn't matter, but getting it to the net sure does. Both my daughter and son caught their first fish this week. My son is pictured here helping me land a rainbow trout in the stream next to our house in Boone NC. We visited Linville Falls and Linville Caverns. The Linville Gorge is a true wilderness area and a great day hike. We went with our friends Robbie and Kelly...

As my previous article states I'm running the Army 10-miler to raise money for orphans in India. The group that takes care of the children is Hopegivers Internaitional www.hopgivers.com If you have a minute and take the time to read the article below(all the way at the bottom of this article). Our friend Sam, Hopegivers InternationalPresident)was released a month ago from jail for a bogus charge and now is on the verge of being jailed again with some more bogus charges. As you read the article you'll notice that the government is charging that Hopegivers used a map without Kashmir as a provision of India. This is a violation of Indian law. The territory of Kashmir is still disputed between Pakitstan, India and China and has been since the British left the region over 50 years ago. Both countries claim that this area belongs to them. In India if you use a map without Kashmir as a true part of the Indian state it would appear that you side with the Pakistanis. The problem with th...

On October 8th I’ll be running in the annual Army 10-miler http://www.armytenmiler.com/ It’s a great race that I hope merely to finish. 10 miles is a long way to run, especially on my old knees. Who knows, this may be the beginning of my marathon career, NOT! Anyhow I’m running with some of my friends from FT Jackson and I had the idea of running for something other than me. As many of you know our friend Sam Thomas and his father M.A. have been caring for orphans for the last 40 years or so. They rely on donations to supply the basic needs of these kids. At one of their orphanages they have over 1500 children there. It costs about 23 dollars a month to keep a child clothed and fed. That’s not a whole lot. So we are going to run this race for the kids. I’m asking for sponsors either by the mile or one time donations. Now its too easy to give. Hopegivers has a web-site http://www.hopegivers.com/ If you go there you can donate online or you can mail them your check. All the information i...

For those of you that prayed thanks! Today is a good day. Dr. Sam granted bail in Rajasthan! By Robby Brumberg COLUMBUS, GA (May 1, 2006) – Hopegivers President Dr. Samuel Thomas received bail today from the Jaipur High Court and will be released tomorrow after spending 47 days in Kota Central Jail in Rajasthan. Dr. Sam, as he is known to millions around the world, has been held on charges that he “created communal disharmony.” Hopegivers Founder Bishop M.A. Thomas was also granted bail on the same charge from India’s Supreme Court on April 20. The news of Dr. Thomas’ release is being applauded by supporters of the humanitarian mission worldwide. “We praise the Lord for this decision. The Lord has heard our cries and those of his children around the world! Now it is time to get back to focusing on what we do best, caring for abandoned and orphaned children,” said Hopegivers Program Director Shelley Thomas, also the wife of Dr. Sam. Hopegivers is still waiti...

I’ve been an American all my life. I’ve been to 15 countries outside our borders. I’ve seen our land from Mainie to California. I’ve always been glad to be an American. I’ve realized it’s a gift a precious gift to be able to live here. I say I’ve always been glad to be an American, but until last Friday I was just glad, now I’m proud. I mean “swoll” up proud to see my flag, to wear this uniform, to serve with some fine men and women to be an American citizen/soldier. The reason for this is a kind of epiphany moment I had standing on the steps of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I was standing there in my dress blue uniform hugging my daughter watching the changing of the guard. The reason for the “blues” is that we had just buried our friend, 1SG Bob Kuehne, in section 64 of Arlington National Cemetery. Bob was killed in a motorcycle wreck a month ago and his family asked me if I’d officiate the service. Its not something you’d ever say no to. We had a great turnout. People from SC dro...