Feel the Excitement

Well, here is my first take on blogging. I found I still had a Super Bowl party picture on my camera here in Iraq so I thought I would share the excitement. It is a little piece of home to remind me of all the good friends and things I could be doing instead of hanging out in the desert. Having the Olson's over was nice. We were definitely happy to have the space to host a get together like this since the Olson's and others have so graciously hosted us for years. I have been glad to hear Eric is carrying on with the boys in basketball and has recruited some great help to replace me while I am here. I actually hope I can pick-up some good stuff from James, who has been helping Eric since I left, when I get back. I learn a lot from Eric and can use all I can get until I am to decrepit to play anymore.

That having been said, I also have a picture to share of the Oasis at Al Asad. I got this picture from someone else and I am sure it has been passed around a lot. I have not yet had a chance to go to the Oasis. It does not appear to be particularly clean which is unfortunate. I hope they are doing a better job of preserving it now. Al Asad is the airbase I am deployed to in Iraq. So far this has been a good deployment as I have met more LDS folks here than on my last deployment and they interact together more often. The Oasis here is believed by many to be the well that Abraham stopped at while on his journey reference in Genesis. I have done a little research and cannot figure out where that belief originates but it does seem clear that it is not the "Abraham's well" from the scriptures. The one referred to in Genesis is actually located in Canaan from all I have read. I learned about the well though this past Easter weekend and it was something that I found interesting to investigate a little and think about. The Abraham and Isaac story is the key type of Christ's sacrifice which led to his resurrection which is what Easter is all about for us anyway. Well I have covered Super Bowls and Easter in one blog. I doubt that is very logical but I guess I will get the hang of this as I go.