Afghanistan News Vol. 1

[This email was originally sent April 24, 2009]

So, I arrived safely about a week ago. Life is pretty good here. I'm on Kandahar Airfield (KAF), just outside the southern city of Kandahar, Afghanistan. You can actually see this on google maps, or google earth. We will eventually have buildings to live in, but right now we're all in tents with about 30 cots per tent. Each person has one cot, and floor space about the same size as one cot. The tents are completely air conditioned; I actually sleep in sweats inside my sleeping bag. There are two downsides. One, we have to use port-a-johns (the worst part about being deployed), and crappy showers. Second, the tents are a 20 minute walk from where we work. Emily is sending my bike to me so the travel time will go way down. Once we move into our buildings we'll have indoor plumbing and we'll only be about a 10 minute walk to work, and the Asian chow hall will be right outside our door.

There are actually quite a few places to eat. First, we have several chow halls, each with a theme around some global region. The Niagra is American, the Luxembourg is European, the Far East is Asian, etc. I actually eat at the Asian chow hall because they have a great selection of curry dishes, and they cook stir fry in the wok fresh every day. You can actually watch the guys making it and see all the fresh veggies and other ingredients they use. There are also several fast food places surrounding a recreation area called the boardwalk. We have Tim Horton's (Canadian version of Dunkin Doughnuts), Subway, Burger King, Pizza Hut, The Kabob House, and an ice cream shop. Within the recreation area, there is a roller hockey rink where the Canadians play a lot, and a large field with a stage at one end for entertainers. Toby Keith is actually playing tomorrow night for my birthday. Go figure. Anyway, I don't normally spend money on the fast food because the chow halls are good and their hours aren't bad either so I can eat whenever I need to.

There a couple chapels on base and I'm looking forward to checking out the "Contemporary Service" this Sunday at 10:30. I've already met a couple guys who are interested in working together to be strong examples for Christ. That's difficult to do in this environment if you don't have other people to rely on, so I'm very grateful for the guys I've already met, and I look forward to meeting more. Right now I'm reading a book called "Christian Beliefs: 20 things every Christian should know", by Wayne Grudem. Anyone who claims to be a Christian really needs to get this book. I've been going to church for a long time and this book is full of entry level stuff that even I didn't know. Gotta start somewhere right? Also, I'm reading through the new testament. I started when I first arrived doing a couple chapters each day so I'm still in Matthew, but I also read other parts as I come across references in the Grudem book.

A lot of people ask "What can I send you?" This is truly a flattering question. I feel like I'm just over here for a really long day at work. That people would want to spend time and money to send stuff to me is very generous, and I thank all of you who have done so, or are planning to. As far as I what I "need" there's really not much. I packed everything I need to survive, and there's a PX where I can buy the rest. A lot of folks like to send care packages full of snacks. Like I said earlier, the chow halls are great and we're allowed to take stuff out with us so that's kinda covered. However, if you still want to send snacks, candy, or fun stuff, what I can do is give that stuff out to local kids who live outside the small bases where we land our helicopters, or even to the soldiers at those bases who don't have access to all the stuff I do. I will do my best to let you know what happens to anything you send. My address is:

Jeff Gelzinis
C Co. 2/82nd Avn
TF Pegasus
APO AE 09355

That said, there are two things I personally enjoy getting. One is gift cards to Amazon.com. I can use these to order almost anything from amazon but most likely, I will use these gift cards for books or video games To order these, visit www.amazon.com and use my email address "jgelzinis@gmail.com; the gift will simply be credited to my account. The other thing I enjoy is gift cards to our local coffee shop, the Green Beans Cafe. To order one of these, visit www.greenbeanscoffee.com and click on the "gift cards" link. Follow the instruction from there. When it asks you to select a location, pick "Kandahar, Afghanistan - MWR". They'll send me an email letting me know that a gift card is waiting for me in the coffee shop. This is also a gift I usually share with others; frozen coffee by yourself just isn't any fun.

For those on facebook, I have been trying to keep my status updated but the public internet is slow and I won't have my own connection until we move into our buildings. So, feel free to email me here to find out what's going on. Or, just standby for the Afghanistan News to stay informed. Once I have my own connection I will also start posting photos so you can see what this place looks like (it's not impressive).

Thank you all for praying for me. It means a lot to Emily and I that so many people care about us. The year should go by quickly and hopefully I'll be home on my 30th birthday.

peace out,
Jeff