"Christmas in Baghdad"

It's been almost a month since Christmas, but I thought you might like this. I wrote this for my church family just a few days before Christmas.

Church is a bit of a different experience in a war zone. Since the chapel serves all faiths it's pretty bare of religious symbols. Except for a very plain wooden cross that sits on a table, you could easily think you'd just walked into a big class room. No pictures of Jesus, no stained glass windows, no altar, no pews, no smiling minister greeting us as we come in the door! Perhaps the thing that is most unusual is the sight of our military members as they come into church carrying their weapons. Those who are authorized to carry weapons do so, regardless of where they are. I don't feel a bit uneasy, but the first time you see that will sure cause you to look twice!! Last night I noticed my friend Eddie from Pittsburgh gently lay down his rifle beneath his folding metal chair before he sat down. He was a couple of minutes late and didn't want to make any unnecessary noise. Somehow that sight of him being so gentle with his rifle looked funny!

It's a great experience to sit in church with people from all around the world! Last night I sat next to a man from Kenya. Around us were people from Uganda, Sri Lanka, Korea and Iraq! We sang Christmas carols with extra enthusiasm, probably brought on by our absence from friends and family. We prayed for Jamal, an Iraqi man been kidnapped the day before. You see, he was working for us (Coalition Forces) in some capacity and was kidnapped because of his association with the coalition forces. We prayed for his safe return. We prayed for our friends and family back home, and praised God for the many things for which we have to be thankful.

There were a few Iraqi Christian women at church last night. One wore the traditional headscarf, known as a "hijab". If I'd seen her on the street I would have assumed that she was Muslim. Another of the women asked for prayer for her Muslim friend who is reading the Bible, turning away from Islam because of the hatred.

On Saturday night we'll be entertained by the Ugandan Men's Choir as they sing Christmas songs! These men are working as security guards around the International Zone. Like us, they're far from friends and family but will lift their voices in celebration of the birth of the Christ child....an event that spans across the many cultures represented here, across the time zones and across the centuries!