- Greetings once again from Kuwait,
One question keeps coming to my mind, will I ever leave
Kuwait? I have now been here for almost two weeks and I
still waiting to push up into Iraq. Every day here is one
less I will spend there, so that is not a bad thing.
Temperatures here have been hitting 117 here everyday, so
every day is a beautiful day to be in Kuwait.
Camp Buehring is a wonderfully desolate place filled with
thousands of transient soldiers on any given day. I have
met Air Force, Marines, Navy, British, Australian, and
Czechoslovakian soldiers. There is a great chapel here
that is run by an Air Force Chaplain, Chaplain Ingles.
Please keep him in prayer as he just found out that his
father is dying. I have enjoyed worshiping with him each
weekend here and I am thankful for the opportunity to
find refreshment in the midst of this dessert.
Many of you have been sending notes of encouragement, and
I want to thank you. You have all been so great!!! One
question that has been asked along the way is, "What
can I send that soldiers would like?" Well, here are
a few suggestions. Phone cards, gum, beef jerky, peanuts,
Crystal Light singles or Cool Aid singles to put in
bottles, mouth wash, tooth paste, granola bars, etc.
Please feel free to be creative and send anything
you think they might enjoy.
One item of interest I can share with you is that the
commander and I are planning on opening a coffee cafe on
the flight line where most of the soldiers will be
located. There is a company that is sending us a free
Bunn coffee maker and 50lbs. of coffee to get it started.
My commander wants to build a building to house this and
to locate my office there as well. This is exciting
because it will bring people to me on neutral ground. The
name of the coffee cafe will be "Holy Joe's Cafe"
named after the program providing the pot and coffee. How
exciting! Please pray that God will use this place to
greatly bless these men and women who are giving up so
much of their lives.
Well, hopefully the next time I write, I will be at Camp
Taji. The address listed below is the correct address for
me in Iraq, so feel free to use it. I appreciate your
prayers and notes, keep them coming. May God bless you
and keep you all!
For God and Country,
Mark
CH (CPT) Mark Olson
HHC, 3-4 AVN BN
- Unit # 6061
- Camp Taji
APO AE 09378