Iraq in One Week

One week from today, Jordan leaves for Iraq. We are quite confident that this time it's for real. After a slight emotional breakdown, I think I have accepted it. Last night when I first got the call that he was probably going to be deployed in the very near future, I was mad. Yelling, screaming, crying mad. "I can't do this again!" I sobbed into my husband's arms. It has been an emotional roller coaster. He is going to Iraq, no he's going to Afghanistan, no he's not going anywhere, wait, yeah, he has to go to Iraq. Last night I said that I wished he had just gone on that first deployment. In a way, that might have been easier, but in another way, this emotional roller coaster has been like novocaine. We are so numb with emotion that somehow it doesn't hurt as bad now. Maybe I'm just still in shock. We all knew that it was very possible that he would be deployed eventually, but I really thought we would at least have the holidays together.

Everyone who knows more about this than I do, Jordan, Lindsay, Nate, tell me that these are pretty good orders. He will be on an AFB in Southern Iraq. Basically he’s going to be a cop for the AFB over there just like he is in Charleston This is way better that running convoys in Iraq which was his first order, and even better than guarding war prisoners in Afghanistan which was his second order.

While God didn't grant our prayer requests of Jordan never having to go to war, he did grant them by giving Jordan a better deployment order. As quick as this all seems to be happening, the Lord has known all along. He knew from day one that Jordan would be deployed to Iraq in October 2007. He knew and He knows what the future holds. We just have to trust in Him.

Here is why I am more okay with this than I ever thought possible: Jordan wants to go. Really wants to go. This is part of an email I got from sweet Lindsay this morning... It’s his job and he loves being apart of something that means so much to America. I’m extremely thankful he’ll be located on base and not out and about. Jordan and I were actually talking about this yesterday…he said he was thinking about volunteering his service in Iraq after the holidays were over. He really wants this experience and he wants to be able say that he helped fight a war and create peace in a country that’s so chaotic and dysfunctional. I know it’s going to be hard not having him here for so long, but we have to keep in mind that this is what he loves to do and this is what makes him happy.

Those words literally stopped my tears (OK, dried my tears momentarily). Selfishly, there is nothing I want less than to have to send my precious little brother to war, but it is so much easier knowing that he WANTS to go.

Please cover Jordan and our family in your prayers. God is good, and I know that he isn't done building Jordan's testimony yet.

-posted by Jaime

Keep Praying for our Troops - God is Answering in an Amazing Way!

"In a televised speech Thursday, Bush announced he had approved Petraeus' plan to withdraw 5,700 troops from Iraq by the holidays and reduce the force from 20 combat brigades to 15 brigades by July 2008.

On Friday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates raised the possibility of cutting U.S. troop levels in Iraq to 100,000 or so by the end of next year — well beyond the cuts Bush announced in his speech Thursday.

The defense secretary confirmed that he was referring to cutting from the projected level of 15 combat brigades in July to 10 brigades at the end of 2008, and that this would translate to roughly 100,000 troops." - quoted from DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer

Read the full story here.

-posted by Jaime

OH HAPPY DAY!

Jordan came to visit me in Chattanooga on Friday and stayed until Monday. We both knew our time was running thin, so we made the best of our weekend and had a blast! He met me for lunch on Monday and proceeded to head back to Spartanburg to visit with his family one more time before his deployment. During our lunch, I asked him when he thought he had to report back to Charleston. He said he thought he had Tuesday off and was planning on spending the night in Spartanburg. While he was on his way to Spartanburg, he called me and said, “I just got a call from my staff sergeant, and he said I have to be back in Charleston at 5:30 Tuesday morning to have breakfast with a General.” I said, “Maybe you’re having breakfast with the General so he can tell you that you don’t have to deploy anymore.” We laughed at the ridiculous comment, said our good byes, and hung up the phone. I went back to work and he headed down the mountain towards home.

I always call Jordan as soon as I leave work. This day was no different than the others. I was just expecting to have our normal after work conversation where I get to tell him all about my day in the plant. When Jordan answered the phone on this particular afternoon, his tone was a little different. I hadn’t heard this voice since he was told he was deploying and he would be forced to be worlds apart from his family and friends for a whole nine months. I thought to myself, “He’s a little chipper than normal. What happened on his drive home?” He asked how my day at work was. I said it was fine. I asked him how his drive from Chattanooga to Spartanburg was. He said it was fine. Then something was said that was COMPLETELY and UTTERLY unexpected. He told me that he had some news about his deployment. I silently hung on every word as he said, “MY DEPLOYMENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED.” The first words out of my mouth were, “I’m going to cry.” And that’s what I did. That’s all I could do. Never in my life had I felt the way that I did in that moment. It felt better than having 100 tons worth of bricks lifted off of my chest. I took a deep breath and as I exhaled I could feel all of my worries and fears flee from my body. All of these insuppressible, horrific thoughts and doubts that had haunted me for months were instantaneously gone! He wasn’t going to deploy.

The amazing thing about this glorious news is that Jordan received this phone call seconds before pulling into his Nanny’s house to eat dinner with his family for what they all thought would be the last time in nine months. Now that is really something! OH HAPPY DAY!

-published by Lindsay

Conversation with Jordan's Nieces

Here is a recap of a conversation I had with Averie and Austin Kate last week:

Jaime: "Guess what, girls? Next week we get to go spend a bunch of days in Grammyland with Uncle Judi!"

AK: "Yay! Grammyland AND Uncle Judi!"

Ave: "Does he have some days off from being a GI Joe?"

Jaime: "Yes. He has about a week off to come bring some of his stuff home and spend some special time with his family before he goes on his big trip."

Ave and AK: "What big trip?"

I took a deep breath because we have talked about Uncle Judi's "big trip" everyday for months and prayed about it at least twice a day since we found out!

Jaime: "You know, girls, Uncle Judi's big trip to fight the bad guys."

Ave and AK: "Oh, yeah."

Ave: "I was kinda hoping he wouldn't have to go on that trip."

Jaime: "Me too."

AK: "Why does Uncle Judi have to fight the bad guys?"

Jaime: "Because they are bad guys and Uncle Judi is a good guy. The bad guys do mean things to innocent people and Uncle Judi is a brave and nice that he is going to go stop them from being mean."

Ave: "Will he have to use his gun?"

Jaime: "Yes. He will use all of his weapons and tools and training so that he can do his job well."

AK: "Do the bad guys have guns and weapons?"

Jaime: "Yes."

AK: "Are they going to try and hurt Uncle Judi?"

Ave: "Could Uncle Judi die on his big trip?"

Jaime: "They might try to hurt Uncle Judi, but he has lots of training and lots of other good guys helping him, and he has something that those bad guys don't have. He has Jesus with him every step of the way. We just have to trust that Jesus is going to take care of him."

Ave: "I don't want him to go."

AK: "Me either."

Jaime: "I know, babies. I don't want him to go either, but we need brave soldiers like Uncle Judi to keep us safe. God only chooses special people with special families to go to war, and He knew that Uncle Judi and our family was special enough. "

Ave: "Will they make him go even if we tell him he's an uncle?"

Jaime: "Yes. There are even Mommies and Daddies that have to go to war."

Ave: "We should pray for them too."

Jaime: "Yes, we most definitely should."

Ave: "At least he will be home for Christmas!"

Jaime: "No, baby. He won't be home for Christmas. He won't be home until next summer. "

AK: "Everybody has to come home for Christmas! It's what we do!"

Jaime: "Not this year, but next year we will all be together at Christmas."

Ave: "Promise?"

Jaime: "Yes, I promise."

-posted by Jaime