The Heat is Here

Well, Iraq is starting to live up to its reputation.  Starting a few days ago it got hot and hasn't gotten any better.  It has been near 110 degrees during the day.  Now, this isn't as hot as it seems.  110 in Texas is about the worst thing I have ever felt, and I have lived in the Amazon!  It is so dry here that it feels a lot different.  It is still hot though.  It makes me glad that I work at night.  

I went to church today.  It was the first time in three weeks that I have been on post to go.  I finally gave up walking, mostly because of the heat, and convinced the people at OPS to give me the keys to a Hummer.  I got to drive to church in the air conditioning today.  A lot is changing around here.  The transition that will eventually lead to my replacement has started.  Some of our transportation elements are starting to be replaced (the people we escort) and the aviation brigade from the 4th ID is starting to be replaced by soldiers from the 1st Cavalry.  That means a lot of turnover at church.  There were only a couple of people there today that I recognized.  There are sure to be more people attending in the future as the new troops get settled in and people find the chapel where we hold services.   All the turnover means new callings and I have been asked to be the sunday school teacher.  I'm looking forward to it.  It will be easier than giving sacrament talks on short notice like I had to today.  My mission president told us that we should always have a talk ready and he wasn't lying! 

Speaking of replacements, the last time we were in Baghdad, which was a couple of days ago, we picked up a few soldiers that were just arriving to Iraq for the first time.  We brought them here to Camp Taji where they will be serving.  As we waited in the staging area for our time to leave I got talking to a couple of them.  They are from Washington and are relieving some of our transportation troops.  One of them looked at me and said, "I hear you are the artist", and pointed to my old truck.  A few weeks ago I had painted a stencil of the Angel Moroni on the turret because all the other guys in my platoon had painted the Archangel Michael on theirs (a catholic thing: the Archangel is the protector of the infantry).  I told the guy that yes I was the artist and he told me that he, and the soldier standing next to him, were members of the church and were really glad to see Moroni on one of the trucks after just arriving in Iraq.  I told them when and where church was held and we had a good time talking.  I was wondering if someone would ever comment on the stencil, and I'm glad that it worked!  I can't wait to get to know those guys (and a few others according to them) as they start coming to church.