Back from Ft. Polk

Well, after 3 and a half long weeks, I have finally gotten back from Ft. Polk. It is soooooo good to be back with Suzi and the kids here in Clarksville. It was a great reunion! And as an added bonus, Suzi's mom came the next day and is spending a week with us; Uncle Bryan Walker is scheduled to come for a visit this coming Monday; and my sister Leslynne will be coming sometime this upcoming week. We have not seen them since we moved here so it will be good to have them with us. And (just as a reminder) anyone else who would like to visit us, please consider yourself invited. We would love to see you!

The training at Ft. Polk was intense and long but was an excellent way for me to integrate myself into my new unit. I was blessed to have Chaplain Anderson, the Chaplain I am replacing, go along with us. He served as an invaluable teacher/mentor on how the unit works, what to expect, what needs to be done in what order, etc. It is amazing how much more you learn with on the job training compared to the Chaplain schoolhouse at Ft. Jackson. Our unit had great success at Ft. Polk but were sent home with some clear things to work on.

Between now and deploying in the Spring, I know that there are a number of things personally and job related that I will need to work on and strengthen. But for right now, I am happy just to spend a relaxing weekend with my family.

Thanks for reading this blog and sorry that it takes so long to update it. Hopefully now that I am back, I can keep it updated more often. (Our communications at Ft. Polk were not able to accomodate that). Thank you especially for all of your prayers and please keep them coming. My family and I thrive off of them.

Feel free to leave comments or email us at: entrekin@hotmail.com

God Bless!

Jonathan

a lovely Saturday morning

I awoke on Saturday to see two deer walking through my backyard. Suzi was able to get a few good pictures and the kids were quiet enough not to scare them off. Earlier in the week, we found a gopher in the backyard. Ahh the beauty of having your property back up to woods.

This has been a busy week for me work wise. I have attended a number of meetings, briefings and functions with the Cav unit. (Even getting to wear my Stetson once or twice). We attended our first Family Readiness Group meeting on Friday night, which is designed to help families when loved ones are deployed. On Saturday night, we went to a neighborhood party down the road. We are enjoying getting to know our neighbors and their children. On Sunday we attended services on post at Memorial Chapel and in the evening went to a small group from Christ Presbyterian Church where we have been attending. Being a Chaplain, I am expected to attended services on post. But we would still like to maintain and develop the relationships we have built with the local congregation.

I have Monday off and am trying to use it to run errands and accomplish tasks prior to leaving on Wednesday morning for 22 days to Ft. Polk. Definitely pray for Suzi and the kids while I am gone. Ransom is scheduled to go back to the doctor tomorrow and I expect they will take his cast off his leg.

While I am out of town, a few friends are scheduled to come visit us. We welcome the Silvas and the Algaiers over the next few weekends! Anybody else who wants to come visit, don't hesitate. We would love to see you!

Jonathan and Suzi