words fail me. so I’ll just say thank you. which seems pretty lame - but sometimes the little things do count.

I am glad everything went smoothly for you and your assignment. I on the other hand was disappointed when more people didn’t write in my Presidential choice SpongeBob Squarepants. I really think he would be up to the challenge. At the very least he couldnt do any worse!

Lovely!  Having done, and continuing to do, a fair amount of volunteer service work in my life I know EXACTLY how vital the people are who are willing to simply hunker down and do what needs doing.  So often that is very mundane, unsexy clean up work...but it’s vital and important and powerful.  Those who are truly of service in the world know that and generally just join in and take out the trash when it’s time.  Bless you again and again.

2 kings 5.  it’s one of my favorite moments in the bible, and i hope you’ll forgive me for turning scritural in your comments ... your post-mortem V story reminded me of this ...

it’s the story of nama’an, who is ill, and whom the prophet elijah tells to go wash himself 7 times in the river.  nama’an is nonplussed; he wants the man of god to give him some great task to perform, some rousingly difficult feat that will make him *earn* his healing.  he wants to prove himself to god.

his servants (or sons, depending on the version you read) say to nama’an : “if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” (2K5:13)

sometimes life, like the holy one, asks us to commit amazing feats of might, and sometimes the best thing we can do is nod and what needs to be done.  there is beauty and wholeness in simplicity, and redemption.

When people ask me what I did during the three years I served in the Army, what I usually speak of are the more active and interesting moments of my tour of duty. The truth is, I probably spent 95% of my time cleaning or painting facilities and equipment. And I had a combat specialty. The running joke amongst us was, “Don’t know what to do with an M-16, but hand me a mop, and I’ll take ‘em all out!”

It’s a dirty job…

Thanks for doing it!