Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ at Calvary,

Grace and peace to you from muddy Iraq! Right now we’re in the rainy season, and we’re battling mud like I’ve never seen. It’s somewhat of an annoyance to many, but I am trying to remember the waters of our baptism as my boots sink through muddy puddles. It’s a continual dying and rising! So much has risen since I’ve last written. I took a trip to the Iranian border last month. I was visiting some of my soldiers who are working out there to train Iraqi mechanics. The colonel out there was very hospitable. He prepared lunch for me and for some of the officers who came with me. At the end of the meal, he asked that I stay at his post to be the imam! He told me that God always listens to the prayers of his believers. I told him that he was right.

It has been very wonderful to eat with people who come from various backgrounds, and it is wonderful to see how family is created around simple tables & simple food. It doesn’t only happen with the Iraqi soldiers, but also with some of the third country nationals who have been brought here to work. A few times a week, I meet in a shack that lies between our shower trailers. There are some Ethiopian women who stay in that shack when they are on shift to clean the trailers. In the shack, we drink tea and they tell me about their families back home.

One night last month, they had an authentic Ethiopian meal prepared for me. One of the women is Muslim, and the other is Eastern Orthodox. Semina who is Orthodox introduced me to the other girl and said, “She is a Muslim, but I love her.” They have been working together for 3 years cleaning bathrooms 7 days a week. They get no day off and no vacation. And they actually didn’t know they were going to Iraq. Their families think that they are somewhere else. Anyhow, as we all sat around one Styrofoam plate I waited for one to “start.” I didn’t know what the proper protocol was. Then Semina, who was the Eastern Orthodox took bread and dipped it into some meat & vegetables. She held out the bread and placed it in my mouth. It was awkward at first, but such an image. The Eastern Orthodox priests spoon feed the Eucharist to the people in the congregation…and they never share bread with those outside the Eastern church. But there we were: a Muslim, a Western pastor, and an Eastern Orthodox woman all scandalously eating bread from one hand. Our eating together like that has bonded us together.

Simple gifts are really transforming the lives of our soldiers too! One of my soldiers told me that her favorite part of the week is when I hold the bread & wine up high in worship and we sing: “We proclaim your death Lord, we celebrate your rising, we break this bread and drink this cup until you come again.” One of my soldiers who is on R & R right now just mailed me a few loaves of Hawaiian sweet bread (like what you use at Calvary). Another gave me a loaf of bread that her grandmother made & sent to her. They too are being transformed & formed into a family by the body & blood of Christ. And the body of Christ at Calvary is continually feeding us and forming us with Jesus’ love as well. I am grateful for your presence and your support of this ministry…grateful beyond words. Please know that I keep you in prayer daily. Please know that your prayers hold us up too. You are bringing to us the kingdom of God that is not of this world. But you are bringing it to us by your presence in the world…and that makes all the difference.

Christ’s peace and love be with you.

Your grateful,

Pastor Kerstin

Statement of Our Faith