Darren in Germany- No Conduit Monday

The fact that you and I woke up this morning and didn’t get our morning news in German or that we’re NOT enjoying the many accoutrements of Stalinistic socialism such as bread lines and grey clothes is something we owe to the men and women in uniform. It is an exercise in cliché to say that we owe our freedom to these folks, but it is true nonetheless.

And so it is that I will be travelling with my friends in Everlife to Germany tomorrow to spend some time with the troops, the wounded veterans and the forgotten families that sacrifice so much while their fathers and / or mothers are away at war.
My mother knew this first hand. I never realized how much until we sat in a room with my Grandfather last month. The Pastor was trying to build some stories from her childhood and the parents are normally the first source for this. With my grandmother in advanced stages of Alzheimer’s it was up to my grandpa to carry the torch. He wept as he said; “I don’t have any. I was not there.” My moms childhood was locked inside of a grandmothers mind that has long since faded, and my grandfather knew good and well that he had missed out.

My Grandfather served in the army for the better part of 25 years, all of which encompassed my Mom’s childhood. He served as a medic in Vietnam, as well as a staff surgeon around the United States and the World. To put it simply he was gone.
Some of my Mom’s happier memories as a child were in Germany. It is by complete coincidence that I am going on my first USO tour to the very military base that my mom graduated from Junior High on. We talked about this while she was dying. It brought her joy to think back to those days. I’m excited to get to walk on the same grounds and in the same schools that she was a part of.

I’ve never heard him complain one ounce about it. I Never heard him even mention it as an inconvenience. It is after all, what you do. The world was upside down and someone had to right it. That’s what the military does. That’s not to say there isn’t a price for the family to pay, but that is just part of the expectation.
To get to witness first hand a drop in the bucket of a thank you from the Everlife girls is going to be great. I’m going as handler/ observer. To think of it in terms that these kids are going through what my mom went through so many years ago makes it all the more special.

Jeremy Hezlep will be with me serving in the position of VP of Handling and so we will not be having Conduit on Monday night. I do have some pretty cool news to share with you upon my return, but I’ll obey my instincts and wait until then to share it. (FYI- I’m not quitting. It’s something else. Even cooler than me quitting)

So spread the word, tell your friends, email the local papers, call the radio request lines and tell them that Conduit is not happening this Monday. It never fails that 1 -2 people won’t get the word and I’ll feel like a jerk for not letting them know.

Blessings to you,
Darren