You may have guessed by his accent that Chaplain (Maj.) David Waweru is not native to the United States of America. But, where is he from? How did he find himself serving in the U.S. Army and deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom?

“I was born and raised in Kenya, Africa, in a small village about 20 miles west of the capital city of Nairobi,” Waweru, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade chaplain. “I went to primary school in the village and later went to high school in Nairobi.”

Waweru, now a resident in Harker Heights, Texas, said after graduating high school, he began working for local church organizations. One job in particular, he said, jumps out at him as the most memorable.

“The job that really stands out to me is when I worked for Campus Crusade for Christ,” Waweru said. “This job stands out to me because that is when I had a lot of time with American missionaries, and I believe that is where my interest in coming to the United States began.”

Waweru said he worked there for 2.5 years working with local church workers teaching them how to plan church services and build churches.

It was during his time with Campus Crusade where Waweru said he felt the call to become an ordained minister for his church, the Anglican Church in Kenya. He then left to begin school at the Bishop Kariuki Bible College in Kabete, Kenya, to train for ordained ministry.

While he was attending the college, Waweru said he met his wife, Christine, who was born in the United States, but raised in both the U.S. and Kenya. David and Christine had been attending the college for the same reason, to become ordained ministers.

He said they began getting to know each other and eventually started dating. However, their time together didn’t last as long as they would have liked.

“One year later, Christine was offered a scholarship for a school in the United States,” he said, “so, she took it and returned home to the United States to continue her education toward her bachelor’s degree in Christian ministry.”

Waweru, still in Kenya attending the Bishop Kariuki Bible College, continued his education and kept in touch with Christine through letters and phone calls every once in a while.

Waweru completed his degree at the Bible college and transferred to St. Paul’s University in Limuru, Kenya, to obtain a bachelor’s in divinity. All through this time, David and Christine kept their relationship strong even though they were on opposite sides of the world.

“I think this time apart helped us build trust,” Waweru said, “and I feel this was good training that helped me in becoming a chaplain in the years to come.”

He also said he believes, even though he had no way of knowing at the time, this time apart was preparing him for his three combat deployments with the U.S. Army.

Christine returned to Kenya during David’s second year at St. Paul’s, and they decided they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. On Dec. 3, 1988, David and Christine made their vows to each other and became husband and wife.

“We got ordained at the same time,” he said, “and began ministry together at the Anglican Church of Kenya.”

After a few years, the Waweru family picked up and came to the United States together and David continued to further his education at Princeton University, N.J., to obtain a master’s degree in theology.

“While I was at Princeton, I met a U.S. Army chaplain who was studying the same program. He and I became good friends during our time together, and throughout that friendship,” Waweru said, “I guess he was recruiting me into the chaplain’s corps.”

Upon graduation, Waweru said he faced two choices, to continue his ministries in the church, or to become a chaplain in the United States Army.

“I decided to try a new venture,” he said, “so I decided to become a United States Army chaplain.”

Waweru received his commission as a first lieutenant on July 4, 1994 and is is now a major on his third combat deployment, and his first to Afghanistan.

His first was to Iraq in 2005, followed by his second back to Iraq in 2007.

Today, he is in Afghanistan with the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, serving as the brigade chaplain on FOB Spin Boldak, Afghanistan.

His mission is to keep the soldiers of the brigade strong and help them through their times of trouble.

“It is never easy,” he said. “It is always hard to be away from family. With this being my third deployment, I have been better able to prepare myself and help others through my experiences.”

The chaplain wants soldiers to know if they need anything, he is here to help them.

“I offer encouragement and insight based on my experiences,” he said. “I encourage soldiers to work on their relationships while they are away from their families, and I encourage them to be spiritually fit.”

At the end of the day, Waweru is happy he made the decision to become a chaplain when he could have otherwise made the choice to minister in the church as a civilian.

“I enjoy my ministry in the Army,” he said, “I love soldiers, I love talking to soldiers, interacting with soldiers. I love being part of a bigger family than myself. We will suffer being away from our Families together, and we will pull through it together.”

Story by Spc. Darryl Montgomery
DVIDS

It was a clear, sunny February day. A breeze was blowing through the open window of her apartment; the closet had finally been cleaned earlier in the week and the small study Bible her best friend had given her when she was 12 was laying on the nightstand.

That was when Spc. Kelly L. Lee sat down on the floor next to her bed, placed the razor against her wrist and said, “God, if you’re there, you better let me know because I’m going to come meet you.”

“I was at such a point of self-loathing; that’s why I got out the razor blade,” the 27-year-old Dallas native said. “I had my own place, a good job and a wonderful fiancé at the time. All the pieces of the puzzle were there, but something was missing. That missing piece was the life I didn’t have.”

And life had not always been great for Lee, she said. A self-proclaimed Army brat, the fiery redhead grew up in an unstable home filled with drug and alcohol abuse. Her parents were divorced by the time she was 12 and her mother had been in and out of jail since Lee was 9 years old.

As she sat with the blade against her wrist, a breeze blew the small Bible onto the floor and opened to Psalm 34. As she began to read, a verse leapt out at her: “I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”

“I didn’t get saved the ‘traditional’ way by being preached to or talking to a minister or anything like that,” Lee said. “You can’t deny a face-to-face meeting with God like that, though. I cried out and he heard me.”

Like most youth, Lee had been searching for an “identity” before she was saved. It was during her search that she first began to express herself through body art by getting her astrological sign, Leo, tattooed on each of her hands.

“I loved being able to express who I am through body artwork,” she said. “When I came to know Christ and his love for me, that translated into the tattoos I have now.”

The artwork now covers her entire left arm in what is known as a “sleeve,” and Lee uses them as part of her “personal ministry.”

“When people ask what they mean, it gives me a chance to express myself and tell my story,” she said.

From the depths of despair, she looked to a razor blade for salvation and instead found a calling, Lee added. “It was all he said; to be prepared. About a year and a half later, he laid on my heart: ‘Army.’ I prayed about it for about eight months, asking, ‘Is this really what you want me to do?’”

She asked for advice from her father, who had already lived the life of a soldier. She considered the life of her father’s best friend, an Army warrant officer killed in action in Iraq in 2008. She embraced the support of her husband, Josh.

In 2007 she followed her calling and enlisted in the Texas Army National Guard as a chaplain’s assistant, adding another chapter to her life story encompassed by the artwork covering her arm.

“I love having her as my assistant; she’s one of the finest chaplain’s assistants I’ve ever known, and we’re fortunate to have her with us on this deployment,” said Capt. Benjie Bender, 36th Infantry deputy division chaplain. “The quality of a chaplain’s deployment often depends on the quality of the assistant. She and the other chaplain’s assistants are making all the difference on this deployment.”

The story of how Lee was saved is not a common occurrence, said Bender, a 39-year-old native of Evansville, Ind., now a resident of Dallas. “Many times I’ve heard people say that coincidence is God’s way of working anonymously. God has many ways of reaching out to people; for -Lee- it happened to be a breeze.”

In fact, said Bender, reading the Bible is much less painful than getting a tattoo.

“If you’re seeking God, he’s easy to find,” Bender said. “You don’t need to test him the way it happened with Lee; he’s always there to answer if you’re willing to listen.”

The chaplain's assistant for the 36th Infantry deputy division chaplain, Spc. Kelly L. Lee, grew up in a household of drugs, alcoholism and crime. She was on the brink of suicide when an answered prayer turned her life around. The tattoos on her lower arm were completed by Clint Cummings of Sparrows Tattoo, Mansfield, Texas, and those on her upper arm by John Chancy of Fineline Tattoo in Mesquite, Texas. Photo by Sgt. David Bryant

For anyone who has met Lee, it can be difficult to reconcile the cheerful, smiling chaplain’s assistant they know with the darker, suicidal person she once was.

“Her story is amazing,” said Bender. “It show’s God’s interest in all of us; how he can take someone’s life with all the mess it’s in and make something beautiful out of it.”

When not serving on active duty orders with the Guard, Lee manages a Sonic drive-in restaurant and is a full-time student in her junior year at Dallas Baptist University, where she is working on her bachelor’s degree in Christian studies.

“I joined to be an assistant with the goal of becoming a chaplain myself,” Lee said. “I love this country and I love God. The chaplain motto is Latin for ‘God and Country,’ so I couldn’t resist having that for a tattoo.”

“She’s amazing; she’s someone who can’t help but wear her ‘faith on her sleeve’ as it were,” said Bender. Chaplain’s assistants do their jobs “for a variety of reasons. It’s rare to have one who has the calling, the compassion she does for the soldiers.”

Lee’s love of tattoos makes it easy for her to fit in with the rough-and-ready life of soldiers. “I feel really comfortable being here doing what I’m doing. I think God prepared me mentally for what I would be doing here.”

What she does is take care of the spiritual well being of soldiers and reach out to those who need it, regardless of what their faith is or if they claim no religion at all, she said.

“For a civilian, it may be a little difficult to put that ‘evangelist’ away, but the Chaplain Corps prepares us well to understand the ramifications proselytizing could have in a foreign nation,” added Lee. “I feel blessed to be a part of a division staff and I take seriously this opportunity for me in my career to have a pivotal role in the lives of our seven-thousand-plus soldiers in [United States Division-South].”

Her first deployment has been busy, she said, between the long hours at the office and even more long hours keeping up with her college education. Although her work is never done, she said being deployed is easier on her than it is for her husband.

“It’s difficult for him because he has no military experience whatsoever, so [the deployment] has been a world-changer for us,” Lee said. “He supports me, though.”

Military life certainly suits Lee, said Bender. “She can clear a room with the best of them and put the ‘hurt’ on in combatives. And she is an excellent shot with the rifle.”

“She’s very thoughtful and a joy to work with,” Bender added. “I hope she pursues her ministry as a chaplain, although I have mixed feelings about that. We will gain her as a chaplain, but we lose her as an assistant.”

Despite all the challenges Lee has faced in her life, she said she has every intention of carrying on full-throttle.

“People ask me, ‘If you could go back and change anything, would you do it?’” she said. “I would have to say no, because all of it happened for a reason. It has made me -who- I am today.”

DVIDS
Story by Sgt. David Bryant

As Shiite pilgrims slowly filtered out of religious shrines in Karbala Dec. 17, the quiet passing of the Muslim religious holiday of Ashoura made a loud statement about the capabilities of Iraqi security forces in the area.

As many as 4 million pilgrims took part in the 2010 Ashoura, including 200,000 foreigners from 24 separate countries, according to Iraqi estimates. The security of Ashoura participants and the areas surrounding holy shrines in Karbala was the sole responsibility of Iraqi security forces, who assumed the security lead for the country as part of Operation New Dawn Sept. 1.

The Muslim holiday of Ashoura, translated “the tenth day,” commemorates the death of Imam Al-Hussein, the grandson of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad at the Battle of Karbala in the seventh century. Ashoura is particularly significant to Shia Muslims, who make pilgrimages in order to congregate at holy shrines in Muslim holy cities like Karbala and Najaf. The influx of vast numbers of pilgrims into Iraq presents unique security challenges to the Iraqi security forces, specifically for the crowds of people who gather around the Imam Al-Hussein and Imam Al-Abbas shrines at Karbala.

In previous years the holiday has occasionally been marred by insurgent attempts to disrupt Ashoura gatherings and destabilize the country. In March 2004, two bombs in Baghdad and Karbala killed more than 170 people. Clashes between sectarian groups in January 2008 during Ashoura resulted in the deaths of 263 people in Karbala. No such violence could be seen on the streets of Karbala this year.

U.S. forces assumed a supporting role in the security for Ashoura, advising key ISF leaders and providing humanitarian assistance for participants during the commemorations.

“The 8th Iraqi Army executed a well-crafted plan to distribute food to pilgrims during Ashoura,” said U.S. Army Maj. Tad Gilbert, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment civil affairs officer. “Third ACR supported the ISF with additional food supplies to augment their distribution plan.”

While Ashoura was visibly marked by throngs of people honoring Muslim religious traditions in peace, the Iraqi military and police were busy behind the scenes responding to insurgent threats.

“Ashoura was a very successful operation,” said Lt. Gen. Othman Al Ghanimi, commander of the 8th Iraqi Army and charged as the lead in Karbala during the security operations surrounding the holiday. Eighty suspected insurgents were captured and numerous explosives were dismantled by members of Iraqi security forces in and around Karbala, said Othman.

The strength of Iraqi security forces has become paramount as Jan. 1 marks the last year of U.S. forces involvement under the existing security agreement in Iraq.

“The performance of Iraqi security forces, particularly during Ashoura, has been nothing less than impressive,” said Col. Reginald E. Allen, commander of 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, which has the responsibility of advising and assisting Iraqi military and police in Karbala and four other provinces across southern Iraq. “The ISF ability to secure such a large event with no attacks for the first time in seven years with little assistance from U.S. forces is clear evidence that the ISF is fully capable of securing the Iraqi people.”

As a significant Shiite Muslim religious holiday ended Dec. 18, it was not the tested crisis response of Iraqi security forces that marked its successful passing, but the lack of any crisis at all.

DVIDS
Story by Jason Billington

Soldiers assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, celebrated Catholic Mass at Combat Outpost Charkh here Dec. 10.

This was the first Mass offered at COP Charkh since August due to the non-availability of a Catholic chaplain.

“In the holy Mass, we receive spiritual strength from God to persevere,” said Spokane, Wash., native U.S. Army Chaplain (Maj.) James J. Peak, a chaplain assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 101st Airborne Division.

Soldiers from COP Charkh make enemy contact nearly every day. Such activity leads some Soldiers to embrace their faith more strongly.

U.S. Army Spc. Angel Diaz, a combat medic assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, celebrates Catholic Mass at Combat Outpost Charkh here, Dec. 10. Diaz, a Dallas native, said, “Mass has helped bring me closer to God, which is good in this environment.” Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Cooper T. Cash

“This is the first Mass I have celebrated in nearly 15 years,” said Dallas native U.S. Army Spc. Angel Diaz, a combat medic assigned to Co. B. “Mass has helped bring me closer to God, which is good in this environment.”

DVIDS
By U.S. Army Sgt. Cooper T. Cash

The Republic of Georgia is among the oldest surviving Christian nations. Its conversion dates to the fifth century and the nation abounds with religious structures and ruins that date from the fifth and sixth century. Christianity arrived from the Eastern Roman Empire through Armenia, bringing with it literacy and a unique alphabet and script.

Georgian Christianity is similar to most of the other nations in the region. It is Orthodox, not aligned with the Latin Rite of Rome, and is a national church. A national church, in this context, is one that is associated with the individual nation, i.e. Greek Orthodox, Serbian Orthodox, Georgian Orthodox. It survived the Russian conquest and the Communist era.

Among the sites in Georgia that illustrate the long history of Christianity in that nation are the monastery and cathedral of Alaverdi and the monastery of Ikalto. Both sites are located in Eastern Georgia, near the town of Telavi.

Alaverdi monastery. copyright 2010 by Tamari Shermadini, all rights reserved

The province of Kakheti, where these sites are located, was once an independent kingdom. Its natives speak a dialect of Georgian. Its border to the east and south is with the nation of Azerbaijan and is disputed in many areas. It is a popular tourist destination for Georgians and its international appeal is growing.

The monastery and cathedral of Alaverdi are in the village of the same name. The monastery dates to the sixth century in parts and the cathedral to the eleventh. The cathedral is 55 meters tall, over 165 feet, and is the second tallest religious structure in Georgia after the national cathedral.

Alaverdi. copyright 2010 by Tamari Shermadini, all rights reserved

The cathedral is on the tentative list to become a World Heritage Site. It is being so considered for its architecture and design which are uniquely Georgian.

In the same region is the monastery of Ikalto. Burned by Persian invaders in 1616, it had been the site of a renowned Academy for about 500 years. There are three churches among the ruins of the Academy.

Ikalto monastery. copyright 2010 by Tamari Shermadini, all rights reserved

Ikalto monastery. copyright 2010 by Tamari Shermadini, all rights reserved

copyright 2010 by Tamari Shermadini, all rights reserved

copyright 2010 by Tamari Shermadini, all rights reserved