You've Got Mail

As most of you know
I have an incredible servant of a brother
that has chosen to serve his country,
and is now deployed overseas.

My class found this fascinating,
and decided they would pray for him weekly,
and also that they would write him letters.

In order for our letters to get to him sooner,
they've chosen to send them via email,
and I was so impressed with his 'way with the kids'
in his response to their email
that I wanted to share it with you.
(fyi- I got his permission first!)

I will begin by sharing with you
what my fairly curious students wrote
as an "all class" email to Caleb:

Dear Lieutenant Gowan,
Hello from third grade!
"Word!"
How is life as a Lieutenant?
I'll bet it is really fun.
Do you use a gun?
Do you go out to fight, or do you stay in a tent?
What type of a war is it
(a civil war, a revolutionary war, a world war)?
Are you injured in any way?
Are we winning the war?
My dad told me everybody is afraid of world war three,
because we would have nuclear bombs.
Do you work with bombs?
Do you go on a plane and fight in the war?
We have been learning about Jamestown and Plymouth.
They were sometimes at war with the Native Americans.
But sometimes they had friendship.
We hope that we can have friendship with
the enemies where you are.
We pray for you every week.
We especially pray for you on Tuesdays.
Maybe when you come back to California,
we could visit you or you could visit us?
Love,
The Third Grade Class
of Annunciation Catholic School
And here is my sweet brother's amazing response:

Dear Mrs. H's Third Grade Class,
Hi from Afghanistan!
I do like being a Lieutenant.
I like being a Lieutenant because I can help
other Marines do better at their jobs,
and because I get to make a difference
in our ability to fight against the bad guys.
I do have a gun,
but have never needed to use it.
I don't go out to fight from the ground
like a lot of Marines do,
but I can see what they are doing
by watching a video that comes
from a plane that we fly-
a remote controlled plane with nobody in it!
"What kind of war are we in?"
That is a good question!
This war is very different from other wars we have been in.
In the Civil War, the Revolutionary War,
and almost any other big war in history,
both sides wore uniforms and knew who they were fighting.
This war is much more like police fighting criminals.
You never know who the criminals are unless you catch them
doing something wrong
because they don't wear uniforms,
and they don't play by the same rules that everybody else does.
We are doing very well at knowing when
they aren't doing what they should be, though.
While sometimes we have no other choice than to use bombs,
our biggest advantage is having good people like YOU praying for us,
and praying for the people of Afghanistan.
Pray that they would understand that we are here
to help them have a better life.
If I get a chance to come back to your area of California,
I will be SURE to visit!
Thank you for praying for us,
and Merry Christams!
God bless,
Lieutenant Gowan
Would you join the third grade class,
in praying for Caleb?
Would you consider doing what Caleb has asked and
praying for the people of Afghanistan?
Would you join me
in thanking the Lord for Caleb's heart and service?
Would you join the Gowan family
in praying for Caleb's safe return?
Would you join us
in praying for Nancy, Caleb's brave fiance?
Would you?