2BCT Deploys to Haiti

Dear Friends and Family,

Please keep Ben and his unit in your prayers as they begin their Response to the devastation that has occurred in Haiti. I am not sure what communication will be like, or how long he will be there for, but if I hear from him I will post updates on the blog.

Here is a news video that the Fayetteville Observer did of their unit preparing to deploy.
FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER VIDEO

Also here is an email from a woman I know from a bible study. I wanted to add this to the blog because before she sent it out, this is exactly what the Lord had put on my heart to pray for Haiti as well....

I wanted to add to the prayer requests for Haiti. I remember a speaker at Manna who talked about Haiti. The speaker talked about how the nation was cursed and in the past, the head of the government had dedicated his country to Satan, asking him to be the god of their nation. The speaker also mentioned something I thought was incredible. See Haiti and the Domincan Republic share the same island, but they have very different terrains. The DR has a lush country, something you would expect in a tropical island while Haiti is more desolate and brown. He said you could see the border from the air. The curse is visible from the air.

All that being said. The Lord is going to do something miraculous there. He is bringing His soldiers of light, those in the military who are Christians to be His ambassadors there and advance His kingdom. Pray that the spiritual darkness would be lifted because it's God's desire that all would enter into His blessing and love. Pray that the spiritual powers there would be like the rubble on the street and that God's kingdom would reign there and the Lord would be the one to rebuild the nation. Our soldiers are being sent there to do kingdom work, not just humanitarian aid. I saw that there is a church there in Haiti, so pray for them as well that they would be able to reach out to those around them and give the people hope.

God Bless
Christy

Merry Christmas & Here We Come 2010!!!

"I know I look darn cute but it's a little cold out here mommy!"

Christmas Eve Dinner - fresh oysters and clams

Dav gets a copy of Lindsay's baby book

Chelsa gets a sewing machine!

We had fun decorating eachothers wrapping paper this year ....

Who else felt like Christmas just totally snuck up on them this (okay "last") year?! So we didn't send out any Christmas cards, but decided to do a "Holiday Blog" to let all of our family and friends out there how much we love & appreciate you all!

We are so excited to experience all that God has in store for our family in the year 2010, but first, a little recap on our 2009 :) About this time last year Ben was in the field training with his unit, preparing to take over the Global Reaction Force of the US Army....when all of a sudden an angel appeared to me - oh wait, wrong story.....well anyway, you know the rest! We got the best present we could have asked for Christmas in 2009! If you knew that my goal going into 2009 was to get into the Dental Hygiene program at college...well I did it! Yay for me! But I chose instead to give up that slot and stay at home with my sweet little girl who was about to brighten up our lives all the more!

My side- Chelsa's - of the family came to North Carolina this Christmas to spend it with us on Bald Head Island. We had awesome weather, perfect for touring the island in golf carts, walking the paths along the marshes, looking at all the beautiful east coast homes, and as you can see in Lindsay & Dav's photos.... walking along the beach. Aubrey's first Christmas was wonderful!

Who knows how much longer we will be living on the East Coast...you'll have to keep up with us on our blog! We plan to try and see as much as we can before moving. Isn't there a button somewhere on blogs that you can "subscribe" to and get notified when there is a new post??

Blessings to you all in 2010 ~

It is COLD in Calcutta!

Above and Below : memory lane by "Christina DeCamp"

"Lindsay & Dav"

- "Just Because" We all know blogs are boring without photos!!! -

Here is an email that I received from my girlfriend - Christina - the photographer who took our belly photos for us. She recently returned from a photo-journalistic/mission trip to India. (go to "Galleries" and the top one is "India" to see photos!).

Good Morning Friends!!!

I will make this quick and to the point as I know we are all about a busy day filled with activity. But we have a moment in this hustle and bustle that we can make a tremendous impact across the globe. I am not going to get preachy, but for the cost of an average order at Starbucks this morning {Venti Mocha & Cake}, YOU, can be the hands of Jesus in Calcutta.

It is winter all around the world but in Calcutta...the people who sleep on the streets {which are THOUSANDS} were not expecting such cold temperatures this year. Most people having NOTHING to pull over themselves to protect them from the elements; those who are lucky..may have a thin piece of salvaged fabric or at best, plastic from the street. Believe me I have seen it with my own eyes. I wanted to capture images of some of these families but I felt too intrusive. My heart ached to see children living in places you wouldn't allow your family dog wander to...and entire families..babies..nursing mommas etc..live there. PLEASE don't pass up the opportunity to answer this simple need to keep them alive.

My dear friend Jean is a teacher who has literally packed up her life in the States to answer the call of God to minister to children in India. I know her, prayed with her, walked with her, brainstormed with her.....she is of the utmost of Christ-like character...I say this, because I need you to feel as connected as I do. If you trust my character, than the following letter may as well be me writing it. Please stop and write that check and slip it in the mail today.

Thank you friends.

Very Sincerely,

Christina DeCamp

PS. If you dontate...email me back and I will send you a thank you gift. A beautiful image of the skyline with scripture....a screen saver!!

Following letter is from Jean Hicks:

Hi All,

I was happy to receive a note from Pastor Lowell and Sandy today and so surprised when out fell a check! I hope they don’t mind me telling that, but it gave me an idea.

The night time temperatures have fallen and it is cold here in Calcutta. As many of you know, it is a common sight to see entire families sleeping on the streets every night. This includes young children and babies. This is difficult enough in the warm weather but the temps have dropped to 10C-12C (50-53 F) at night. This is the coldest winter India has experienced in some time. Over 100 people in northern India have died as a result. Here in Calcutta many sleep on the concrete with a thin blanket or sheet to cover them. Blankets here cost about 600 rupees ($10-$12). If you would be interested in donating a blanket, I will purchase and deliver them.

You can have your friends donate to "Calcutta Mercy Ministries" and designate the check to a "Blanket Fund". This will allow your donors to get tax deductible receipts. The Finance office will make sure that 100% of the donations is sent to Calcutta.

The donors could donate online at www.buntain.org

Appreciate your heart and this effort.

Amitabh

[ Lindsay & Dav ]

Lindsay's boyfriend - Dav - came all the way from Peru to NC to spend Christmas with our family on BHI. It was so great to finally meet him, I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we all loved having him there! He is easy going & funny, and we can all see how happy he has made Lindsay! We love his good sense of humour, his cooking, and of course his french accent!!

To see a few more photos from our shoot together, check out my photography blog !!

Go Fire Antz!!

Although she doesn't look too happy here in our trial run, she loved it during out hockey outing!!

Last night was the first time that I wore Aubrey in the Moby Wrap that our friend Ashley gave to us! I could never get Aubrey to enjoy being in it as a newborn sling-style, but last night at the New Years Eve hockey game Aubrey loved it! The wrap, not the game. It was way too loud, but she managed a short cat nap :) Afterward I took her up to the very top row of seats and fed her in the 2nd period, and she liked watching the little guys moving around down on the ice below!

She was so cute that people all over the place would nudge their neighbor to look at her, and I got lots of smiles and "awwww cute!" from people that we walked passed :)

The Fayetteville Fire Antz beat Columbus 4-3 :o)

12 Weeks, giggles & tickles!

We had a great Christmas here in North Carolina with my (Chelsa's) side of the family! But more on that later...

Finally some smiley pictures!!

Aubrey is a very happy little girl who loves to smile and squeal and kick her legs around! She just started reaching for toys above her head and is enjoying the realization that those arms belong to her! It is tough getting smiley pictures of her since as soon as the camera goes in front of my face, she stops smiling : "Where did mommy go!?"

Santa's Knee

Me & Mommy

The next 3 images were captured by my talented friend, Christie Nix. It was about time we got some delicious photos of Aubrey's toes!!

ooooooh this princess is just so cute! About a hundred times a day I just want to eat her up! num.num.num...muah.muah.muah!!!

9 Weeks & Cuppy Cakes

Aubrey is almost 11 weeks now! But all these photos were taken when she was 8 weeks :) We were meeting the girls for cupcakes that day, so her little BreeBerry outfit was the perfect pick!

8 Weeks Old

I cannot believe that Aubrey is 8 weeks old already!! I mean, that still sounds so young, but it is amazing and fun to see her grow and change before our eyes. Lately she has gotten very smiley and vocal during our mornings together (we're still working on sleeping past 545am after daddy leaves - thankfully she knows she needs to go back to sleep after she eats!). And she knows now that when she does her "fake" cry-out mommy or daddy will come and check on her during her naps. She is desperately trying to find her fingers, but usually ends up sucking on her fist....then gets a little frustrated as you can see from her photos! Each day she is just blessing and rewarding our lives so much with her presence : )

"Behold children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward."
Psalms 127:3