Our unit had set up morale, welfare, and recreation (MWR) tents around our area. Guys could call home for four cents a minute. You could get online, and some would even videoconference with loved ones at home. You would think that a place where folks phoned home would be a happy place, but that wasn’t usually the case.
The nearest MWR tent was less than twenty yards from where I slept, just behind a wall of concrete barriers. It was open twenty-four hours a day. I would drop in to make a phone call before I went to work or left for a mission (if it was a reasonable time back home). Julie and I talked several times a week. Most of the guys would have their heads lowered to preserve as much privacy as possible while calling home. It was impossible to hide the struggles of keeping a family going from a thousand miles away.
What can you say, other than you love them and pray for them? You want to hear everyday details that help you feel as if things are all right at home. Your spouse doesn’t generally have the time or energy to give a lot of those details. They are burdening the stresses of raising children and running homes by themselves. Julie blessed me by hiding her frustration most of the time.
Connections with life at home were so important to all of us. Care packages would come and go, but for someone to collect and send the local paper meant the world. Highly valued items were personal notes from children, pictures of my own children, or the most treasured item: a tape recording of their voices. Feeling connected meant that I could focus on the mission. It was very empowering.
Dear Lord, when we are separated from loved ones, may we sense your presence in our lives. May we feel more connected than ever to our loved ones back home. May we sense your deep, abiding love. May we gain new strength, courage, and purpose.
“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)