Wednesday, March 24, 2004

Disruption in Service

Sorry for the disruption in service. Over the past few weeks, ever since Blog-City upgraded their software, we have been experiencing technical difficulties, which have made my site appear to be down. Let me assure you that it is not down and actually it is not my problem but Blog-City's. We will do all we can to keep the site up at all costs. We are planning on combining both the Operationgive.org site, Chiefwiggles.com, and the chiefwiggles.blog-city.com site. All of these URL's will connect into one site that will be hosted on the Internet not as a blog.

Just when you might have thought that Chief Wiggles was going to fade away into obscurity, my sites will just get stronger. I have decided to press forward with a firm conviction to not allow the vision of Operation Give to die. My guiding light has never been brighter and I am now even more committed to continuing on with all the initiatives, which began while in Iraq a few months ago.

I trust you are all with me in making this happen. Please get the word out to all of your friends and family that we are still alive and kicking, taking advantage of the momentum we have gained and ready to launch this into the next phase.

Our new focus

In the next week or so we hope to further clarifying our focus and our direction with Operation Give, by pushing a program which focuses on School Supplies and Medical Supplies. We are planning to add additional functionality to the site, first of all with the ability to make choices about who you want to help and the ability to make personal contact with a student, a class room, a hospital, or a school.

We now have two Iraqi doctors on our Iraqi do-gooder team, both who have great ideas of how to help children in hospitals. There is a great need for supplies and equipment in Iraq, many times hospitals just going without, resulting in lack of care for treatable conditions. I recall visiting the oncology ward of a children's hospital in Baghdad, where numerous leukemia patients where laying in bed without any treatment available for them.

One of the doctors on our team, who has close ties to the Ministry of Health, would like to be able to offer cornea transplants for the hundreds of children whose sight has been injured. It would be a wonderful thing if we were able to offer a child the gift of sight. All that is needed is sufficient funds to purchase the corneas for transplanting.

Chief Wiggles is alive and well.

As you might recall I was on my return trip back to Iraq, when out over the Atlantic Ocean I received a fax instructing me to get off in Amsterdam and take the next return flight back to Salt Lake City. With astonishment and amazement I did as I was instructed returning back to my home, where I have been for the past two weeks.

At some point in time I will divulge the cause of this sudden change in plans, which will surprise many of you. Let me just say that the saga continues as now I find myself on orders waiting for the word to return to the large sand box. As of yet there has been no word, just plenty of uncertainty and silence.

But, it is all good. Everything has turned out to be just what should have happened, further strengthening my testimony of who is really in charge of this unusual magical path I find myself on. Things could not have worked out any better than they have, everything appearing to be part of a much larger divinely inspired plan, all interconnected by magical strands, sewn into place by the master's hand, long before I even began to think about them.

"I am able to make you holy"

As I was having lunch with Tennis Guy, from our team back at the CPA, he mentioned a scripture that had special significance to me as I reflect back on the events of the past 12 months. The scripture reads, "and I am able to make you holy."

Now some of us as we ride along life's bumpy road, look at life as being difficult and arduous, full of trials and tribulations, which causes us to constantly struggle with our own weaknesses and imperfections. All of which causes us a certain amount of consternation and guilt as we continue to fall short, to stumble and trip along the way. It seems at times we are on a viscous merry-go-round, never seeming to graduate to another more direct ride, one of progression and perfection. 

Others though see it differently, enjoying the freeing feeling of placing our life in the Lord's hands, allowing him to take us where he will in order to bring about this higher state of holiness that is referred to. We may try and struggle on our own to bring about growth, but it is when we put ourselves in his hands, with a willingness to allow him to adjust the direction of the course as he sees fit, which brings us closer to holiness.

It is then that we are totally free, allowing him to guide our course, placing things in our path along the way, in hopes that we might pay attention long enough to capture the inner purpose of the experience.

Many soldiers, who were caught up in their own struggle with self pity and unceasing thoughts of going home, missed the whole experience in Iraq. They just never showed up, consequently failing to open themselves to the wonderful experiences that might have happened. Instead they found themselves complaining about having to be there, wasting their time in Iraq, when all they really had to do was open up to the opportunities that would have come their way. If they had just opened their minds, their eyes, to the magical, mysterious and wonderful things that were there but they just failed to see.

Of course we can acquire holiness only by enduring all of life's experiences and through persistent personal effort. Even after all we do it is through his grace that we are saved, that we become holy. 

Therefore, it is our job to provide the consistent effort and it is His job, His duty and His delight to make us holy. He wants us to come unto him as we are.  We do not have to be perfect to go to him...The Lord does not ask us to heal ourselves of our imperfections before we approach him, but to come to him with those imperfections and he will assist us in overcoming them.  The Lord loves us and wants us to initiate the process of repentance and strive with all of our might to overcome our weakness. But as the scripture states, "he will make us holy", for we know that we alone cannot accoomplish the process.

The magic continues

I had great cause to rejoice this past week as I received fantastic news from one of the pilots on my team of Chief Wiggle do-gooders. It was one of those moments in life that will go down in my personal history, further solidifying my belief in a God that loves me.

You might recall from past journal entries about a case I was building against a certain Iraqi official high up in the government.  I had been debriefing a number of sources, gathering information in hopes to add proof of the individual's corruptness and bad intentions.

I had worked long and hard to gather what I considered to be a pile of incriminating evidence, in hopes to prevent the individual from gaining any additional power. One day as circumstances would have it; my heart pushed me to act, to do something, to make a difference right then and there.

But also as luck would have it, I was pulled out of my assignment and reassigned to another camp with in Baghdad. At that moment I felt the rug had been pulled out from under me, preventing me from accomplishing my goal.

But, it appears the wheels of justice move on even in my absence, although very slowly at times. The word of this individual's demise came this week to my joyous ears, as I was told the individual in question had been moved to another lesser position. That is just so cool. I can't begin to tell you what a huge thing this will be for the further stabilization of Iraq.

Also, as luck would have it, not one but two great bits of news came to me this week. I don't know if I told you in the past but there was one other major injustice that I was endeavoring to remedy.

The story goes like this. Two Iraqi companies are vying for a large contract with a foreign company. The one company obtains the contract worth millions of dollars. The competing company in discovering they were in second place, are only able to capitalize on the contract if the first company fails in anyway to fulfill the terms of their agreement, fabricates a story about the owner of the first company.

With ties to old intelligence reports, they spun a believable tale regarding the owner of their competitor, which they presented to our forces in the area. Upon hearing the fable, not knowing for sure the truth, our forces had the first company owner arrested and put in prison, where he has been for 4 or 5 months.

I got involved a month or so before I left Iraq in interviewing the family members and other high ranking officials from the man's home town that should know the owner's background and character. Upon completing my debriefings, I was convinced that the individual had been, in my opinion, unjustly imprisoned.

I immediately initiated actions to get those in charge to review this man's case in hopes that they would find out the truth of his incarceration. I had high hopes of getting him released while in Iraq, but those hopes were dashed when I was abruptly moved to another location. At the time, I felt extremely sorry to the family that I was not able to help them, or so I thought.

Totally unexpectedly, a few days ago, I received an email from the man's brother joyously informing me that his brother had been released. The email portrayed a very excited and happy family occasion celebrating the release and return of their loved one back to his family and back to his business. They thanked me for my help and promised that I would always be considered part of their family.

I was so happy to hear of his release, which gave me additional hope for goodness and righteousness to prevail over the evil intentions of corrupt and poisoned individuals in Iraq. Just like this Iraq will find its way, case by case, through the mine laden course towards democracy.

A Party

For anyone that wants you are invited. We are having a party over at my club tomorrow night for a little get together with many of the people involved in Operation Give, many people from FedEx and with many of the soldiers that I served with. It will be Friday at 1800 at the Mambo Club at 3620 South State.

Have a great day.

Chief Wiggles

Doing it the wiggles way.