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TheThe Prince FamilyPrince Family HeraldHerald August 11, 2008 Volume 1 Issue 20

Tuesday, August 5th ~ Just Singing in the Rain!

And we all were doing just that as the rain

continued it’s gentle, steady, soaking flow all daylong! After the long, very hot and dry spell we havehad we rejoiced openly over this wonderful giftfrom the Lord that revived the ground and our bodies and spirits, too!

The rain was part of a tropical storm system thathit the Texas and Louisiana coast on Tuesdaymorning. There was an earlier one last month whereno rain reached us at all, but this was different.While other areas sustained high winds and gusts,we had little of that and only the rain settled over

us. And the Lord prepared the ground to receive itwith 1/10th of an inch on Sunday, August 3rd thathad not been forecasted at all!

On Wednesday morning several heavy “sunshowers” added another 3/10ths inch bringing thetotal received to 2.3 inches or slightly more. We do praise and thank You, Father for this abundant blessing and answered prayer!

Andrew reports that he is settled into his newquarters, and what nice new quarters they are! He

has a private room with a good-sized closet so bigthat even if he put all that he has in it, there wouldstill be lots of space! A definite upgrade from a BCTlocker! He shares a bath with the soldier in the roomon the other side of it and they also share a littlekitchenette area with microwave, refrigerator andsink. He says the building is stone and quite newand the day after they arrived all were told to puttheir mattresses out in the hall. This seemed odduntil he saw a large semi pull up outside and brandnew mattresses unloaded from it! And he also said

he slept well because there was no noise all aroundhim. We are so thankful for this very helpful newaccommodation. My, what an improvement over the barracks of WWII!

When he needed sheets for his new bed (you getto ‘personally decorate your room,’ no Army sheets provided), he told a sergeant during a unit gatheringthat he needed to go to Wal-Mart for sheets. The Sgtasked the group if anyone was going to Wal-Martthat day. No one was. Then the sergeant asked if anyone would be willing to go and take Andrew

there. A young woman volunteered to take him andthey went to the Supercenter in nearby Lakewoodwhich is about 9 miles from the Fort. Andrew saysit is a beautiful Wal-Mart, much nicer than any hehas seen and laid out quite differently. He was veryfavorably impressed. The young woman with himwas most helpful and able to show him what sizesheets he needed, pillow cases, etc. as he would nothave been sure. He found some very attractivecombinations in sheets and a bedspread in khaki andlight blue and he also purchased curtains for his

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room. He is very happy with the way his bed looksnow. (Tip for all you soon to be decorating your

new quarters, maybe: Andrew found that one king

size pillow fits perfectly across the head of a twin size bed!)

We are very thankful for the willing help fromthe Lord. Because they would get back to base toolate for chow hall, to show his appreciation, Andrew

treated his “shopping buddy” to dinner at arestaurant of her choice on the way home. She has been promoted to “Specialist” and the promotionhas been approved for some time but she is waitingfor the paperwork to go through before she canactually operate in that capacity. When she toldAndrew this, he said, “Well then, it looks like I’ll bean “E-Fuzzy” for a long time”! We pondered what“E-Fuzzy” meant; was it because of the shorthaircuts? No, Fred and BA say it refers to the factthat the fuzzy Velcro patch on the ACUs doesn’t

have any insignia placed on it until you get promoted!

Later in the week, Andrew was asked by his“quarters mate, a sergeant,” if he needed anythingfrom the PX when the young man was going there.At first Andrew declined but when he was askedagain was he sure, he said he really could use alaundry basket and a waste basket. So the fellow purchased these for him and when Andrew went toreimburse him, the Sgt waived it away to Andrew’sgreat surprise. We are very thankful for this

unsolicited and very helpful offer.On a more serious note, we see that the

“harassment “ to get you all to subscribe to thekinds of talk and things many of the soldiers engagein, doesn’t automatically stop when you progress towhat should be a more mature level of service.Andrew has experienced this at Fort Lewis too.However, this has given him the opportunity tospeak to his unit regarding his stand. He has toldthem simply that he very much enjoys having funand making and hearing jokes when it is appropriate

to do so, and when the subject matter is clean, butas a Levite, he will not engage in or talk about or bedrawn in to anything that isn’t right. They can dowhat they will, he won’t preach to them, but justdon’t try to persuade or make him part of it.

When he encountered a situation on the rangethat might have been a problem he nipped it in the bud. The sergeant, noting this, told him that theyhad to encourage unity and camaraderie among the

troops and hoped there wouldn’t be any dissentionamong them. Again, Andrew was able to explain his position to the sergeant and said that he wanted todo all he could to be a help to others and to getalong well with everyone. He is friendly andoutgoing and enjoys working with the others, butthere is a place he draws the line, and will not crossover it and asked that they abide by his request.

The sergeant told him that he would support himin that stand. As a note, what the harassers are doingis not tolerated by the Army or consideredacceptable in any way.

Later, a higher ranking sergeant, who hadobviously heard about this exchange, asked Andrewif he was okay. When Andrew realized why he wasasking that, he said he was fine. The sergeant thensaid that he also agreed with Andrew’s stand, butthe sergeant wanted him to know that sometimes,when he got frustrated and angry with those under

his charge, he did come down hard and use some pretty rough language. He didn’t want Andrew to beoffended. Andrew said he would not be and that heknew the sergeant cared for those under hiscommand, and that he wanted to be corrected whenhe needed it, he wanted to do things right, and hewas raised to know that you correct the ones youlove and are concerned about. He said the sergeantlooked surprised to hear this and Andrew could seethat this understanding almost brought tears to hiseyes.

Yes, they are all seeing something so different inyou all, and in the way you see things, that is goodand totally unique, leaving an impression that willnot be forgotten or ignored. It is a Light that is nothidden under a bushel. Thank You, Father!

Another kind of correction:

We have learned from Adeline that we need tocorrect an impression given in last week’s issue of the PFH regarding her account of their drivinglessons. The course was actually set up very well,and, while there were not just 2 vehicles, there were

in fact 10-12 vehicles (2 models, Impala & Strata))for the training and enough drill sergeants to goaround. She said they moved right along and did agood job of getting all 243 students through thecourse. She did not want to leave you all with anegative view of the situation, when it was quite theopposite. We are sorry, it is true that sometimes the phone connections are fuzzy and we misunderstandwhat is said. We do want to be as accurate as

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possible, so will always be glad to print anycorrections you have.

Adeline tells us that this past week they have beenlearning how to apprehend culprits and put them inrestraints (hand cuffs and leg shackles), practicingon one another. This course took a surprising turnthough when they were presented with a real lifeapprehension as MPs came and took one member of their company into custody using the methods justdescribed. Once the suspect was removed they weretold that he was arrested for the kind of harassmentfor which the military had gotten a very badreputation when women entered the regular forces.They were told in no uncertain terms that that kindof harassment is not tolerated in any shape, form or variety and the punishment for it in prison terms areworse than it is even in the civilian world. That ishow seriously it is taken by the Army.

Adeline also related two incidents that gave her

the opportunity to speak to an acting First Sergeantabout her own stand in the Lord.

She went to the PX with three of the women inher unit, and, when it was time to go, they leftwithout telling her, leaving her with no battle buddyto return with. Knowing that she was not allowed to be alone in this stage of her training, she looked for someone else she could ride with and did find acouple of women from another unit to return toquarters accompany her. She said nothing of theincident to anyone. However, the next day, when

everyone in the bay was to go somewhere, andAdeline was just finishing straightening the barracks before they left, she found that all of themhad gone on ahead and taken the van or bus withouther. As you all know this is absolutely against therules. NO SOLDIER LEFT BEHIND! But she was,and when a DS came into the bay and found her alone he immediately said she was going to get acounsel statement (write up) for being without a battle buddy. Adeline then asked to speak to the onewho was acting as First Sergeant while the First Sgt.

was away. When she did, she explained that this hadhappened to her twice now, and she was going to letthe first time go as an isolated incident but she knewshe needed to say something now. She told him thatshe very much respected and tried to keep the rulesand regulations and to help others to keep them too.There was no counsel statement given when it wasseen that she was not at fault and the situation was

turned around for good in telling him of the placeand stand she has in the Lord.

George was excited when he called earlier in theweek because he had “found” the Aviation Libraryat Fort Rucker! He just about got “lost” thereamong all the books and information on thisfavorite subject and wished he had found it sooner. No doubt it will be seeing more of him now,though! Still no definite orders for after Fort Rucker but, he is in “Phase 5 Plus” which entailed a moveand he describes it in his own emailed words!

“I have successfully moved into my new Phase

5+ quarters, a few walkways from the building I

was living in. Since Gentry left those many weeks

ago I have thankfully had no roommate, not that he

was real bad, it’s just all around best to have one’s

room to themselves. Even though new people were

coming in to fill rooms, my situation remained.

I was hoping that this trend would continue in

the new room. From all that I was hearing, with so

many other people coming over, that wasn’t going

to be a possible. It wouldn’t have been, if the Lord

hadn’t moved on some person who wanted to move

to be roommate with another. We switched keys

with the Sergeant’s permission and I moved into

his room and found myself alone. After surveying

the room I realized what a well worn and filthy

room this was. Not to be deterred though, aftermoving all my belongings over, I cleaned, I

vacuumed and I scrubbed and scrubbed all the dirt

from the room. Mildew is a problem here as the

smell and two pillows in the corner showed. I will

spare you the details of the filthy bathroom and

floor. With the cleaning supplies I brought over,

combined with the cleaning supplies here, I

attacked the bathroom and now it looks so much

better. Even though I can’t reverse wear it’s a good

looking bathroom. I also brought the shower

curtain with me and threw out the original,

disgusting shower curtain. Yes the toilet the shower

and sink and even the walls look so much better,

worthy of the Lord’s vessel to stay in. With the Lord

working it out, I was able to borrow two different

vacuums from the room right across the way. Both

are Dirt devil brand. One was a floor vacuum and

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the other one got in all the corners and crevices.

Even though the room is still musty it looks a

whole lot better. (I believe the mildew is in the

ducting system.) When finished, I put all the class

A uniforms in order and the top drawers and closet

on display, for inspection. All this took me to twelve

noon to complete, and the work put my appetite

through the roof. So I got a good drink at the

Shoppette.

I am thankful that I can at last walk without a

battle buddy, after duty hours. This has given me a

great deal of freedom. For the remainder of my

stay, long or short, it certainly is a very workable set

up. This morning I went to breakfast alone, passing

by the usual formation held in the morning and

heading straight for chow. Normally I would have

been in that formation. The times I need to dothings are always different than others and often it

is hard to get a “battle buddy” to accompany me.

Last weekend though I traveled mostly by myself,

to and from the PX and library, of course I had my

back routes. It is so relieving and peaceful to go

about one’s own business without that millstone

about one’s neck. Even when I do have them I so

often walk faster than they do just out of habit, it’s

a comfortable pace for me. Slow for me is painful to

say the least. Having a point to go also acceleratesthat natural tendency. Andrew has also mentioned

the same thing. This holds true in anything that I

do and I do a lot of walking in the company area, to

and fro, or to and from the classroom. It’s noticed

and so I have been nicknamed “NASCAR”. It’s true

I do prefer walking or jogging. Why pay for a taxi

when I am perfectly able to use the motivators that

I already have.”

We had very much hoped that he would be ableto go to Joshu’s graduation from BCT and spendFamily Day and night with him. But it turned out inthis case it was so close and yet so far. Greyhoundcould make the 106 mile trip in 10 hours (it is just 2 by car) but the scheduled times didn’t coincideanyway. A cab was pretty expensive. And, in thiscase, USO and MWR couldn’t help. We even calledthe recruiting office in Enterprise, AL, closest to the base, but they had no suggestions. No stone was left

unturned, but in the end we learned that George’soff base pass would not have allowed him to go thatfar anyway. Something we had not known.

Joshu now a BCT Grad!

This segment of the Newsletter is being written onSaturday, August 9th, and Joshu is on the phone forthe second time today as we type! He has taken aroom at a La Quinta Inn in Columbus, GA with a battle buddy and we will update you later when weknow what all he did on this auspicious occasion!We are very thankful for the way the Lord has brought him to this point in his training in aroundabout and very profitable way as heexperienced his extended stay at Reception beforeand after surgery and his time as an orderly learningmore about the way things are run than he other wise would.

Andrew had another trip to Wal-Mart today,

Saturday, August 9, only this time he got thereunder his own steam so to speak. He found that thelocal U-Haul had a brand new white GMC truck tolease by the day for $20, so he rented it for theweekend. It is a very helpful solution when there isa need for transportation and we are thankful for this answer. It was so nice to hear the clarinet again!

Here at home, Fred has been as busy as an armyof one, only with more sleep and much better

meals! This is his last weekend home as he leavesfor Hawaii via Houston to LA at 3 am Mondaymorning. The time has flown by so quickly butmuch has been accomplished and he has had achance to get organized for his trip and his new post.

One of his projects while here was to make anew shelf under the steel framed work table C isusing in the barn as he works on Li’l Twuk. As yousee in the picture below that is very helpful to have.

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He did spend time in the woods too, gatheringkindling and collecting the large branches that havefallen and processing them for fireplace wood or just for burning. He organized the wood and spentgarden plants around the fire circle that will be

ready to burn when this summer’s burning ban islifted. He felled some trees that were not doingwell, and lined them up neatly there too.

He also spent much time going through hisclothes and sorting and packing, and he stitched avery handy carrier for the notebook and pen hecarries with him at all times, when he was unable tofind a suitable one at the store.

He spent an evening giving Anna and Hikarisome knife sharpening lessons too so we can keepthe kitchen knives sharp as he used to do.

Showing the use of a Japanese wet stone for sharpening.

AND, he has a new laptop now! This one is aToshiba, found at Wal-Mart (how many “plugs” has

that store gotten in this newsletter?!), for a veryreasonable price. It also has a wireless mouse. BAdid lots of research and that was definitely theLord’s answer. She has been helping him program itand put some very nice music files on it for him toenjoy We purchased 3 AT&T USB “air cards” and2 of them arrived yesterday in time for him take onewith him. It has been installed and seems to work

perfectly. The second is being sent to Andrew andthe 3rd will go to Adeline when it arrives. When thetime comes there will be a 4 th for Joshu and thenyou will all be connected to the internet and to eachother and to us! Thank You, Father! If, or when,you are deployed out of the country the 2 yr contract is suspended and can be resumed at anytime and for any length of time and suspended againif necessary all at no additional charge. Another marvelous solution the Lord has provided for thistime. You can see the little air card on the counter

next to the laptop

Joshu’s “Family Day”!

Joshu was able to call again Saturday night from hishotel room and he and Mother talked at greatlength. She took the cell phone outside in the breezycoolness of the summer night air. What a wonderful blessing for Joshu to be able to have this long visithome without a line up behind him waiting for the phone! Later, as Hikari was on her way down to thelaundry room and bed she saw Mother, Fred andBarbara Alice all sitting at the edge of the reservoir

with Joshu on the speaker conversing together asthough he was right there with them. It was a verygreat blessing to see and we do praise and thank You, Father, for this way You made “Family Day” areality!

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A New Face at “Chow”!

Soldier Bear was assigned to the COT from FortLeonard Wood, accompanying his “battle buddy,”Andrew, home on leave. His present assignment isto be a stand-in or, rather, sit-in, at the table for

those of you who are not here. This he does quitewell, though, truly, it isn’t quite the same. One thingC noted was that he didn’t eat very much, andMother assured everyone that was because he wasalready “stuffed”!

His other assignment is to make us all smile andhe definitely qualifies in that department! See, whenyou look at his picture you are smiling, aren’t you!

Already stuffed bears don’t eat watermelon, but wedo and we have been enjoying it daily now. It iseven noticeably sweeter after the rain!

Ever wonder what goes on under a row cover?Joanna got this worm’s eye view of a tiny seedlingemerging. The cover probably looks like an airplanehanger to a worm!

Joanna used a post hole digger to make holes for these two posts that Yushi helped her carry up to thegarden. They were installed for the raspberry vinesthat have grown so well. Wire will be strung from post to post to train the vines on as they continuetheir growth.

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The rain brought new life to the crepe myrtles too asthey began to blossom forth in bright color again.

We are so thankful for the rain, and for all the blessings you have reported this week: Joshu’sgraduation and “Family Time,” Andrew and Georgegetting settled into their new and private quarters,and being able to do the things they need to do morefreely, Fred’s time at home, and Adeline’s progressin her training, and good health and strength for allof you and we look forward to all the Lord will bring forth in the week to come in the PBL!

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