Buffiniraq

Just returned from a training trip out near Iranian border. Had a few days to preach and teach about what we're trying to accomplish thru these Iraqi engineers after I'm gone. One stop was at a sub station we've just completed and we will be "making hot" very soon for about 10,000 folks. The"juice" will give them an extra 2-4 hours of electricity per day and that my friends is "huge" to these folks who have maybe 2-4 hours daily now with lots of "outages" as transmission power is squeezed for Baghdad residents...(compliments of Saddam)...At any rate, you get the idea...wininning hearts and minds "1 light bulb at a time"...LOL

Thought I'd share a few more pics of THE DAY ...

Wow...last Friday as many of you know by now was a special night in my family's life. My baby girl graduated from UNCW with honors and was surprised by satelite hook up with me here in Iraq...quite a surprise indeed. Not only was the press in on it but everyone on the dais and it seemed like half the UNCW's technical staff were as well...everyone except Marissa...LOL even my 10 year old son Will managed to keep it quiet until it was announced after everyone had received their degrees...it was awesome...I'm still touched by it all and can never thank the folks at UNCW for making this so special for my family. I just had to put a few more pics up again for all cyberspace to see and share with some of my guys here who weren't able to "catch" it "LIVE, ITS FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE" (as I would tell my students at the opening of our simultaneous Face to Face and Internet classes from the Global Classroom at ECU the semester before coming over here).
Check it out and I hope you enjoy...we still are

Marissa I 'm so proud of ya girl I cannot begin to describe the feeling. You have shown that working hard, helping others while studyin your buns off are not MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE painful experiences that must be endured at different times in your life...You embraced them simultaneously and made them work to the benefit of others and although it was tiring and even sad at times (when you lost one of your friends at the rest home), it is finally an ultimately very gratifying experience that you can be very proud of baby girl. I knew you had what it takes to succeed in a very competitive environment when you wanted the ball in your championship 8th grade St Peter's Basketball game with the score tied in overtime. You were as determined as could be and I knew if you set your mind to doing something , it WILL get done... And that young lady, when mixed with the underlying desire to help others first, is what makes this day very special for you, the university, and your family and friends. I'm very proud of you and wish you the very best the good Lord has in store for you. May He continue to bless you and may you always keep Him close to you. Love Dad

Had a great week out in the country with my Iraqi engineers. These guys are special in that they are willing to risk their lives just coming to work in order to serve their country in learning how to build schools, pipelines, transmission stations , roads etc etc etc...they are really starting from ground zero if only I could show you all the sites, you'd be in awe. They're meeting with me for intensive training on managing our construction projects throughout the Province which extends west from Baghdad to the Iranian border and North to Kirkuk. That's about the area the size of Rhode Island! These guys come to learn how to better manage all these projects we have underway here and my role is to prepare them as best I can before my departure. After that, the technology connection is all we'll have to communicate with them as we reduce our physical role in country. After that, these engineers will have to become teachers and trainers themselves for other engineers in the years to come. Quite a humbling and gratifying experience. It's awesome to see these fellas find ways to get the job done in this environment. When something happens to one of their soldiers or police officers, there's 2 more "relatives" in line the next day to carry on....they're that determined to make this thing called democracy work. Sounds like something our ancestors might have done when they first came to the U.S. and found so many red faced folks with painted faces slingin arrows at them...yet they kept coming and once they settled things down, they began this thing called democracy and 400 + years later we're still workin on it and tweakin it...just an amazing experience to be part of and we can all be proud of our guys who are makin it happen sooner than later. We didn't have anybody teachin/trainin us how to do "our thing" but yet our guys aren't letting that stop them from sharing their knowledge and experience with others less fortunate who've never known what we're blessed to have just because we were born in the USA...quite a humbling and gratifying experience wouldn't you say? The pics are some of the great people I've had the honor of serving with...just truly great, great people...