Day 154: Resolutions

Happy 2009 everyone! I can't believe that we are moving into yet another year. I honestly kept seeing "2009" as the distant future, especially since finding out about my deployment. But, the Lord has allowed time to truly fly!

So what has your resolution for this upcoming year been? Surveys have shown that most people resolve to lose weight, get out of debt, or live healthier. For me, my resolution is to come home safe and sound, to take family walks on the beach, and to hold Gemma, Maxwell, & Maya once again.

Major Ainullah and Colonel Shah Zadgull enjoying the view from our quarterdeck

In celebration of the new year, I decided to invite my 2 senior Afghan counterparts for lunch to discuss goals and to reflect on the projects that we have already accomplished. We have really enjoyed a great working relationship, and I can honestly say that they trust my recommendations for process improvement in regards to their medical system. So what is my new year's resolution? That while I am here, I intend to stand resolute in my goal to leave an Afghanistan that is better than when I first arrived.

As you make resolutions for the upcoming year, I hope that you are setting yourself up for a reasonable chance at success. If anything, simply see where you stand now, look at the world around you, examine your sphere of influence, and resolve that, come next year, you can reflect back on 2009 and say that the past year was time well spent on the welfare of others!

To my beloved family and friends, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

"Well done thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of the Lord." Matthew 25:21 KJV