CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo - Soldiers gathered together with their
loved ones here today for a prayer breakfast that focused on family
relationships.
Although the families could not attend the breakfast in person, photos and
other mementos served as reminders for their Soldiers, who are deployed as
part of Kosovo Forces (KFOR) 12 Multi-National Battle Group-East.
The prayer breakfast was the second held so far at Camp Bondsteel, and was
attended by Chaplain (Col.) Terry Larkin, the National Guard Bureau
chaplain, and Sgt. Maj. Diane Ellwein, senior enlisted advisor and
chaplain's assistant to the chief of chaplains.
Larkin spoke about the more than 40 family combinations that are currently
serving together in MNBG-E, from husbands and wives to brothers and sisters
to mothers and sons to fathers and daughters.
"You don't find that in the active duty," he said. "Our families are just
as much a part of our military as we who wear green uniforms. We fight
together. We serve together."
He also commented that, although deployments can be challenging for
families, the role the Soldiers serve is vital to the peace process.
"This is God's calling for your life," he said. "Blessed are the
peacemakers. You folks are missionaries for God's calling to have you serve
here.
"It's my hope and my prayer that when you finish this tour that you will
return home with a renewed and even stronger sense of family."