Music for Christmas Eve...

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It was only a few hours but it was full of song and reflective of the holiday spirit around this place. The Chaplains have done a great job in providing many Christmas Eve services for various denominations and by the looks of it many soldiers opted to take advantage of the evening activities. There will even be buses that will be available to go out into the nearby town and attend a Catholic midnight mass. That will be quite the experience for some.

I attended a candlelight service that was full of song and a great message. The message was that of peace and forgiveness. Blessed are the peacekeepers that began this journey ten years ago to assist with multiple cultures to have peace in this small area of the world. Throughout the years the mission of peacekeeping has gotten easier (for the most part) because of the efforts of many to create peace even under the most arduous of situations and locations.

So as soldiers read from the scripture and sang from their hearts it was easy to find the common link between all of us from different states, cultures and military backgrounds. It is said that there is no bigger supporter of peace than a soldier. It is the soldier that many times experiences the lack of peace in lands so far away so when we return home peace is very important to us.

After the gathering we were visited by our very own KFOR 12 Christmas Carolers! They came to our homes and sang holiday songs as they donned their Santa hats and wore red scarves. Delightful were their voices as they stood out in the cool breeze of the evening and wished us all a very Merry Christmas.

As you can see, it is only Christmas Eve and we are engaged in many activities. Tomorrow will have layers of fun, many hours spent communicating with home and more food than we will know what to do with. I will try to keep you updated as the activities occur and to send as many pictures home as possible. Remember to go to bed early so that Santa will be able to make his delivery on his first pass by your house! Ho Ho Ho!

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