Letter From Afghanistan #06

Another week has passed here at FOB Lagman and though it was a busy week, it went very fast.  The good news is that we finally got power in our rooms and here and that means that the air conditioner is now up and operational and I have moved out of the tent and back into my normal room.  It is awesome to be back into an actual room where the temperature stays within a normal range.  Now all I have to deal with is the noise level that comes from the hallway outside my room, but I am learning to deal with it.

Last week when we spoke I described the events of a recent memorial service that was held here.  It was a very sad day that we hope we never have to be a part of but at the same time it is important that not only important for everyone so that we understand our own mortality.  This week I thought I would tell you all about something on a much happier note.

Several weeks ago, when I first started writing these letters again I talked about all of the things that had to done to prepare for a deployment.  I did omit one task that I felt the need to take care of before departing and it ended up being important enough to warrant it’s very own letter.  Since my first letter some of you may have noticed a slight change in wording and so I thought that I would share with you all the official details.

Prior to my departure for this deployment, my girlfriend, Megan, of almost three years, and I got engaged.  This was something that we had talked about in the past but it finally became official the Saturday prior to my departure.  I had been planning on proposing but since my deployment date got pushed up I had to plan quickly and come up with a plan.  A few weeks prior to my departure Megan had been out of town for the weekend, which was the perfect time to go to the jewelry store and purchase the ring.  It was easy to pick a ring because Megan and I had talked about the ring before and so it was easy to get the right ring.  I had a really good time talking with the people at the jewelry store and they were very helpful.  So I bought the ring and got it resized.  I told them that I would come back when it was done to pick it up.

About a week later I went back to the jewelry store and to pick up the ring.  The ladies at the store kept commenting on how beautiful it was.  They made sure that they got a beautiful wood box for the ring and made sure that the ring was perfect.  We talked about how I had planned to pop the question and they were all very excited.

The funny thing was that I had this whole plan worked out in my head but had yet to actually make any arrangements.   Things were happening very quickly and even though I had plans I was running out of time to actually put them in place.  It was lucky that I had some days off in the middle of the week and so I was able to talk to some people and get things taken care of and so things were coming along.

I had decided that I was going to propose on Saturday evening before I left.  We went to church like we normally did most every Sunday.  There was nothing to out of the ordinary and Megan only had a slight suspicion but I thought that I had covered it well.  Since I sing in the choir we arrived an hour early to learn that we were celebrating a festival and so that the choir would be made up of a group of singers for the festival.  This allowed me enough time to talk to the choir director while Megan thought I was going to the car to get my glasses.  I asked her to talk to our priest and let him know that I would like to do the proposal during the mass.  We had talked about it in the past and so it wasn’t a big surprise to Father Joe.  After talking to the choir director I ran to the car and got my glasses and grabbed the ring box.  I had to find a way to get it into the church to hide it so that I wouldn’t have to carry it with the risk of Megan seeing it.  So I took it into the church and put it in the podium at the front and went back over to the choir room to tell Megan of the change to the mass.   We hung around the church killing time until the service started and then we took our place and went through mass with little excitement.  On the outside it appeared like everything was going well but on the inside my stomach was turning as my nerves kept tying it in knots.

After communion had finished Father Joe had called both Megan and myself to the front of the congregation.  As far as Megan knew we were going to get a blessing before I left.  She became a little confused when someone handed me a microphone.  When we got to the front the priest informed everyone that I would be leaving soon to Afghanistan and before I left I had something that I wanted to give her something.  I introduced myself to the crowd, many of whom knew me, and I explained that Megan and I had been dating for about two and a half years and that we had originally met in at that very church.  At that point I got down on one knee in front of the entire congregation and said, “Megan Elizabeth Boele, will you marry me.”  Through tears and screams she said yes. 

You may be wondering why there were screams.  As I mentioned before we were celebrating a feast that day and the Chomorro community (the people from Guam) were there and there were many young girls in traditional dress at the front of the church.  When I got down on one knee they all screamed with excitement.  It was a lot like being at a rock concert.  It was exciting and now there are a lot of plans to be made.  As with a lot of woman, Megan had already been planning her wedding day but there is still a lot to be done.

We will be wed on May 22^nd of next year in Bismarck.  We are trying to keep the wedding fairly small but things are starting to turn out much bigger than we had planned.  Luckily we have great parents that are willing to help with plans.  Luckily, with my early deployment I will be return home a little earlier and so I will be able to help with more of the preparations.

Well I will sign off again for this week.  I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to email or write over the last couple of weeks.  I would also say a special thank you to everyone who has sent care packages.  Everyone greatly appreciates the caring that has been shown.  The one thing that we can always use here is prayers.  If you would like to email you can send it to john.iraq@hotmail.com.  If you would like to write or send a care package you can send it to:

SSgt John B. Ferderer

Task Force Pegasus

HHC 2-82 (SWO) Task Force Corsair

APO AE 09355

Please feel free to send me any questions that you have.  If you would like to send a card to a soldier here you can also send it to me and I will hand them out.  If you would like to send a care package some of the things that we can use or would greatly appreciate are: baby wipes, deodorant, tooth paste, tooth brushes, sunflower seeds, crystal light drink packets, trail mix, and other snacks.  Anything you would be willing to send is greatly appreciated by all.

Have a great week and have a great Air Force Day!