shout it from the mountaintops!!

This morning, just after 6, the phone rang. Normally, that would really bother me (after all, who really calls someone that early?? And is it ever good news?) but today I was hopeful that it might be Brent. And it was!! He was calling to let us know that he would be dropped into an active training platoon this morning. No more medical rehab for him!! SO exciting! It was fun to chat, even for a couple minutes, and to hear his voice. Now, when I get the 30 second, scripted "I have arrived safely" call later today letting me know he is truly in the battalion, it's not a big deal. I don't even care if I'm not here for it--I got to TALK to him this morning! He'll spend the day today studying Marine Corps history and doing photos, then tomorrow they pack up and head to Camp Pendleton for marksmanship and field training. It should be good.

In all this, we've definitely seen God's hand. In every company, there are 5 or 6 platoons. Each platoon has 60 or 70 recruits. That means the companies are big--about 400 recruits. Brent had made friends in his platoon, but knew no one in Hotel Co, the company a week behind him in training. He knows exactly ONE young man in Mike Co, where he's going to be dropped. He's known Elliot since he was about 5 or so. Anyway, it seems that they try and place recruits into platoons that perform similarly to their previous platoon. Brent's platoon was a top performer in the company; Elliot's is the top performer in his company. Because of that, it is highly likely that Brent will be dropped into Elliot's platoon! That is so incredibly amazing and such a blessing: to walk into a platoon the 'new guy' and have someone there who knows you, knows what you can do, and is willing to say to the rest, "Hey, this guy is okay" will hopefully make the transition a bit smoother.

Thank you for your prayers! Today, I feel like shouting from the mountaintops! GOD IS GOOD!!