Email from Seth

Dear Friends and Family,
I hope this e-mail finds you all doing well and enjoying the fall season back at home in the states. Fall is my favorite time of year in Virginia, so I am without a doubt missing home like crazy right now. As Eli informed you all in his e-mail we are moved in and living fairly comfortably right now. In my close to five years in the military these are the best living conditions I have encountered. I guess that is only fair considering the job we are being asked to do. These last few weeks since the beginning of my leave have flown by. Sometimes I take a step back to just think about everything, and I constantly find myself in disbelief that I am back here in the middle east. I find many things that are very similar to my time in Afghanistan, I also find that there are many differences. One difference that is a very comforting one is that I have Eli with me to deal with all of this. When I was in Afghanistan I was fresh out of basic, nineteen years old, and I had to join a company that had been living together for close to four months. The first couple months of the deployment were a very lonely and challenging time for me. This deployment is better for numerous reasons, but the number one reason is that I have Eli here to help deal with everything. A deployment is full of ups and downs, and the downs will be much easier with my brother by my side. It is nice having a roomate that you already know you can get along with. A lot of people have asked Eli and I what we need, and I will tell you two things that will help the most with this deployment. The first is letters (or e-mails), Eli and I love to hear updates as to what is going on at home. A quick e-mail from time to time really means a lot. The second thing that Eli and I could use is your prayers, beyond that there is nothing we need. I will e-mail often to keep everyone informed, and also because it feels good to communicate with people back home. Know that Eli and I are comfortable as can be in our situation, happy to be here getting our time started, and anxious to return to you all. Everyday we think about home and about our return when we can spend time with all our amazing family and friends that we are so blessed to have, until that time think about us and pray for us, take care and I look forward to keeping in touch with all of you,
Lots of Love from Iraq,
Seth