So I went to chapel by myself. It's a quaint old, New England style wood frame chapel on a hill.It was billed as a standard-issue Army Protestant Service but it was led by an Evangelical Chaplain who did lots of preaching and praying. There was no liturgy, and the hymns were mostly contemporary songs. There were no bulletins. All the lyrics were typed into powerpoint and displayed on a screen. Yuck.
I was the only civilian in chapel. It was packed – 150 or so soldiers from her Brigade – all in Basic Training or MP school. I can see why they’d like it – after getting yelled at and told what to do for 6 days, 22 ½ hours, being built up and prayed over for 1-1/2 hours is just what they need. Lisa is a regular attendee at chapel and even asked me to bring a Bible of her own so she can read on her own.
We had lunch with her after chapel, off-post (“real food” she calls it) and then let her sleep for a few hours until she had to return. We then left for Chicago, and we’re outside Chicago now. Tomorrow we’ll visit Chicago and then head to She’s in pretty good health – a few bruises, but then she’s never worked so hard in her life. She’s had a few colds from the close quarters and hard work, but she’s not complaining.
Lisa's friend's name is pronounced with a hard "G", so it's "Christ and Gist" -- they take care of each other. I met a few of her male platoon mates too, and it seems everyone likes Lisa (though she complains about some of the other girls in her barracks -- says she misses living with Becca and Maggie!)
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