UPDATE: September 25, 2009 The first box was well received by our Soldier on the Ground (SG), Camp Phoenix , Kabal (Afghanistan) and his reaction with permission : “The minute I opened the package my life changed. My mind felt relieved, I breath deeply. I am healed at the first breath. OMG it works.” He cant wait for the day to end so he can “get back to his container for therapy”, and would “like to invite the entire camp in for healing”- he is sharing blends and inhalers with the Outreach group below that arranges the Humanitarian Assistance first, will keep us posted, but for now he says he can BREATHE!!. “I recently joined a group of volunteers made up of military and a few civilians as part of an organization called Operation Outreach. (Here is the site: https://www.friendsofoperationoutreach.com/ ; they are aiming for 5000 blankets in 5 months 8/09 to 12/09!). On Wednesday we visited a community school outside of the city and offloaded a trailer-full of donated items to a needy village. The drop was conducted in a secure school compound. I took a picture with the two teachers; they are volunteers because there are no paid educators in the village — two university students working for food and lodging in a not so glamorous location. I asked them why they chose this village; they said that they grew up there and wanted to help the children of the village learn to have a better life. The wanted to know what my income was. I was too ashamed to tell them. They understood. If any of you have an organization who would like to donate blankets, clothes or school supplies, just send them to the address on the site. Let me know if you do and I’ll make sure to do a story on the donation with pictures at the location when the donations are given. During the drop I walked around and gave out candy that was sent to me from my cousin Nina in Florida. As those happy smiling faces looked up at me with their hands outstretched, I had to hide my tears. I can’t help thinking about the long road these children have and the obstacles they face. Most of them will live and die in the dirt of this humble mud-hut dirt village on the outskirts of Kabul. I hope our children will appreciate the world they live in and the opportunities they have in life. Humbly yours, Jim.”