Thanksgiving!

This is the second Thanksgiving I have spent in the Army. Last year was at the beginning of Basic Training. This year was in Korea. I usually spend it with my wonderful friends that I call my family back home. Although I spent the majority of the day in my small barracks room, this Thanksgiving was still ironic. I'll tell you why. The past few days have been a little hectic with the work hours because of a North Korean incident (I will elaborate more on that later). Considering our recent work hours, my roommate (Michael Smart) and I spent the majority of the day relaxing. My roommate is a black Muslim from New York. I am a white Christian from Tennessee. He is 6"7... I am 5"9. He played professional basketball... I would probably choose Ultimate Frisbee over basketball. He is loud... I am quiet. He LOVES scary movies... I LOATHE them. Needless to say, we could not be any more different. Here is the kicker; We are great friends! We rely on each other more than we know it. We both miss home more than anything. Smart has a wife and kid back in New York. I couldn't imagine being in his position. We both strive to better ourselves rather than staying stagnant. It is so easy to fall into that category of stagnant life here. You know... just going through the motions rather than really moving forward. We both work really hard to be productive for our future civilian lives. I didn't mind spending my Thanksgiving with a friend... trading corny scary stories from our childhood.
To all of you back home... I love you. Happy Thanksgiving! Keep seeking my King... Jesus Christ!

In case you have not seen the top stories in the news yet, here is what I mean by an "incident with North Korea." Straight from Yahoo news:

YEONPYEONG ISLAND, South Korea – South Korea's president ordered more troops to a front-line island and dumped his defense minister as the country grappled with lapses in its response to a deadly North Korean artillery strike.

In scenes reminiscent of the Korean War 60 years ago, dazed residents of Yeonpyeong island foraged through blackened rubble Thursday for pieces of their lives and lugged their possessions down eerily deserted streets strewn with bent metal after Tuesday's hail of artillery. The barrage darkened skies, set off fierce blazes, killed four South Koreans and raised fears of an escalation that could lead to full-scale war.

"It was a sea of fire," resident Lee In-ku said, recalling the flames that rolled through the streets of this island that is home to military bases as well as a fishing community famous for its catches of crab. The spit of land is just seven miles (11 kilometers) from North Korea, but had only six pieces of artillery.

Despite warnings from North Korea that any new provocation would be met with more attacks, Washington and Seoul pushed ahead with plans for military drills starting Sunday involving a nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier in waters south of this week's skirmish.

The exercises will likely anger the North — the regime cited South Korean drills this week as the impetus behind its attack — but the president said the South could little afford to abandon such preparation now.

"We should not ease our sense of crisis in preparation for the possibility of another provocation by North Korea," spokesman Hong Sang-pyo quoted President Lee Myung-bak as saying. "A provocation like this can recur any time."

Love

This is my first blog! Thanks to Jessica for starting the blogs back when I was in Basic Training. I'll be honest,.. I was quite hesitant to start a blog. I couldn't decide if it were for myself, for others to see my life, or to help people through the writings. I can't help but to think this is a bit narcissistic. Aside from that part of it, I want this to be a place where I can be 100% honest; rather my mood is happy, sad, artistic, thankful, or even delirious. Maybe someone could be helped or even amused through one of these emotions expressed in the future. People tell me I have lived an extraordinary life so far. There have been quite a few "less desirable" moments, but there have been many more incredible moments that God has blessed me with. Maybe God blessed me with both because sometimes those "less desirable" moments make you who you are. What a shame it would be if it were not somewhat documented. I will try my best to give you parts of my life before this point as well as in the present.

As for now, I will leave with a note I wrote before I left for Basic Training a year ago. Oh, maybe I forgot to mention that I am in the Army serving in Korea. I will explain that more in future blogs. This is a letter about my perspective on "love." I know... corny, but give it a chance.

Love...

Everybody in the world has their own viewpoint of love. Most would say that they know what true love is, and some go as far to say that they have shown true love. I beg to differ. We must define the word true before we can say that we have exuded true love. When I hear the word true, I think of these words… real, genuine, exact, precise, accurate, and here is the big one… PERFECT. So when we say that we are giving true love, what we are essentially saying is that we are giving perfect love. I believe this is impossible. Mankind is incapable of supplying perfect love. Only Christ can supply perfect love.
It has always been interesting to me when I hear people say that they are conveying perfect love. I wonder if they have completely thought through what they are actually saying. You may use the argument that if you know Christ, then you know perfect love. This is true; In Christ, you experience perfect love in its entirety. A love that is everlasting, infinite, and perfect. But do not be fooled into thinking you can exude this perfect love. This is what makes God who He is… His perfect love. Our love as humans is finite; which is what makes us who we are. Think of it like this; although we are sinners, we strive to be like Christ who is perfect. Although our love is finite, we strive for infinite love, which is the love of Christ.
This is not a discouragement but rather an encouragement. We are called to love. Even further, we are called to love as Christ loved us. If we make this our duty, then every fiber of our being should be striving for this perfect love. I thank all my brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers in Christ that have made every effort to exude this love of Christ. More importantly, I thank Jesus for giving me this type of love that I know without out any hesitation, is PERFECT.

ait.

kenny is officially in kentucky doing and will begin his advanced individual training (ait) on tuesday. right now he has his phone and will hopefully be mailing his new address soon! thanks again for all of your prayers and support.

back to basic.

so sunday morning keny left to go back to basic training. his graduation should be sometime around february 17th and then he will go to fort knox in kentucky for further training. he posted a letter on facebook and i thought i would copy it here as well. thanks for all of your prayers.

My address and Basic Training.

Most of you know that I am headed back to the army. I thank you for all your prayers and support. I realize that that the 'hurdles of life" still go on here as well, so don't be scared to write me and ask me for prayer. Know this, I will be praying for you. I am excited about this new year and all growing I will be doing. 2010 is going to be the biggest year of change I've ever had. I'm almost certain by the end of this year, I will get to travel to various parts of the world to protect my country and the life I love so much; as well as the ones I love so much. People like you are worth it. Although there is a little bit of nervousness for the uncertainties of this year, I'm much more thrilled and excited. In the most humble way possible lets just say this: God has given me an epic life and I'm living it!
With all that said, you are allowed to write me. (my address will be at the bottom of this note and i will post it under my profile pic) I would love to hear about what is going on with everybody here... I'm giving you permission to gossip... go ahead.. do it! jk.
I do have to do push-ups and sit-ups for every letter I receive but trust me, it's worth it. It would be nice if you used a little strategy in sending your letters. If you have a small letter and are able to give it to Jessica Morris, she will put it in her envelope. That will give me more time to read the note and enjoy it rather than spending that time in muscle failure. If some of you are able to compile your letters with others to send one envelope; that's strategic. If you are not able to compile or get it to Jessica, send it to me, I would rather hear from you than not.
If you have any questions about anything, Jessica Hagenbrok Morris is the person to go to. She is doing an incredible job of keeping up with me. She has also set up a blog to write snippets of my life in there. You are welcome to check it out. kennyjohnsonarmy.blogspot.com

Thank you for you love and care and always seek my King, Jesus Christ!
Kenny Johnson

Address: PFC Kenneth Johnson
F Company, 3-34 IN
1st Platoon
Fort Jackson, SC 29207

update.

kenny called sunday and mentioned that he is need of letters/pictures and razors. he uses schick quattro titanium and he just needs the blades (he is allowed to recieve these). also i think he is needing some encouragement and reminder of his family here, so if you get a chance please send him a letter. his address is in the previous blog. thanks everyone!

letter one.

i received the first letter from kenny a few days ago. so far, basic combat training has been going well. it has been easier than expected but the lack of sleep and food has been rough. sleep is a privileged, not a necessity, and food must been eaten in under 3 minutes. apparently drill sergeants are portayed pretty accurately in the movies- lots of yelling and smoking (when you have to do push ups, sit ups, and random work outs). also kenny now sleeps, eats, and carries a M-16 A2 riffle everywhere he goes. ha.
kenny can ONLY receive letters, birthday cards, and pictures (nothing immoral or scandalous). sending anything else will cause him and/or his entire platoon to get smoked. i know cards and letters will be much appreciated these next few weeks, especially around december 6th, which is kenny's birthday. oh and i'm sure kenny would like to know any and every football and memphis basketball update possible.
i know your prayers and encouragement during kennys last few weeks in memphis have encouraged and strengthened kenny during this transition. he thanks you all and says hi.
here is kenny's address:

PFC Kenneth Johnson
F Company, 3-34 IN
1st Platoon
Fort Jackson, SC 29207

chapter one.

Today is the beginning of kenny's exciting journey. he reported to recruitment yesterday and will be heading to south carolina this afternoon. i received a text from him saying he arrived at the memphis airport and is in charge of 9 people... which means he will be the first to get yelled at when they arrive in south carolina. no pressure.
kenny's main prayer request is for the emotional aspect of leaving memphis and being somewhere new without the support and family he has here. I am sad but also excited and proud of kenny with this huge step of faith he is taking. anyone close to kenny knows he has had an incredible life story. i know this is but one chapter in all that God has planned for him. i am ready to hear all of the incredible stories and encounters that kenny will have while he's away. but, in the meantime, let us pray that he holds tight to God's love and comfort as he travels and begins his new chapter.
-jm