David Letter #4 & #5

This week we got two more letters from David. The following are the last two:
Dear Family, 25 Nov. 2007
Well today is Sunday! The church service was shallow as usual. Anyway yesterday was a tough physical day. It started out with a rough mini grind which is basically: hold our guns out at different angles as punishment till we scream with pain. Then we had 2 hours of class, chow and P.T. P.T. started with warm up exercises and then more push ups, crunches, weight lifting, jump rope, stair climbing with weights, dips, pull ups, monkey bars, and more crunches and weight lifting. Then we did agility training for 1/2 an hour and that was a lot of sprinting backward and forward starting on your belly every time. Then, we had another 45 min. of strengthening exercises like diamond push ups. We then showered and did more marching and had chow. Then we did more marching and rifle handling. Finally we c.eaned our rifles, had a Sr. drill chat and cleaned up everything. That was my day! A long 1 hour of fire watch last night. You can pray that our Plt. (3271) MIKE does well in initial drill test. It is all a competition between platoons. Also, pray I find more time to read my Bible. I have started reading it during fire watch.
My health is doing fine. I still have a cough, but I can handle that. Let me know how many deer you shot. Tony is doing well. Nathan is in another Plt. and I talked to him yesterday and his knee is bothering him. Also Tony has shin splints--you can pray they go away.
Christ's soldier,
Pillman, David Col. 1:13
On back of envelope: P.S. Thanks for the letters. I got 3 so far---all from you.

Dear Family, Saturday,Nov. 24. 2007
Life has been crazy . They keep us running and drilling every day morning till night. Lately, the D.I.s have been throwing all of our stuff in one pile in the middle of the house and we have to clean it up and sort our stuff in free time. Thanksgiving started out with going to the pit (I.T.) before breakfast and then we had class and had a bad time at drill--a lot of time holding our M16 A1 service rifles at arms length. then we had a "Thanksgiving" dinner and it was O.K. The food was not home made and I only had 5-10 minutes to eat it. Then we did more drill and our Sr. Drill Instructor let us watch a Movie called "shooter." That was nice. The day ended well. Wednesday I did pugle sticks and I beat my opponent. I couldn't remember if I told you that yet. Anyway today was a tough day. We went to the pit and then went to P.T. and did a lot of push ups and crunches. We came back and had to make out beds 3X and then we all got our water bottles dumped out and mixed up. After lunch, we did hard martial arts and 3 hours of drill and another 2 hours of drill after supper.
I gotta go. Pray for my bad cough and slight sprained ankle.
Love, David
Still Christ's Soldier
Pray for my new rock mate, Kovach--a home schooled boy from Texas.

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving season. Lucas and his roommate Ryan Akers arrived around 2:30 on Wed. afternoon. They had driven 18 hours straight through from Virginia along with a fellow classmate from Eau Claire. With three drivers they arrived relatively rested. We went to a Thanksgiving service and Lucas delivered his bumper. He sold it to a couple in the church. Uncle Noel, Lauretta and Phyllis were with us for Thanksgiving Day. Jessica and others made lefse and pies. The boys did several hunts, but did not get a deer. The Olsons gave us two of their deer for venison. We appreciate the Lord's provision. With much help from Matthew, Peter and Dad, we got it cut up on Mon. Tues. we took 50 pounds over to our neighbor, Al, to get it ground into hamburger. The temps. have been down to 5F with winds. It feels quite cold. I put straw on my tulips and tried to cover my hybrid roses with tarps. Hopefully they will survive the winter. Most of all we are thankful for a joyous Thanksgiving. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Ryan and Lucas are safely back at Patrick Henry College in Virginia.

David's next letter Nov. 20

We received the following letter in the mail on Tues. Nov. 27. So far, we have no indication that David has received any of our mail. They may save it for a few days before he sees it. We thank each one who is praying specifically for David.

Dear Family, 20 Nov. 07
I have basically got into routine. Monday, I had a MCMAP class which is basically martial arts. Probably the toughest thing is all the bad language and dirty talk. We have a talk every day with our Sr. Chief Drill Instructor Jones. His talks are practical and we talk about Honor, Courage, and Commitment. Class is about History and First Aid. I have been used by the First Aid Instructor for a lot of silly examples, but at least it keeps it interesting.
Tuesday, we had pugil sticks. I defeated my opponent and then I went to a class on WW II History. Well, I gotta run. Pray for endurance through the monotony of drill.
Christ's Soldier,
David Pillman
P.S. Please send me a schedule.

David's second letter

Dear Family, Nov. 16,2007
Well today I did the obstacle course. It went well. Also my rack mate is going to be kicked out due to a knee injury. His name is Marrs and he is going back to Texas. You can pray for him as he is a nominal Christian. This is a big blow for him. You can also pray that I get over the bad cold I have. Otherwise I have just had a lot of classes.
Nov.18,2007
Well, this is Sunday and I finally got time to finish this letter. Yesterday, we had PT which included a lot of push ups and then sprints and more sprints.Then we had about four hours of class lecture on History and Courage. Otherwise it was just chow and more marching drill and we learned how to take apart our M16 A1 service rifle.
Today, we got up normal time, had chow and then I went to church with Tony Ward. It is an ELCA liturgical service, but it is still good to read from God's Word. We also have a communion every Sunday. Otherwise everything is pretty monotonous. The biggest thing they stress is keeping clean, both ourselves and the house (barracks) and bathroom (head).
I have pink eye so you can pray I get over it. Everyone is sick here.
Anyway let me know how everyone is doing and say "hi" to Lucas and Ryan. You can also send me Lucas' mailing address.
Christ's soldier,
Pillman,David Prov. 18:10
P.S. Please keep these letters as they are the journal I have. Also you can pray I don't get in too much trouble as I am one of the squad leaders.

Our First Letter from David

Nov.15, 2007 Training day 3
Dear Family,
I finally found time to write. They keep us running around from morning (0500) till well after sundown (2200). it is great but some times a little brain racking due to all the yelling and time on the quarter deck (I.T.). I have had a little time to talk to recruits about God, but not much because we are not allowed to talk to each other. Basically we yell all the time and if you don't scream you get punished. Sadly the D.I. (Drill Instructors) have leanred my name but they do not use it too much. I have only been to the quarter deck 4X. You can pray I can find time to read the Bible as it is really hard to find time to do any thing but what the D.I.s say. I got to see recruits graduating today. That was cool. I also started.
Training on hand to hand combat. The first week all we did was walk around and wait in lines. We had to stand at attention for up to 8 hours at one time and some time all night and the DI would not let us sleep for the first 48 hours. Since then I have gotten plenty of sleep. Every other night I have five whach in which you have to be awake for 1 hour doing nothing but cleaning and marching here. The food is great with salad, apples, oranges, BBQ ribs and vegetables for supper today. You only get about 5 min. to eat it, but thankfully I am a fast eater. I finally got my ugly glasses, so that was nice as my other glasses just broke. Another thing that takes some getting used to is going to the bathroom only when told. One night the whole platoon was almost wetting themselves and then the DIs only let two go to the head at a time. Anyway you will have to let me know what you are all up to. Got to go.
Love, David Pillman
Rom. 5:3
Phil. 4:13

P.S. I am in MIKE company. Look it up. It is said to be one of the toughest companies.

David's Schedule

Here is a general schedule of what David is doing. As you can tell we have been keeping close track of the days! :-)

David's Address

We got a form letter today from David with his address. Once again I would like to emphasize: absolutely no packages of any sort, no pictures, and no money; only letters. His address is:

PILLMAN, DAVID, P
3rd RTBN M CO Plt. 3271
39003 Midway Ave.
San Diego, CA 92140-3274

Please make sure you copy it exactly as written. Realize he is very pressed for time, so his reply correspondence will be limited, but he will certainly enjoy letters of encouragement. The letter was not a personal one, he only signed his name, so we don't know any more than this. I will post his schedule so you can have a general idea of what he is doing each day! Thanks again to all who have shown their support!

No word yet

We are waiting to hear word from David. We expect to hear from him during this next week. We'll post anything we hear. In the meantime we pray for him as he has completed his week of orientation and begins the first week of boot camp.

David leaves for the Marines

As David left for the Marines, he did not need to take much time packing. He wore the clothes on his back and carried with him a Bible, an address book, $20, his social security card and drivers license, and contact lens solution. He will be issued new glasses and personal effects and all of the necessary clothes and shoes needed for boot camp. Even the clothes he arrives in will be put into a bin until he returns home. He will be given a physical and his head will be shaved. That is boot camp. Sat. we went through shoes and clothes tossing the most worn. Although he plans to be back for 10 days in Feb., in essence he is gone for five years. We will miss him. He will miss many special days including Thanksgiving and Christmas and birthdays. At present, Jessica and Matthew and Uncle Noel plan to attend his graduation in San Diego on Feb.1
The Lord will strengthen him and help him and uphold him with His victorious right hand.

Off to Marines

David left at 19.30.00 hours for Marines boot camp. He is going to MEPS in the morning (the physical) and leaving around 4.00.00 hours for receiving in San Diego. We will miss him. We will keep you posted when we get his address. Thank you for all your support!

A Word or Verse for David

I would like to give you all opportunity to give David a verse, quote from a poem or song, or some other advice or direction. Together as a family we had a time tonight where we shared verses and song songs with him, and I thought it would be special if others could contribute verses as well. He leaves tomorrow, so if you can post by then, that would be great, but we will forward on to him any that are posted after he leaves. I know there are many of you who have had a special part in his life, and I thought it would only be appropriate to allow you to give him a special word of encouragement. Feel welcome to comment on this post to support him as he leaves! We appreciate the support!

Pillman Cuisine--Raccoon!

We are always game to try any new food as a family. Sometimes we come up with a delicious cuisine, and this just happens to be one of those occasions. We were out Raccoon hunting with our neighbors last night, and ended up with 9 coon. We figured we wouldn't let all the good meat go to waste, and brought home some legs to eat. We used this recipe, and it turned out great. Everyone greatly enjoyed it. They did not taste at all "gamey," and were very tender. My mom called the meat like a mixture between pork and beef. For all of you to have the opportunity to try it, I figured I post the recipe here.

You first start by acquiring your coon. You skin and take off the quarters. (the rest of the coon is edible as well, but most of the meat is on the quarters, so it is simplest to just eat the quarters) Bring them home, and remove all the fat you can (you can actually do this anytime before you start cooking them), and let them soak in salt/soda brine for about 6 hours (longer is fine). Take them out of the salt brine, and put them in a pot to boil. Boil them with salt (and onion if desired) until thoroughly done.


mix together:

1-cup ketchup

½ cup cooking oil or butter

¼ cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp. garlic powder (or to taste)

1 Tbsp. onion powder (or to taste)

1 Tbsp. salt

¼ cup lemon juice

1 tsp. pepper

pour over coon, and let sit until ready to grill.

Place on grill, and apply sauce to meat as it is cooking.

Grill until browned as desired.

Eat with relish, forgetting the species it came from. (which is not hard considering the exquisite taste)