Dad and Jessica cooking supper

Unexpected visitors

Karaoke with Lucas' MP3 player

Lucas resting

Best Friends

Lucas taking in the beauty

Preparing supper

Campsite by the water

Now in Norfolk

Well time keeps marching on. I am now based on camp Allen. It is great to finally be in some sort of permanent base. This is to be a base of operation for the next two years as long as I am not over seas. Life for the last week was all bases around preparation for the change of command ceremony from Lt. Gen. Weber to Lt. Gen. Natonski. This ceremony took place yesterday. It took a lot of marching and drilling to get ready and every one was a little stressed out about it as the Commandant of the Marine corps ( Gen. Conway) and the Sgt Maj of the marine Corps was present, Sgt Maj Kent, as well as close to 30 other flag officers. The ceremony went fine with just a few mess ups and with my chuck getting soaked with sweat as it was over 90 deg. and we had to stand stationary in the sun doing rifle manual for close to an hour. Any way this is all part of the job even though it is not the fun part. I would much rather be out in the field shooting and sleeping out under the stars then drilling and doing rifle manual.
you can pray for me as I continue looking for a church in the area. It is a hard balance to find the "Perfect" church and spend the next 2 years looking or to just find a church with good doctrine and just try to fit in with it even though it might not be Lutheran or exactly what I am looking for. I will try to keep you posted!!!

Christ's Marine
David Pillman

Summer Beauty

We had a thunderstorm roll through and the lighting was beautiful afterwords. Perfect for pictures...

Strawberry Daze

Here are some pictures from our 4th of July. Strawberries were in full swing, but this didn't keep us from celebrating. We just celebrated at the strawberry patch. Most of us guys wore American flag ties and feathers in our caps. It was a fun time. Below are some pictures.

Strawberry Daze2

Strawberry Season Pictures

Strawberry Season 2008

The 2008 strawberry season began on Wed. June 25. We had Josue Gomezcuello from Ecuador with us for a few days. He was a good picker and enjoyed doing it. He also went along with Lucas to sell berries several days.

Hello from Hot VA,
It is summer here, that is for sure. It has been sunny here with temperatures 90-100 degrees every day. To add to the heat it also tends to be humid with periods of smoke every day due to the fires that are still burning in the great dismal swamps. I am pretty well adjusted to the heat so it does not tend to bother me to bad and I can go swimming in a pool on base every day if I find time so that makes the heat a lot of fun. I am now part of 1F4. This means ever day after work I can do what I want. I have no more curfews every night and no more formations. Due to the over full barracks at Camp Allen we are still stuck here at the NW annex. We had another PFT Friday but I only had to do it to motivate the slow runners as I had the highest PFT in my platoon.
The only other activity I have been involved in is helping out with VBS at the Southern baptist church I have been attending down the road. It was fun to be with kids again and to just be a normal human for a little bit. One exciting thing is 13 of the 58 kids accepted Jesus so it is neat to see the Word of God not returning void. I helped with the final program Friday and it was also fun to talk to the parents and one parent even asked me if I wanted to help him with landscaping and yard work. It would be nice to have a job on the side that I can do in my extra time while I am still here. Any way that is my life. Please pray for the 13 kids that accepted the Lord. Pray for my plt mates as I try to witness to them and get them to come with me to church this Sunday.

Christ's Marine,
David

Dear Friends and Family,

It has been a very busy time here at the NW annex. The end of last week we did what is called the finex which is the culmination of training for security forces. During that time we hiked about 9 miles through woods and swamps and attacked and secured an "embassy" in a fake town made to practice urban assault. Next we hiked about 2 more miles and secured and captured a compound with buildings and a ECP (Entry Control Point) set up. The next hours from 1430 till 0300 Friday morning we ran the ECP and set up security around the compound. During this time about every hour aggressors would come and try to break into the compound and smuggle weapons into the compound. They ended up being able to smuggle 2 M9 pistols into the compound and we had a battle with paint bullets. So it was a great time during which we made mistakes but generally we learned from them and moved on as thankfully we were only using paint bullets this time.

At the end of it all we ran 2+ miles back to base with packs and weapons and then it was found the the aggressors had lost a pistol. So back we went back out to the range and thankfully it was found at about 0930 and we were finally able to hit the rack after we had been awake and hiking for over 28 hours. So training has basically been completed at MCSFT Co. (Marine Corps Security Force Training Company). This last weekend I went to Virginia beach and played some sand volley ball till it stared raining and then went back to base. Sunday I attended Lake Drummond Baptist Church for the last time before I move. It was great having a Christian church I could plug into so near my base. Sadly the chaplain here on base would not let me start a Bible study with the Pastor of that Church here on base as SHE said it would make other churches in the area jealous. Any way that was the death of that vision.
Monday I ran a PFT and I praise the Lord for his strenth as I was able to do 20 pull ups, 112 Crunches, and ran the 3 miles in 17.34 minutes. So I got a 300 PFT again. Praise the Lord. Since then all I have been doing is de-issuing gear and doing grad practice. You can be in prayer as I have been chosen to do the opening prayer in the graduation ceremony in front of the Company commander and every one else. I consider it an Honor, but I pray that I can glorify God as I pray to him. Well I got to go finish packing as I leave to Norfolk tomorrow to 1st FAST 5th Plt. Thanks for your prayers.

Christ's Marine,
David Pillman

Pictures from David

David sent us a couple pictures today. Here the are....

Dear Friends and Family,
Training continues here at the NW Annex. Last Friday we trained with paint bullets all day in a training town. That was really fun. The day started with a 2 mile run out the range with weapons and packs. Then we practiced patrolling and capturing houses and got killed by the instructors who were acting like insurgence every time. then in the after noon we patrolled back to base about 4 miles through woods and swamps. It was really one of the best training days as it was practicing what we have been studying the last 8 months in a realistic way.
Saturday I got a new cell phone and watched movie and hung out at a mall for way to long. I hate malls and all they stand for. Any way the next day Sunday was much better with church in the morning. The fathers day service was on Moses from Hebrews 11:23-27. Then Sunday afternoon I went for a 4.5 mile run and studied about Terrorism all evening.
Today we ran for about 3 miles for PT and then we went to class and took the terrorism test and every one but 4 people passed. I got about 92.5% on the test. Praise the Lord as it was a very confusing test and it was easy to over think the questions. Our training down at Red range with paint bullets was canceled for to day do to smoke caused by fires in North Carolina. It was considered dangerous to exercise in all the smoke. So we all got off at 1500 and so I had time to post this post to day. Life continues to be exciting, but pray that I can continue to be a real light to the marines a work with every day and pray that my quad will heal from being pulled during lunges to day in PT.

Christ's Marine
David

Coates twins update

The Coates twins are now moved to a different hospital. Ellysa wieghed 3# 10 oz. on Mon. and Austin weighed 3# 14 oz. on Mon. Ellysa is now in a basinette and her mother, Ashley can nurse her. Austin is still in an incubator as he is still recovering from a staph infection to the lungs. They actually begin to look a little chubby in the face. Ashley is able to bathe Ellyssa and to hold her whenever she wants. Austin still has some restrictions because of the incubator. Thank you for all of your prayers on their behalf. Praise God for His wonderful works to the children of men.

From the North West Annex, Chesapeake, VA

Hey this is David in person!!
I have figured out how to post. You got to love the weather here at security force training. It has been over 100 Degrees F the last 4 days. Finally today it was a high of only about 85 Degrees. Today we did Physical Training (PT) in the morning as we do every morning. It lasts about 1 hour which is long enough in 80 degree weather with high humidity. Then I took a test on Guard Mount and I got about 94%. I should have done better but I made stupid mistakes. Anyway I passed. We then had classes all afternoon as normal. This is basically what my life has been like. I get off between 1600 and 1800 and then do PT on my own.
Now on to a more long term subject. I am to be stationed in Norfolk, VA in Camp Allen as part of the 1st fast team either 4th or 5th squad. This means I am going to be in a force that is stationed over seas the next 2 years to be ready to help in case of emergency such as to defend an embassy or if some other emergency situation arises overseas. I am graduating from this school on the 25th of June to go to 1st fast.
In the spiritual side of my life, I recently read through James and it was a great reminder to live out my faith amongst so much immorality. I am also trying to start a Bible study with a Southern Baptist pastor here on this base. I am working on setting up a meeting with the chaplain assistant to see if I can use the chapel for these services. The sad part is that I am going to be leaving in two weeks so I will not be able to oversee these services. Till later.

Christ's Marine,
Lcpl Pillman, David

Family Picture

We got this family picture when we were out to see Lucas at his graduation from Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, VA. David was able to come up from his training at a small base in southern VA for the one day. We thoroughly enjoyed being all together as a family for the first time since the Christmas of 2006.

David in Marine blues

 

David surprises us with a visit home

David surprised us with a visit home for ten days. He and Tony flew into Chicago and David came by megabus to Mpls. A friend, Jonathan drove him home. What made the visit extra sweet was that David was able to be home for his 21st birthday on May 1st. That was also the National Day of Prayer and he dressed in his dress blues for the local event in Menomonie.

Prayer Request- Coates Twins

The twins are doing well. They doctors determined that they were actually 26 weeks along instead of 22. They have a very good chance of survival. They are both doing very well, but are still very delicate. Both have pneumonia, but that is considered not out-of-the-ordinary for children born so young.

Elyssa had to have surgery to close the hole in her heart. She is doing well recovering. They tried to take her off her ventilator, but her one lung started collapsing, so they had to put her back on.

Austin is doing very well. He has been able to eat some, and the hole in his heart closed on its own.

The parents are keeping up a journal as well. You can keep more up-to-date here. Thanks for being in prayer!

Saturday Adventures!

What do you call squiggling like a worm, through narrow, low corridors on muddy, rocky floors? You got it, caving or spelunking, depending on your experience. Do you always have to slither on your stomach in caves, not necessarily, but ours normally you do! Yesterday caving, I found a new cave that was pretty good. Some places it was quite big, maybe 12ft high at the highest, but still very narrow. We went in only about 100 ft, I'd guess, but hey, not bad for a hole in the rock! Here are some pics from our adventure. (Notice, David has been home for about 10 days, and just left actually today. It was great to have him home on this surprise visit!)

April Flowers

When I opened my eyes this morning and peeked out around the window blinds, what should I behold, but almost an inch of snow on the ground! I had to double check to make sure it was really April 26th.

It ended up snowing on and off for most of the day. In spite of the snow and wind, we did get out for a walk as a family. When we got into the woods, we found we weren't the only ones braving the late April blizzard. Spring flowers were poking through the wet leaves reminding us that warmer weather is just around the corner.

Here are a few of today's pictures...

David Flies to Chesapeake, VA

David received only a 265 on his PFT so that was a little disappointing. His buddy Tony did a little better. They both graduated from School of Infantry training. We are so thankful these guys can be in the marines together. Both flew out of San Diego last night around 10:00pm. They are on different flights, but will re-connect in the airport in VA somewhere this morning. Then, they report for duty to find out what is next and what their schedule will be. Thanks for praying for these guys.

Lance Corporal!

David has just received another meritorious promotion. He is now a Lance Corporal. We really thank the Lord for his goodness, and graciousness that he has shown to David.

David is graduating from School of Infantry tomorrow. He has done well, and has really enjoyed himself. He was assigned a M249 SAW for much of his time at SOI, and has had the "privilege" of carrying that around most of the time. He was scheduled to run his PFT today. His goal would be a perfect score, but his arm is still swollen from giving blood, so he is not sure how it will go. We expect to hear from him on Tuesday to hear exactly what his next orders are, and how he did on his PFT. Your continued prayer are appreciated!

Update: After talking with a person who has much experience drawing blood, it sounds like they hit a nerve in David's arm. If that is the case, his arm will be very sore for at least a week, so continued prayers are appreciated!

Prayer Request!

We have friends who just had their first children, twins, at 22 weeks along. They are at the Children's Hospital in Minneapolis right now. They were born emergency c-section in Eau Claire, and airlifted to the cities. The chance of survival is about 10% for children of that age, and there is a high possibility of disabilities. These first few weeks are very important! You can be in prayer for them. Their names are Austin and Ellyssa, and the parents names are Jesse and Ashlee Coates.

With God all things are possible!

Sugaring off

We've been a part of the first harvest of the year: harvesting maple syrup. What fun to get outside and learn how to make this sweet treat.

The Thank You Letter

This is the letter sent to David on 2/3/08. Names have been left out for their protection as we did not know how to get permission from the writer to post the letter.

Dear Sir:

Perhaps you do not remember me, but it matters not. My name is_____ and my brother introduced us on family day in the museum at the recruit depot in San Diego. I am writing this letter because I must describe to you my deep and profound gratitude for who you are. Had I but known who you were when we were introduced I would have taken the opportunity to express myself face to face, but as it is this shall have to suffice. You must think this the oddest letter ever written by now, but I pray you bear with me for a few moments and I shall make all quite clear.

My brother, I believe was in your platoon during boot camp and like most of ya'll, was infinitely changed for his time there. My entire family, even back a number of generations, is very devoted to Christ and thus my brother and I were taught from a very young age to love and serve Him. While I sought and found the Lord early in life, I am grieved to report that 'twas not so for my brother. Throughout our teenage years he continuously turned his back on the Lord and us. I say this not to speak ill of my brother, indeed, I love him tremendously; but to show you how you have been the answer to my prayers in a very significant way.

The marines was sort of our last hope for him, we knew not what else to do. I cannot even begin to depict for you the numerous nights I spent in tearful prayer for my beloved baby brother. When he left for boot camp my most fervent prayer was that in his platoon would be at least one man who would know the Lord and be not ashamed to live the gospel out for all to see, even in such situation as boot camp offers to forsake the teachings of Christ. I prayed that such a man would be an example to my brother and that he would yearn to be such a man himself.

Here, I come to the part where you fit in. As we were eating lunch that day and my brother began to tell us of the guys in his platoon, he spoke with great respect in his tone of one who wanted to be a missionary. He talked of how you deserved his respect not only for your high physical training scores but also in lieu of the fact that you were the one in all his platoon who was not a hypocrite. You earned his esteem for living a blameless life in front of him. Thank you. It took tremendous effort on my part to keep my eyes dry during his speech for indeed, I knew that you were a direct answer to my prayers on his behalf.

I know what it is to be in an environment that does not foster the kind of attitude and lifestyle Christ calls us to, thus I wish to thank you from the depths of my heart for remaining faithful and being not ashamed. It is not often in such times that we know the impact we are having on the lives and hearts of those around us and it can be easy to become discouraged and like Elijah, think we are the only ones. I do not know if you struggle in such a manner, but I wish to dispel such a notion on my brother's life therefore my own also! For this I thank you and praise God that others may see Him in you. I am afraid my vocabulary falls piteously short, but I pray the Lord reveals to you the depth of my gratitude and that he blesses your life infinitely as you continue to walk in His ways and let your light so shine before men. Until He does so I shall let Paul's words speak for me.

Philemon 1:4-7
"I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith (thank you for having been so), so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you,brother,have refreshed the hearts of the saints."

Most gratefully and sincerely,
Signed

a letter received

In the School of Infantry, David is able to have some hours of liberty each weekend. He is able to call us by cell phone. This has greatly aided our communication with him. He did also receive both packages we sent him, one with his cell phone charger that got left behind and the other with dress clothes for church.

Last week, David received a perfumed, flowery, pink letter. It was from an unknown name and was four pages long. The letter was written in a classical style. Finally on the last page, David realized why it had been written. It was a thank you note written by the sister of a Marine who had been on the rack beside David in boot camp. The sister is a Christian and had been praying that someone would be able to witness to her brother that he might return to the Lord. David had been that witness. The brother had returned to the Lord and was attending church. The sister wrote to thank David for being an answer to her prayers. How we praise God. David says, "you never know what is happening behind the scenes." Thank you to all of you who have prayed for David. Keep up the good work.

David back to School of Infantry training

Early Tues. morning, David flew back to San Diego and was to go to Camp Pendleton for School of Infantry training. This training will last 8 weeks. From there he will go to Virginia for six more weeks of Security training. While David is at Camp Pendleton, communication should be a little easier as he has a cell phone and will get some weekend days off.

We were so thankful for the 17 days David had at home. It certainly was winter weather and he took full advantage of it playing hockey and skating, sliding and going skiing and cutting and splitting wood to keep people warm. It was interesting to see the various uniforms and outfits he had acquired and to learn the protocol of wearing them, etc. Some were made to look neat with shirt stays and collar springs. Nothing could be worn in the pockets as that made things look bulky. Instead, wallets, cell phones, etc. were worn in the socks.:)

We do thank each person who prayed for David. He did get a perfect PFT score of 300. PTL!

Almost a Blizzard...

This is about as close as we got to a blizzard this year...

A few more...

David's graduation from boot camp

David's Jan. 25 letter

Dear Family,

I am a Marine! I survived the crucible. It was a challenge. The 50+ miles of marching was not bad. The obstacles were fun but the cold and rain was horrible. We got a total of 8 hours of sleep for 3 days.

It was actually less sleep because I had fire watch one night for one hour. The worst part of the day was night time when they were trying to keep us awake and we were freezing. The last day we got up at 2:00 put on wet camies because it rained constantly on and off for the 3 days of the crucible and started hiking toward the reaper - a big, steep hill which we earn the title marine on. 4 miles of hiking through rivers of water and we arrived at the base and sat on our packs for a 1/2 hour. It poured rain. The hill was completely muddy and it was 40 degrees and all we had on was soaking wet camies. Then we slid up and down the hill and down the other side and then had to hike 6+ miles back to the parade deck and receive our EGA. Then we had warriors breakfast! Then a hot shower.

It was a miserable 3 days with 3 MREs but it was worth it. Our packs weighed over 100lbs due to the rain water. It was said that ours was the hardest crucible any one has had for the last 10+ years due to the rain and cold. You know you appreciate more what you earn.

Got to go.

Christs MARINE,
David

David's Jan19 letter

Dear Family, Jan. 19,2008
Well, test week is done. It all started Monday with final drill. Platoon 3271took first! So, we now have three trophies and that with a brand new Sr. D.I. Then, Tuesday, we had the martial arts test and so i am now a marine tan belt. It was a very easy test. The rest of the day was spent studying for the written test and getting uniforms. The Wed. we did more uniform stuff and took the written test. I got 94% which is not too good because I knew all the questions but it was a pass. Everyone in my Platoon passed. Then, we practiced for the oral medical test. Thursday was a busy day. First thing, we ran the final PFT. I did 27 pullups, but I was told only 24 counted. Then, I ran the 3 miles in 17:45. Then I did 117 crunches in 2 minutes. Praise the Lord! A 300 PFT! I was the only recruit in MIKE Co. to get a 300 PFT on the final PFT. Anyway, I might get iron man as long as a recruit who was on light duty and got a 300 on the series PFT does not get it. Anyway I praise the Lord for His help and strength. We had the oral test in the afternoon, but before that I had to go to medical for a shot that I had to get because I have never had chicken pox. It was given in the thigh and this was the first of two. So I passed the oral prac. with 100%.

Thank you for all your letters and pictures. I enjoy see what you have been doing. Also put a thank you to all the people who have been sending me letters. I love getting up to 19 letters a mail call. It is still hard to find time to read my Bible, but I have had opportunity to witness to 3 or 4 recruits when they ask why I am so different.

This is probably my last letter or 2nd to the last. Please don't send me any more letters after next Wed. The Crucible--here I come. You know my schedule as well as I do. I know it is supposed to rain the next 3 days. So, we will have a muddy, wet Crucible. I don't care--it will make it all the more fun.:)

Christ's soldier,
David

Pic of David

Thought you all would like to see this picture of David pulled out of a group shot of his platoon.

David's Jan. 13,2008 letter

Dear Family, Jan. 13, 2008
Boy, do I have a lot to write to you all about. First of all last Friday, we had the 2nd clothing fit. Then, everything began happening. It all goes back to a few days ago when we had a few fights. E. got punched and then J. got punched for no reason. J. was punched in the jaw and the Sr. D.I. tried to cover up the fighting. Then, it was found out that J.'s jaw was broken. He called home from the hospital and his mom got the Sr.D.I. in trouble for lying. So, D.I. Sgt. J and D.I. K. were UCMJ and relieved from being D.I. So, three weeks from graduation we got a new Sr. D.I.-Lewis and a new kill hat, Kaaiwi. Now we have to learn to drill with new D.I.s 3 days before final drill. It is going to be a miracle if we do well on final drill, but I believe in miracles. So over this all 3 recruits were dropped for fighting. Anyway that is the excitement around here.

Last week was PT week. Monday, I was gear guard. then, Tuesday we did the circuit course and Wednesday we did a tough combat course which was martial arts and body drags.

This week also I was I.T. about 3-4 times and had probably the toughest I.T. session ever just before the D.I. left. Thursday we ran 1/2 mile 6 times and those were sprints! Then, we did max. pull ups, ,push ups and crunches. That was probably the toughest P.T. I have done. I found out this week that I am going to be made Meritorious PFC because I guess I have the highest PFT score in the series. Continue to pray that i do well on my final PFT so the Sr. D.I. is not sorry he gave me rise in rank. My rank mate also was one of the few Meritorious PFC because he was the Platoon high shooter.

You can continue to pray for my rack mate Hill and also our guide Espinoza. He was just appointed series honor man so he is pretty happy, but he has a lot of stress. Thank you for all the letters! I love hearing from everyone. Thank you Smiths! You have really been great in sending me all the letters. It helps me feel like a human being here.
Nineteen more days!

Christ's soldier,
David Pillman
Col. 3:8-10

David's Jan. 6 letter

Dear Family,
Sorry for my poor communication. We are limited in our free time so I only really have time to write on Sunday. Anyway, last week was team week. We got measured for our suits and fancy clothing. That was ALL day Wednesday. Thursday, I went to dental and had my first cavity filled in. :( That is what happens when you don't have time to brush teeth for 2 months. Actually, for the last two months, I have been brushing my teeth every night. The rest of Thursday, I cleaned house and was given I.T. two times for no reason and then tore apart the whole house.
Fri. I had a meeting in the morning and was disqualified from Presidential Security for being home schooled, but I am appealing that. Then I went and worked in the Armory for the rest of the day. Talk about a lot of weapons: around 3,300 M16A2, 400 shot guns, 40+ grenade launchers M203, 200+ shot guns and probably around 100 pistols. 9mm Beretta M92.* So that was fun. I missed class, but it was all on rape and homosexuality.
Saturday, I got to call home! Also we had class in the morning on sexual responsibility and military social services. It poured rain all day. Next we had a class on alcohol abuse and drug use from our D.I. Finally we did our initial PFT. I did 22 pull ups, 116 crunches and ran a 18:20 three mile. So I scored a 298--two points away from perfect. :( Praise the Lord for strength. It was the best PFT score in our series, but I need to get under 18 min. on the final PFT. Finally, we did a lot of drill and hit the rack.
On fire watch I was in the duty hut calculating PFT scores. Church today was pretty lame. The sermon was a message on the wise-men. Basically a history lesson.
Continue to pray for our Platoon. Pray that I can still get Presidential Security.
Christ's soldier,
David

P.S. My favorite thing last week was a team obstacle course which ended with climbing a rope in full gear.

*Probably these are Beretta M9's not M92's, as the military issue is the Beretta M9.

David"s Dec. 25-Jan.1/2008 letter

25 Dec. 2007
Dear Family,
Christmas Day! Happy Birthday Jesus! Yesterday, we did 4 prac. tests, did a lot of drill and played "games". Then, finally in the evening, we had a Christmas Eve service and sang Christmas Carols and had two messages in two hours. My favorite message was relating how our being in a tough place is a good place for Christmas. Christ was born in a tough place to save people in a tough world. It really hit home here how Christ came in a tough place. We had chow which was: 2 slices of wheat bread,1 bagel, cream cheese & jelly, peanut butter, eggs, bacon, scalloped potatoes, 2 waffles, oatmeal with syrup, an orange, raisin bread, cantaloupe, and yogurt. Then a glass of milk and a glass of juice. That is my normal breakfast. At least I am not starving! :) And I forgot coffee cake.
When we got back to the house, we cleaned for 1/2 hour. Then, I celebrated Christmas by opening presents--no it was 78 MREs.Meals Ready to Eat We took all the extra stuff out of the MREs so they could fit into our packs for field week. It took close to 1 1/2 hours to do that. Then we added two sheets and a blanket and piled all our stuff on the quarter deck. Then, we sorted it out and went to Church at 0930. It is amazing how much you can get done when you get up early. Now we are on free time till 1130 and Tony, his rack mate and I made a chess set--hope we don't get into trouble for it.
Yesterday I was on the quarter deck for eating a candy cane. We were given them in the chow hall and I was not told what to do with it, so I ate it.
Now for lunch, we had a special meal. Dinner rolls, bread, turkey, beef roast, baked potatoes, canned corn, chicken noodle soup, dressing, gravy, mixed nuts, shrimp, apple pie, deviled eggs, a big salad, oranges, 2 big slices of water melon, and a glass of chocolate milk and apple juice.
Dec. 30,2007
Field week is done. It was fun sleeping under the stars, but fire watch was very cold.
Jan. 1, 2008
I got to send this letter. I have been carrying it in my pocket for the last week.
(It looks like it too!) My addition.
Please pray for my rack mate Hill. He does not believe in absolutes and is a professing non-Christian.

Christ's soldier,
David Phil 4:13

David's phone call

Today, Sat. Jan.5, 2008 we received a 15 min. phone call from David. He was slightly hoarse from all of the yelling he has to do, but otherwise in good spirits. He is finished at the shooting range and is back at the original camp. Paul and Josie (Mom and Dad) were the only ones home for the call. We were able to pray together. David had a couple of prayer requests:

1)Pray for salvation of his rack mate Hill and for Elim a missionary kid who needs the Lord.

2)Pray for his buddy Tony Ward who has times of homesickness.

3) Today, David is having another PFT test. Pray he can do his very best and even make the 300 mark!
Thanks for your prayers and support for David.

David's Dec. 11 letter

We received the following letter on Jan. 2, 2008. It was written Dec. 11-16, 2007 so this letter was actually written before the Dec. 23 letter previously received.

Dear Family,
Well, we are up North. It is cold here in the morning... like 45F. Since we do not have coats we can wear we freeze at "snapping in". All it is, is aiming at a barrel and practicing dry firing in different shooting positions. So we have had 2 days. All we have learned is the prone position and how to sight in our M16 H2 rifles.
Today, we had a 3 mile hump with about 30 lb. packs. Well, got to go to church Bible study.

16 Dec. 2007--Sunday!

I have been really busy. All day we would practice shooting positions and shooting techniques. Wednesday, we went to the range and shot at 30 yards to sight in our rifles. I failed but my sights were so far off so that is why. Every evening, we play stupid mind games and rip off tags that we have sewn onto our bags. So I am getting quite good at sewing little X's to connect tags to bags. Meals up here are probably better than down south. Also, everything is dirtier. We are cleaning constantly in free time. We have been preparing for field week. (like practicing setting up our 2 person tents. Everything about shooting is leading up to next week. This week, we shoot every day and we practice till our shooting test next Friday. In the test, everything is done without resting the rifle on anything.
(Then David includes a fairly detailed chart of the test and diagrams of several targets.)
Each score is with a max if 5 points, so a max. of 25. 220+ is expert. 210+ is sharp shooter. 190+ is marksman. 189 and below is a fail.
So now you know what shooting I am going to be doing. It is tough. So you can pray I pass. I would like to shoot expert, but we will have to see how well I shoot. If I fail, I am dropped back a week and I will give you a phone call.
Now we do not receive mail as much here, but it is exciting when we get some. Let me tell you what happened last night:
All Platoons in MIKE Company marched to the chapel. Then, we went into it and had a contemporary praise service. All of MIKE Company! It was led by Calvary Chapel of L.A. Next an older gentleman who is a marine who fought in WW II Pacific Iwo Jima, Okinawa...and then fought in Korea and was one of the frozen chosen of the Chosen Reservoir. Then a pastor spoke on Hell and the need to accept Jesus. A great Salvation message! Finally, they had an altar call and probably 80 Marines went forward. Praise, the Lord! Then, they passed out dog tags with Joshua 1:9 and "Marines for Jesus" on it. This was something everyone was "forced" to go to! Christianity is still alive in America. Anyway, I had better go. Please write back! I love getting your letters and hearing what you are up to.
I have found a little time to read my Bible, but it is still a challenge.
Christ's Soldier,
David
James 5:7-9 (the passage for the message today)
P.S. Yesterday, we did a 5-8 mile hike with 50-60 lb. packs and combat gear-up and down hills. It was fun except I had to scream out knowledge the whole time.

Send David a letter of encouragement!

Just so everyone has Davids' address readily available, and to encourage everyone to send David a letter, I thought I would repost his address. Once again, please don't send him any packages, and realize his responses may be short as he is pressed for time. If you haven't sent him a letter yet, I would encourage you to do so! If you have previously sent him letter, I would encourage you to send another. He really appreciates hearing from everyone!

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