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CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait— “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below: Words without thoughts never to heaven go,” said the Hon. Matthew H. Tueller, U.S. ambassador to Kuwait, repeating the words of the King Claudius from the William Shakespeare play “Hamlet.”
“I must ask myself before I pray, ‘have I given sufficient thought to whatever my intent is?” said Tueller. “As I pray am I using language that arises with honesty from the depths of my heart rather than falling back in vain repetition?”
It was with that resolve that service members and civilians gathered for a National Prayer Breakfast held at the Camp Arifjan Training Activity Center on Feb. 21, and to unify their voices in prayer.
“It feels like home being around people who want to worship together,” said Spc. Sarah E. Blackburn, unit supply specialist for North Carolina National Guard's 882nd Engineer Company. “It reminds us that we are not alone and that we all carry the same burdens.”
The breakfast was an opportunity to bring a little piece of the U.S. to Kuwait by honoring the U.S. National Prayer Breakfast, which was celebrated this year on Feb. 7.
“You feel like you are separated from your heart when you are not home, because home is where the heart is,” said Blackburn.
The attendance of the ambassador, as the U.S. representative to Kuwait, gave the event an “at-home” atmosphere.
“I’m really proud that the ambassador (took his) time (to) come here with us and pray,” Spc. Yajaira Navarronieves, chaplain assistant for the 840th Transportation Battalion. “I feel really inspired to go to work every day and help this nation.”
The event drew in a diverse crowd of service members from nearly every branch and even included a few Canadian counterparts.
“Every day should be a prayer day, but this makes it official and gathers more people,” said Blackburn. “No matter where they are from or what their faith is, this is a community of people who believe in something bigger. It really helps to restore hope and that’s a very good thing.”
| Date Taken: | 02.21.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 02.28.2013 09:43 |
| Story ID: | 102685 |
| Location: | CAMP ARIFJAN, KW |
| Web Views: | 123 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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