Greetings,

 After much trial and error I have officially and totally completed my 500+ page textbook of high school PHYSICS!  I am now very close to graduating in May, and yes, I plan on doing the home school graduation thingy at Harding.

 In the morning Dad and I set out for another trip to Guatemala. We plan on going to a new place and doing a short clinic for the people there. Hopefully this will open up doors for future work. Prayers would be appreciated. For more info go to http://jimandshelley.org  . This is a website of a couple that lives there, and we'll be working with them.

 On a different note, here's some quotes from Winston Churchill during World War II;

"We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."

"Victory at all costs, Victory in spite of all the terror, Victory however long and hard the road may be."

 I think America needs a Churchill today. People don't seem to realize that we are in a war, and that we must have victory. All some people think (like Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama) is that we need to pull out before the job is done. In other words we need to except defeat. Whatever happened to the mentality of getting the job done, then coming home as victors? So I say we need a Churchill to inspire people to get the victory. Anyway tell me what you think...

 Semper Fi,

 Joseph

 Howdy,

 Here's some Bible verses I've been thinking on lately.

Judges 3:31

"After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath who struck down six hundred Philistines with on oxgoad. He too saved Israel."

1 John 2:14b

"I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one."

 Semper Fi,

 Joseph

 Howdy,

 I've decided to post! In September/October I staffed Challenge Basic and Extreme in Auburn AL. I don't feel like going into detail, so I just send you here http://web.mac.com/bryancstewart/iWeb/TPC-07/TPC.html As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

 Right after I got back from staffing I worked for Bro. Roger Webb. I've now built cotton modules three years running.

 I took the below Rules of Combat from Johnson Hardy with permission. He had them compiled on his blog http://proverbs2029.blogspot.com/   I think they are right down funny, so I hope you enjoy.

 Semper Fi!, Joseph

Murphy’s Rules of Combat
(a.k.a. Combat For Dummies)

1. “If the enemy is in range, so are you.” --Infantry Journal

2. Incoming fire has the right of way.

3. Don't look conspicuous: it draws fire (see 11., below).

4. The easy way is always mined.

5. “Try to look unimportant; the enemy may be low on ammo” --Infantry Journal

6. Professionals are predictable - it's the amateurs that are dangerous.

7. The enemy invariably attacks on one of two occasions:
a. When you're ready for them.
b. When you're not ready for them.
Or
a. when they're ready
b. when you're not.

8. Teamwork is essential - it gives the enemy someone else to shoot at.

9. If you can't remember, the claymore is pointed toward from you.

10. If your attack appears to be going really well for once, it’s an ambush.

11. "Don't draw fire; it irritates the people around you." --Infantry Journal

12. The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire.

13. “When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend.” --U.S. Marine Corps

14. If it's stupid but works, it ain’t stupid.

15. When in doubt, empty the magazine.

16. Never share a fox hole with anyone braver than yourself.

17. Anything you do can get you shot. Including, doing nothing.

18. Make it too tough for the enemy to get in, and you can't get out.

19. Mines are equal opportunity weapons.

20. A Purple Heart just proves that were you smart enough to think of a plan, dumb enough to try it, and lucky enough to survive.

21. Don't ever be the first, don't ever be the last and NEVER, EVER volunteer to do anything.

22. The quartermaster has only two sizes: too large and too small.

23. “Five second fuses [are guaranteed to] last three seconds.” --Infantry Journal

24. You are not Superman (Marines and fighter pilots take note).

25. A sucking chest wound is Nature's way of telling you to slow down.

26. If at first you don't succeed, call in an airstrike.

27. If you are forward of your position, your artillery will fall short.

28. Never forget that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.

29. The enemy diversion you're ignoring is their main attack.

30. No OPLAN ever survives initial contact.

31. There is no such thing as a perfect plan.

32. There is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole.

33. A retreating enemy is probably just falling back and regrouping

34. Friendly fire - ain’t.

35. Recoilless rifles - aren't.

36. Suppressive fires - won't.

37. Protective fire - don't.

38. Perfect plans - aren't.

39. The important things are always simple.

40. The simple things are always hard.

41. If you're short of everything except the enemy, you're in combat.

42. No combat-ready unit has ever passed inspection.

43. No inspection-ready unit has ever passed combat.

44. Radios will fail as soon as you need fire support.

45. When both sides are convinced that they are about to lose ... they are both right.

46. All weather close support doesn't work in bad weather.

47. The bursting radius of a grenade is always one foot greater than your jumping range.

48. The only terrain that is truly controlled is the terrain upon which you are standing.

49. The law of the bayonet says the man with the bullet wins.

50. The best tank killer is another tank. Therefore tanks are always fighting each other ...& have no time to help the infantry.

51. Precision bombing is normally accurate to within +/- one mile (...or so).

52. “Cluster bombing from B-52s is very, very accurate. The bombs are guaranteed to always hit the ground.” --USAF Ammo Troop

53. The side with the fanciest uniforms loses.

54. Armored vehicles are bullet magnets; a moving foxhole that attracts attention.

55. No plan survives the first few seconds of combat.

56. Expending material in combat is easier than filling out Graves Registration forms -- Ammo is cheap; your life isn't.

57. Just because you can't see the enemy; don't for a minute believe they can't see you.

58. When you have secured an area, don't forget to tell the enemy.

59. "Aim towards the enemy." --Instruction printed on U.S. Rocket Launcher

60. "A slipping gear could let your M-203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what's left of your unit." --Army's magazine of prevention maintenance

61. "It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just bombed." --U.S. Air Force manual

62. "Tracers work both ways." --U.S. Army Ordnance

63. "Any ship can be a minesweeper....once." --Anon

64. "Never tell the platoon sergeant you have nothing to do." --Unknown Marine Recruit

65. "If you see a bomb technician running, try to keep up with him." --USAF Ammo Troop

This thing all things devours:

Birds, beast, trees, flowers;

Gnaws iron, bites steel;

Grinds hard stones to meal;

Slays king, ruins town,

And beats high mountain down.

 What is this thing?

Neighbors

 Howdy,

 Saturday I cut our hay again. While I was tedding it (that's when you use a tedder rake to spread out the hay so it will dry better) the rake broke. Ya, it's not a good sign when your driving along and you look behind you to see the rake turning over with pieces flying every where. I turned it off as soon as I could, but the damage was done. So there I was with a fifteen acre field of hay needing tedding. Sunday morning we found out that one of our neighbors  (I say "neighbor, but I think he lives 10 or 15 miles away) was going to let us borrow his rake. After church we thought he was going to call us to come pick it up, but what do you know he brings it himself! Not only did he bring it but he raked the whole field for us! That is what I call being a true neighbor. So once again God helps me out through some good people. If I had a choice I wouldn't live any where else in the world because of the good people here.

 Let me add a side note here: DO NOT HIDE ON TOP OF CABINETS, THEY FALL DOWN WHEN YOU DO. A week or so ago the electricity went out, so we began playing hide and seek in the house. I found a great hiding spot on the very top of a 6.5 ft. cabinet. I struggled up (it was a titer fit than I had thought.) It held me for about 4 seconds then everything started giving way. It's not a good feeling to have everything under you start falling down, trust me. I began wondering how the head lines in the paper would read, "Young man dies after falling through cabinet while playing hide and seek." But I survived. The top two shelves and everything in them was a mess though. After the lights came back on, I banged the thing back to gather, so all's well that ends well.      

 Semper Fi!, Joseph