The strength of camels

As a young boy hearing the Nativity story, I was most interested in the Magi. Intelligent, worldly, riding on camels, and bearing gifts fit for royalty - I wondered what it would have been like to ride in their caravan on the way to Jesus. Living in the bright suburbs of Los Angeles, I was perplexed by the idea they followed a single, bright star to the manger.

It wasn't until I joined the Army that I understood why it all made sense.

David Kelso and a camel friend 

My first deployment was for 15 months in Iraq in 2007-2008. As part of our acclimatization, we stopped in Kuwait for a few weeks. It was there that I met my first camels.  Large and gangly animals, I was fascinated by the fact they seemed to thrive in conditions I certainly felt were oppressive. Watching herds of camels roam through the desert, I could see why the Magi would choose these animals to carry them an unknown distance to meet the child they sought, for they would not falter.

As part of the "surge" sent to secure Iraq, I found myself in the Fertile Crescent, along the banks of the Tigris River near Baghdad. My unit was sent out into the villages to develop relationships with the locals and root out the insurgency. To accomplish this, we set up small bases among the people, living out of our trucks and tanks. Far from the bright lights of America, and without a roof over our heads, the stars shone bright and clear for miles around. The villages we worked in were built of mud brick, the locals using donkeys and camels for transport. It felt as if I had traveled back in time.

Those months were quite stressful, with gunfire and explosions more common than peace and quiet. However, the evenings brought calm. As Advent approached, I found myself once again wondering what it would have been like to be with the Magi. Although I wasn't near Bethlehem, perhaps they traveled this way, following that brightest of stars, winding through villages of mud brick on a camel. For me, during those moments of calm under the bright light of the stars, I felt the presence of God. 

I may not ride a camel, have a gift fit for royalty, or follow a singular star, but I, too, desire greatly to know Jesus. 

David Kelso is an Army captain stationed at the Rock Island district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

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