The first sign to greet us as we arrived to Bagram air base in 2004

Disabled tank from the Soviet War in Afghanistan

Remnants of a MiG surrounded by mines, Bagram

Portrait of an elderly man sitting on an old tank; Bagram

Carpenter hard at work, Bagram

Close up of a vendor at the Bagram Bazaar

Two Afghan men beat the heat by sharing a watermelon beneath their souvenir stand; Bagram Bazaar

Profile of a carpet seller; Bagram Bazaar

Bagram air base is a little Americana, and Becky was happy to escape out to Kabul after one month here

Robby behind the wheel on the Bagram-Kabul highway

A camel train; Bagram

View of the highway linking Bagram and Kabul

Afghan checkpoint with revered Massoud carpet

Remnants of the Afghan-Russian War

A man astride his donkey; Kabul

Friendly Afghans waving as they pass us in a speeding taxi

Donkey transport; outskirts of Kabul

Hitching a ride

Transporting wood; Kabul

Pile on up! Plenty of room for more

"Hello, baksheesh please!" (it is hard for an Afghan woman without a husband, brother, or son to survive on her own)

Fresh meat for sale, downtown Kabul

Little girl trailing her dad, Kabul

A proud grandfather keeps a watchful eye on his granddaughter; Kabul

Kabul street scene

View of houses built into the mountainside; Kabul

A boy playing ball runs alongside our vehicle; Kabul

A boy behind his donkey, Kabul Hillside

A land mine victim begs for alms in the center of Kabul

A police truck patrols downtown Kabul

Massoud Circle in Kabul

Kabul traffic circle

The ISAF security force; Kabul

Afghans pose beside their jingle truck

Becky promised to print a photo out for this friendly Afghan boy after he posed for a photo; Kabul bazaar

Portrait of a fur jacket vendor; Kabul bazaar

A trio of carpet vendors; Kabul bazaar

Becky helps hold up a silk carpet while one of her friends debates the purchase; Kabul weekly bazaar

A child vendor at Kabul's weekly bazaar

Becky beside the CFC-A signpost; Camp Eggers

Becky organizing donations at the Allahuddin Orphanage

The boys jostle amongst themselves to get situated in the mandatory line formation at the Allahuddin Orphanage

Young boys wait in line patiently to receive brand new jackets and shoes at the Tahi Maskan Orphanage

Portrait of an Afghan boy at the Tahi Maskan Orphanage (notice the painting of a crying girl behind him, soothed by someone clothed in Afghan flag colors)

A boy closely guards a prize possession; Tahi Maskan Orphanage

A boy shows off his soccer skills; Tahi Maskan Orphanage

Boys flashing the “thumbs up” sign; Tahi Maskan Orphanage

Winter descends upon Kabul

Robby in the midst of an Afghan winter

Standing in front of our van full of donations before making a trip out to a nearby refugee camp

Afghan boys enjoying themselves in the snow

Afghans piled on the back of a truck huddle to stay warm despite the bitter winter weather

Refugees lined up to receive some donations to keep warm during one of Afghanistan’s harshest winters. Sadly, the night before we arrived, 6 members of the refugee camp froze to death…that made our mission there even more important as we had hundreds of warm blankets and clothes to distribute

We were pleased to see that some of the refugee women were not covered from head to toe beneath the sky blue burqas

Caught red handed! Robby picks up this mischievous youngster who kept crawling beneath the concertina wire into our "staging" area in an effort to get first dibs at the donations

A village elder directs traffic at the refugee camp distribution

This young woman’s eyes mesmerized us. They were a gorgeous hue of green; Kabul refugee camp

Becky directs an Afghan woman towards the next distribution station

These children waited patiently for their turn at receiving donations; refugee camp on the outskirts of Kabul

A Russian MiG on display at the Kabul International Airport

Qargha Lake, a popular retreat for Kabul's upper class

These brick kilns look really cool from up above

Many of the Afghan houses out in the country look like they are built out of mud, and walls are erected to separate an owner’s property from his neighbors

A magnificent aerial view of Kabul’s outskirts

Becky and some friends pose in front of a Russian helicopter at Kabul airport

Vendors setting up their gear for the weekly bazaar; Kabul

A handsome boy with green eyes smiles for a photo

Becky's favorite scarf seller; Kabul

A vendor with the most amazing blue eyes showing off his wares for sale; Kabul bazaar

Becky strikes a silly pose on our new silk carpet (bought at a Kabul bazaar)

Guard; Kabul Safe House

Dinner at the Iranian restaurant in Kabul

Robby, Dave, Rick & Becky having some tea in the guards' shack; Kabul

A busy Kabul street scene near the butchers’ section

View of the King's Palace (Darulaman); Kabul

Becky at the Allahuddin Orphanage getting the boys organized to receive donations of toys and kites

Girls lined up to receive stuffed toys; Allahuddin Orphanage

Becky distributing blankets to a line of young women at the Allahuddin Orphanage

Happy boys are wrapped up in their fleece scarves and blankets; Allahuddin Orphanage

We nicknamed this heartbreaker “Timmy”. He is such a precocious little kid that all of us wanted to adopt. Sadly, the Afghan government will not allow non-Muslims to adopt Afghan children

Notice the colorful fleece blankets on their beds? These boys were super well behaved after they received donations from a church group back home; Allahuddin Orphanage

Another angle of the boys and their coveted fleece blankets to keep them warm through the winter

Painting on the stairs of Allahuddin Orphanage

The girls of Allahuddin Orphanage are a bit more reserved, but they enjoyed a visit from the female members of our group

Becky hanging out with several young boys at the Allahuddin Orphanage

Boys eating lunch at Allahuddin Orphanage

A girl pumps water the old fashioned way at the Allahuddin Orphanage

Becky with some boys from Allahuddin Orphanage

Group photo on our visit to Allahuddin Orphanage; Kabul

A mosque undergoing renovations; Kabul

Kabul traffic circle

Robby with one of his favorite security guards; Kabul

Robby and an Afghan boy arm wrestle much to the merriment of the boys at the Tahi Maskan Orphanage

Robby poses with Tahi Maskan Orphanage boys

Becky calms the boys down enough to take a group photo just before the soccer game commences

The boys cling to Robby during a visit to the Tahi Maskan Orphanage

Santa visits Becky to find out if she's been naughty or nice; Kabul

LTG Barno addressing military members at Camp Eggers; Kabul

The girl on the left will not be allowed to remain uncovered with a head scarf for much longer; Paghman Village

These Paghman village boys proudly wear their donated clothes

The male villagers of Paghman were all gathered beneath this blue tarp in anticipation of our arrival. The torrential rain did not keep any of them away! Notice there are no womenfolk; they were elsewhere under their blue burqas watching us from a distance

The children of Paghman village were all huddled around this stove pipe in an effort to stay warm. Little do they realize the dangers of the stove pipe; we saw far too many burns at the hospital ward that makes us really sad that the populace isn't more educated on the dangers of heat and fire

This boy’s smile absolutely made our day. He was dripping wet from head to toe, but staying warm beneath a donated winter jacket

The girls are beautiful and shy at Paghman village

Becky finds out the boys aren’t shy at all. They have a million questions to ask her, and are all constantly pulling her in a bunch of different directions

An entourage of burqa clad women stick together as they make their way through Paghman village

The children of Paghman village are super excited to receive donated boxes of toys and clothing

Becky and some friends climb on a decrepit Russian tank nearby Paghman village. The surrounding scenery is absolutely stunning and a visit to beautiful Paghman is a must in the springtime!

Becky and several Paghman village boys pose beside an ancient archway

A shepherd minding his herd near Paghman

Robby is an instant hit with these two brothers who do not want to let him out of their sight; women's shelter in Kabul

Robby bonding with a boy at the women's shelter; Kabul

The rugged terrain of Afghanistan is such a sight to behold from helicopter...we loved every helo ride we could get

One of Bamiyan’s many cave like complexes

The remnants of a Buddha painting in one of Bamiyan’s many caves. Note how the Taliban destroyed the Buddha’s face. The Taliban’s many atrocities were on full display here at Bamiyan

Two laborers engrossed in their work; Bamiyan

The counter-narcotics team & Robby posing in front of the massive Buddha niche in Bamiyan

Afghanistan’s countryside can be poetically beautiful at times

Robby befriended almost every single guard on base, earning the term of endearment "Robby Jan"

Becky with the Afghan security force; Camp Eggers

It’s a sad goodbye as we bid farewell to our trusty Afghan guards; Kabul

Becky smiles broadly on a helo ride from Kabul to Bagram

Sunset over signal hill; Kabul

Steve & Becky beside a snowman built by the Germans; ISAF Headquarters

Becky & Angelo ring in the New Years (2012); ISAF Headquarters

Snow accumulates quickly during Kabul winters. The pathway had just been cleared and is already covered in snow mere minutes later

An early winter morning view of ISAF Headquarters

Becky beside Niazi's upside-down snowman; ISAF Headquarters

Robby sitting on a Russian tank recently discovered buried on ISAF Headquarters

Mongolian soldiers celebrating a Nadaam Festival at New Kabul Compound; July 2015

A British soldier attempts to wrestle a Mongolian soldier

Becky strikes a pose next to Mongolian soldiers celebrating Nadaam