WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

Illustration by RoyAnn Carey
from O Drom coloring book

One never knows, really, what is going to happen next. One minute my daughter and I were biking back from the store. The next moment, I was lying on the pavement with a little boy leaning over me, asking if I was okay. I was not. He and his bike seemed unscathed by the collision.  I ended up with a hairline fracture in my right arm. 

I’ve been resting a lot more than usual and asking other family members to put the toothpaste on my toothbrush. They are happy to help.
A friend was happy to drive me to the grocery store. And once Keith got back from his research trip to Curacao, he was happy to pamper me. Its been an excellent opportunity to practice relaxing and asking for help. In God's economy, nothing is wasted, not even an unexpected fall.

Mary VanRheenen

View from Vulcanesti

There's a lot of beauty in the Roma village of Vulcanesti. Our friends there are warm and hospitable. The women love to plant flowers near their houses. Musicians and singers fill the church with original Christian song.
There's also the usual muck and mud of made by human choices and global imperfection.  Last Saturday, a father of four was unloading supplies for his eldest daughter's wedding. A carload of young men drove up, shots were fired, the father died. The dead man's family wanted to take revenge. The local authorities did not appear to be bringing justice.The pastor asked for prayer.

Instead of picking up guns themselves, the people of Vulcanesti organized a protest. Yesterday over 100 people marched through the streets of the capital city to the general prosecutor's office. Officials there met with community leaders for over two hours.
Let us continue to pray. Amazing things happen when people do.

(Second photo from local news, Chanel 2, print and video report).