Yesterday

Yesterday was a good day for me. For others it was not. My brother Jesse had to attend a memorial service for three of his fellow students at Otjikoto Secondary School. They were killed in a motor vehicle accident one week ago. Two of them were girls in grade 9. The other was a boy in grade 12. He was a friend to Jesse. 22 other students were fortunate enough to survive the accident, although some were seriously injured. I don't know all the details of the accident. I know the kids were in the back of a large open-bed truck. They were headed to their village, Ombili. The truck was hired by their families to bring them home for the weekend. Apparently, the back tire(s) blew and the driver lost control. The vehicle went off the road. It rolled many times throwing the children from the back. The memorial service was the fourth in Tsumeb this year to involve the death of school children.

Yesterday was a good day for me. I had good conversations, ran into people I hadn't seen in a while. My day finished with a nice dinner with Tate and Jesse at Makalani Hotel. Jesse, who was emotionally exhausted, was talking to us with his eyes closed by the end of the meal. He left early this morning for another day of mourning in Ombili.

My friend and colleague, Jacob, also had a very difficult day. He travelled up to Owamboland upon hearing news that his son was very sick. The 1 ½ year old baby remains in the hospital. It must have hit Jacob very hard when he arrived there. He sent me a message, “I don't know what to do. He's very sick.” I'm afraid his son could die, but I pray he gets better news.

Yesterday the weather was perfect, I had a good day at work. I went home to a decent book and a warm bed. I don't know how to comfort my brother or my friend. Illness and death interrupt life all to often here. And every time it does I just feel like an outsider trying to understand.

I have a problem with the phrase, "Things always happen for a reason." I disagree. I think sometimes things just happen. I don't know that Pastor Roger agrees with me, but I'm going to quote him anyway. "Sometimes evil just breaks in." I think sometimes, it's not part of God's plan.