Better late than never

I am up at this late hour because I realized that if I did not stay up to work (and now blog) I would not get it done easily for the next two days.

Saturday night after the group left, Valerie and I went to an event at Unitec. We walked in, and after meeting some other people there I could definitely see why they asked how it was we came to be there. Someone studying there lives with some missionaries we know, and this was some sort of class project of sorts. For $20 we had a nice evening out in a quiet atmosphere, with very few people, and were educated at the same time...a night of coffee, wine, and chocolate. The people doing the presentations on the different areas were pros in their fields (the coffee guy the owner/big whig from Cafe Maya) It really was educational, fun, and we were fed some fancy grub as you can see. And for our $20 investment...Valerie won a door prize of a free meal at the Hotel Clarion, which I am going to go out on a limb and guess is worth more than $20 and we can enjoy the next time we can squeeze in a date night. We had wine, we had three different kinds of coffee, some pistachio/blueberry chocolate bark, and even a couple samples to take home. All in all, a very enjoyable date night.

Sunday was different in many respects. We were signed up to play at Union, but they had an additional guitar player playing with us this week. Considering it was the anniversary Sunday (we did not know it would fall on this date when we scheduled for Union) at ICCC, I skipped and went there to see Darrin preach (missionary who was here, now in Costa Rica) and enjoy the festivities. It was a good service....the congregations from San Juancito and Talanga were represented as well as many people I had not seen in a while. Afterwards there was a piñata...which was huge and not quick in bearing its treats, and several cakes, and games (sack races, egg carrying races, eating contests and piggy back carrying runs) and then came the soccer. It was fun to watch the soccer with the commentators in the background...plenty of laughs, and then to play and actualy get a goal (header) before being called and seeing someone carrying Cecilia up the stairway crying...she had fallen and bloodied her knee....all in trying to get to the fence to tell me she wanted to go home. Off we went.

But the serious injury award goes to Soren. I have been afraid before. I have been scared, but seeing Soren, and hearing the story was enough to turn my stomach, and seriously consider what I would have done if what might have been, was. This picture does not do justice to what he accomplished. You can not see the red line going up his head, nor the bump in the back, or the bruises on his chest. He admits to wanting to jump backwards from below the pulpit at Union. How he planned to accomplish that...did not seem important when I was hearing the story. Now, there is located a communion table. I have not picked it up lately, but it is heavy. He pulled that table down on top of him, and then of course as he fell not only did the table crash down, but the tile-concrete floor crashed up into the back of his head. I am afraid to see what the bruises will look like tomorrow, but needless to say....it scared Valerie so much she could not play, nor drive part of the way home. I must say that I am somewhat happy I was not there, not only for not seeing all the suffering with nothing I could do, but also that at least I do not have that slo-motion moment to play over in my head over and over again.

Our need for insurance mounts in my mind...as it turns out he did not need to go to the doctor for an MRI or cat scan, but the thought did cross our minds, and what would happen if they had said "oh, we think he needs to stay for a few days"? Actually that came later...first I could not get it out my head, "what if he had died?" It certainly seemed like a distinct possibility.