Monday, April 12, 2010

The Nina, The Pinta and a Nephew

I have discovered that chicken pox in adulthood is nothing to sneeze at. (Hence all the Benadryl. Ha, ha). But I am slowly recovering. Meanwhile, we took our youngest son, the history buff who loves Sailing Ships, down to the Yacht Basin to tour the replicas of the Nina and the Pinta. (Some day they hope to add a Santa Maria).
 Ship builders in Brazil built the replicas with authentic hand tools. The Nina is built to size; the Pinta is a bit bigger and can be rented as a party boat. As long as you and your guests are not prone to seasickness. Like I appear to be. I could stand on the deck of the Pinta, but when I climbed aboard the smaller Nina with the slanting deck, gently rocking in the gentle surf, and looked up through the swaying sails - well, I had to get off, so I wouldn't embarrass myself. My husband and I enjoyed the tour. Our son is considering signing on as crew!

Even though I was up until 5:00 a.m., I was still able to go to church on Resurrection Day! I was forced to wear pants, which was very weird, but I was happy to be able to worship that day, of all days. In the afternoon, one of my sons brought me an Easter Lily plant. It is a beautiful plant and a thoughtful gift, which I really appreciated.
On Wednesday evening, we got a call that our 21 year old nephew had been taken to the hospital and was about to go in to surgery. He was delivering food for a Chinese restaurant and the people he delivered to,  pistol whipped him, robbed him of everything, put him in a closet and shot him, then left him there. The surgery was to remove the bullet and to put a plate in his arm, which was so shattered they couldn't piece it together again. They have not caught the perpetrators yet. My nephew is in a lot of pain. But he is alive, and for that we are rejoicing.

Two of my son's missonary friends died within a few days of each other recently. One man of heart problems; he leaves a wife and four year old daughter. A young lady, young and vibrant and seemingly in perfect health, died of eclampsia after delivering her 4th child prematurely. She leaves a husband and 5 year old twins, a 2 1/2 year old and the newborn. It has not been easy. Life is precious and precarious; Praise be to God that because of the Resurrection of His Precious Son, Jesus, we never have to grieve as those who have no hope. As He says in His Word, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints," (Psalms 116:15) and "For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21). These are good verses to remember.

4 comments:

Zuzana said...

What an interesting post, so much information!
First of all, I love sailing ships and find thee ones here intriguing! I too would sign on as a crew!
Sorry about your nephew, that is truly awful. And sorry to hear about the friends of your son...
I am happy you are recovering from your illness, glad to see you back here.
xo

Susan said...

I'm glad you're on the mend! Praying that a full recovery soon awaits. I also can relate to feeling weird wearing pants to church ... hmmmm ... I'll have to do a Childhood Memories Friday post on that very topic :)
The pilgrim ships visit sounds wonderful!
I am praying for your nephew and the others - so much sorrow in this world!

Cherdecor said...

I can only imagine how awful it would be to have chicken pox as an adult. I am glad that you are recovering.

We saw those ships when they came into the Baltimore Harbor. We were very excited to see them and that was many years ago.

How absolutely terrible about your nephew! Thank the Lord they didn't kill him. I do hope they catch those rascals. What a horrible thing to happen!

I am sorry to hear about the deaths of the other people. This week I have been reading verses from the Bible trying to gain some understanding why things happen like that to good people. Just tonight I was going through the sermon box of Alan's and reading his sermons of years gone by on this topic. I guess I will never understand, but cling to promises for these people. I feel so sorry for them.

nikkipolani said...

Tracie, I'm glad you are recovering and able to attend Easter service. I was shocked to hear about your nephew and will pray that he heals from his injuries. Incredible.

You're so right that we can do little but to cling to God's promises in times of "senseless" loss.

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