Sometimes too much information isn't a great thing for me. I can easily become a news junkie and pour over every detail of every major disaster and tragedy in the world and then not be able to sleep for days worrying about them all. I have tried to avoid getting much more than surface information regarding world news since Savannah left for Germany in October. I probably don't need to know every detail of the bomb threats and refugee challenges and terrorists attacks that are happening in Europe, at least for the next 18 months or so. But I'm a detail girl, and sometimes details creep into places I don't expect them. And then the worry and fear are usually not far behind.
On Wednesday morning, I happened to read the headlines on CNN and noticed one about a head-on train collision in Germany killing 10 people and critically injuring several others. Savannah's not currently in Germany; she's in Austria. But that train collision did happen within her mission boundaries. And she did just ride a train through the Alps last week, as she will continue to do fairly regularly throughout her entire mission. I probably didn't need to add "head-on train collisions" to the already lengthy list of possible things to worry about at 3:30 in the morning.
Not long after I read that story, though, an email came from Savannah's Mission President:
Dear Parents of an Alpine German-speaking Missionary-
There is no need to respond to this email, I just wanted to give a reassurance where you may have questions. As you may have learned from the news, early this morning (Tuesday) there was a tragic train accident in our mission in Bavaria just south east of Munich. None of our missionaries were involved in this accident and all are accounted for. Even though there are accidents from time to time, the transportation in our part of Europe is very good, safe, and dependable. I know that our missionaries are watched over and we continually remind them to be obedient, smart, and to follow the promptings of the Spirit.
We love your missionary and so much appreciate the work they are doing.
Regards, Präsident D. Brian KohlerHow grateful I was that morning for a kind and considerate Mission President who is aware of all of his missionaries, who knew that parents would be worried, and who provided quick reassurance for all of us.
With people I love spread far and wide across the country...and now across the world, it seems there is always something my head can conjure up to be worried about. I am immensely grateful this week for the blessings of technology and instant communication. I'm grateful for answers to prayer. I'm grateful for reassurance and signs of life that come quickly when I need them and in happy, unexpected ways. And I'm especially grateful for the peace that comes from being still and waiting.
"Be still and know that I am God." - Psalms 46:10
What an awesome mission president! In the 2 years our son served in Colombia (talk about reasons to worry) we had ZERO communication from either of his mission presidents. Once again, you are blessed!
ReplyDelete