Happy Mother's Day

This is wishing all mothers a blessed day. May those who are close to you make your day special.

Some of you may recall that my mother had a brain aneurism on December 26th. She had emergency surgery and has since gone through much hospital care and therapy. She has improved much and we are very thankful, but she is now in a nursing home. She first went to a nursing home in a neighbouring town, but as of yesterday, our prayers were answered. She was moved to the Rosthern Mennonite Nursing Home. She is now in her home town where Dad, her sisters and brothers, neighbours and church friends can easily visit her. She also knows many others who are resident there. There is an assisted living facility, called Pineview, attached and her sister is living there. In fact, Dad is on a short list for getting into Pineview. It seems as though Dad may be able to get a room there within the next month. In Mom and Dad's situation, this is truly the best case scenario. The wonderful thing is that they have not fought any of this, but accepted the realities of their situation. In fact, yesterday when I was speaking with my Dad, he suggested that this may be his last year of driving, and was imagining people with whom he might get rides to church. Remember that he is 90.

Just a brief word on my trip to Palestine-Israel. People have asked what the highlight of the trip was. While the whole trip was a highlight, and everything we did left a powerful impact, I have three things I would lift out. Remember, this trip was a learning tour sponsored and hosted by MCC (Mennonite Central Committee), so it was an opportunity to see the holy sites, but also to see the realities of life in that region. The first highlight was seeing the empty tomb - the place where we believe Jesus was buried and rose from the dead. Second was the incredible hospitality of the Palestinian people in the West Bank, especially in Bethlehem. Third was a very hopeful sign in the midst of tragedy, and for this I quote one of my fellow travellers, Donita Wiebe-Neufeld, who wrote this as part of her response to an article in the Calgary Herald regarding the 60th anniversary of the formation of the state of Israel (May 14th, 2008). "The most moving, and hopeful meeting we had was with the Parents Circle. www.parentscircle.org This group is made up of bereaved families supporting peace, reconciliation, and tolerance. Aisha is a Muslim woman who lost her brother to an Israeli attack. Robi is a secular Jew, who lost her son, a soldier, when he was shot by a Palestinian sniper. Together, the women speak to groups about their losses and the understanding that violence does not solve problems, but good relationships might. Unfortunately, the increasing segregation of the two peoples is making it almost impossible for them to see each other and to spread their humanizing message."