Fred & Janet Young

Dear family, dear friends,

On Tuesday, March 22nd we were among a mass of people checking in at the Brussels Airport. Fred was getting ready to leave for the USA where he would lead a FormaSport college visitation tour for Belgian basketball players. They were due to join him in Denver on Thursday.
The bomb exploded 10 to 15 feet from us. We were out for maybe 4 or 5 minutes. Then we came to and saw next to us those who lay dead. We both got up and walked out. When we arrived on the sidewalk, we were able to assist several of the injured that were bravely carried there by the first wave of survivors. Peace and calm came over us so we were able to hold in our arms, talk to and pray for the gravely wounded people laying there on the sidewalk. Today our heart aches for them and the family of those who were so senselessly killed.
In the midst of chaos, we think it was helpful to us to understand a bit the unthinkable. We are familiar with the first pages of the Bible. They paint a picture of the predicament our world is in: Humans tend to turn away from God’s goodness and sometimes do terrible things. We humans so easily follow the evil one. His ways are evil and he rules in this world. He does it daily in small ways and at times in horrific ways. Tuesday, in Brussels, we were reminded of this truth.
However, we are convinced that God is Love, Peace, and the Light in a dark world. He invites people to follow His ways instead. His kingdom is not political, nor religious. It grows in people’s hearts as they turn to him for his wisdom, forgiveness and for his help. More than ever before, we both want to keep learning from Jesus Christ how to be peaceful, loving and lights in our marriage, in our family, wherever we are, whatever we do…
Right now we are ok but we do feel tired and fragile. We’ve been told to expect signs of stress and anxiety. So, in the coming days we’ll need to hold on to the words Jesus’ speaks to anyone who wants to receive his help and learn from him:

“Peace I leave with you;
my peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
John 14:27

It feels so good to receive every single text message, every single voice mail and email. We welcome them all. They warm our heart and they soothe our soul. We are not able to respond, as we seem to spend most of our time taking care of our (minor) wounds – burns, shrapnel, cuts and hearing loss. Really, we cannot begin to explain how emotionally helpful to us it is to hear from each one of you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank for your concern. Thank you for your love. Thank you for caring. We are fortunate to know each one of you.

Warm greetings from us to you,
Fred & Janet

Photo credit FreeImages.com/Jenny So