Like the good father he is, and second patron of our house here since we are in fact living connected to St. Josef's Church, St. Josef celebrated his own feast by showering so many blessings on us today! And in turn, we got to celebrate his feast in wonder and joy!!
I woke up late (its a bad habit) to voices in the kitchen. To my surprise, I found Sidonia sitting with her son, Ramos, and Mathilde at the kitchen table eating some breakfast and drinking tea. It was the first time I had seen her beautiful, long, black hair cascading down her slightly hunched back...and also the first time I had ever seen her in our house! (I missed her first spontaneous visit about a month or so ago). My face lit up with joy! But hers with a joy tinged anxiety. In fact, she was here because Alina had promised her that she would help take Ramos (her son, 12 1/2 years old) to the hospital for intense pain he was experiencing in his side--pain that the hospital ended up deeming life-threatening in which case, without papers or insurance, Ramos could still be treated, thank god! So as she sat and ate breakfast and Alina and I sleepily walked into the kitchen--Alina suddenly remembered why Sidonia was in our kitchen and hurried to get prepared to leave. And Mathilde and I got to sit with Sidonia and Ramos and catch up a little. Turns out they will all be going back to Romania in April--Sidonia says that she wants to put the boys in school and they can only go to school in Romania. I can only imagine what kind of struggle that will be for Ramos who is already 12 1/2, but not much more of a struggle than the one he was having against the pain. So Alina rushed off with them to AKH--the biggest hospital in Vienna--where they spent the whole day, and where Ramos still is spending the night while Sidonia went home to take care of the other two boys. I entrust Ramos and his health to your prayers. They did a lot of tests today, so hopefully they'll know something better tomorrow!
So that surprise doesn't necessarily have a good ending.
But then we had another surprise guest. Agnes came over in the morning for adoration because she had to come to the 2. district to visit a friend anyways. After she had had her prayer time in the chapel I was heading out to the market to pick up the produce we receive every Monday from one of the produce stands.
{ Another friend of ours, Dinka, has become friends with some of the stand owners, with whom she speaks her mother-tongue of Croatian, and just two weeks ago she introduced me and Heart's Home as an organization to them and arranged it so that we could receive produce every week that they would otherwise throw out or not be able to sell. Such a blessing in itself, but today was absolutely insane! }
Agnes said she would come with me, even though I assured her that we usually only receive a little crate of things so I wouldn't need extra hands. Turns out St. Joseph had something else in mind. As we reached the market, the woman smiled and turned to the side of the building pointing to the mountain of crates--"Es gibt viel heute!" she said with a smile (There is a lot today) in her slavic accent and cool yet friendly tone. I gasped--there was more than a lot! There were 5 huge crates full of paradise for us to just take home! Lettuce, peppers, cherry tomatoes to eat for eternity, cucumbers, apples, pears, bananas, galore. It was incredible! Am I ridiculous for being so excited about this?? I must admit its not the vegetables and fruits themselves that had me grinning from ear to ear and almost flowing over with thanksgiving. It was their generosity, the generosity of Dinka, the miracles that God works in our lives, the wonder in which we are allowed to stand in everyday, the realization that we have received so much, and through that we can share so much, the realization that we didn't really have to go grocery shopping this week and how much money that would save for better things (I am the house accountant...I can't help it), the realization of how much God provides, the realization of how real Heart's Home is really becoming grounded here in Vienna and how the foundation is growing so quickly that even I cannot catch up. Just some vegetables and fruit helped me to see how much this little Heart's Home in Vienna's second district is so not mine, not in my control, not something I can provide for or help--it is His, and it always has been, and I am just a humble servant, so blessed to be able to take part, to experience God's goodness, his paternal generosity and mercy--as well as that which Christ's own step-father embodied and still does from his place in the heavens.
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