Sep 26, 2013

A beautiful story to read in the morning with your coffee...

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same
hospital room.

One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an
hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from
his lungs....


His bed was next to the room's only window.

The other man had to spend all his time flat on
his back.

The men talked for hours on end.

They spoke of their wives and families, their
homes, their jobs, their involvement in the
military service, where they had been on
vacation..

Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the
window could sit up, he would pass the time by
describing to his roommate all the things he could
see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those
one hour periods where his world would be
broadened and enlivened by all the activity and
colour of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake.
Ducks and swans played on the water while
children sailed their model boats. Young lovers
walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every colour
and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen
in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in
exquisite details, the man on the other side of
the room would close his eyes and imagine this
picturesque scene.
 
One warm afternoon, the man by the window
described a parade passing by.

Although the other man could not hear the band -
he could see it in his mind's eye as the
gentleman by the window portrayed it with
descriptive words.

Days, weeks and months passed.
One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring
water for their baths only to find the lifeless body
of the man by the window, who had died
peacefully in his sleep.

She was saddened and called the hospital
attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man
asked if he could be moved next to the window.
The nurse was happy to make the switch, and
after making sure he was comfortable, she left
him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one
elbow to take his first look at the real world
outside.
He strained to slowly turn to look out the window
besides the bed.

It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have
compelled his deceased roommate who had
described such wonderful things outside this
window.

The nurse responded that the man was blind and
could not even see the wall.

She said, 'Perhaps he just wanted to encourage
you.'

Epilogue:
There is tremendous happiness in making others
happy, despite our own situations.
Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness
when shared, is doubled.
If you want to feel rich, just count all the things
you have that money can't buy.
'Today is a gift, that is why it is called The
Present .' 

In Lebanon, Syrian Refugees Put Political Differences Aside

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/09/refugees-syria-lebanon-political-truce.html

Keep praying for our Bishops...new evidence indicates that they are still alive

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/09/syria-bishops-kidnapped-alive-turkey-lebanon.html#ixzz2g1pDMKg6

Sep 24, 2013

Life in Yerevan is turning into Fall.  The past few days have been chilly but sunny.  My favorite weather.  Whenever I feel that kind of air I feel that I am in a familiar place.  I enjoy my long walks every day after work.  I started two new groups of classes last week.  One group of new students in the conversational English class.  It is a nice group and I am excited about it.  A couple of my new relatives have joined this class and a couple of my colleagues as well so that atmosphere is very close and friendly which will lead to good discussions!  The other group is made up of all my old students who wanted to continue to meet and practice English.  We made an English film club.  One week we will meet to watch a film and the next week discuss it.  Last week, for our first class, we watched "The Blind Side".  The students really liked it and I look forward to hearing their reflections this week.  As I learn more about being a good teacher, I enjoy it more.  It is a great blessing. Below you can see a photo with some of the members of my last group.  We went out to dinner on our last night of class.  I think that will become a tradition:)