close to home

Events around the world always seem so far away - even events in our own country - until there is a sudden connection that makes it more real and hits more close to home.

The past few days have been filled with attacks in Mumbai, India. I'm sure you have heard all the details on the news each day of the hostages killed and injured. Tonight they say they have shot the last of the gunmen.

Yesterday I found the connection to bring this terrible situation closer. Growing up, I had the privelege of taking piano lessons for 12 years from a wonderful lady in OR. Her name is Celeste Varagona. Evidentally, one of her daughters, Andrea, was over in India on a business trip and was eating dinner in the Taj hotel when the attacks began. She was shot twice, once in the arm and once in the leg, and had to crawl to safety in the kitchen of the hotel. Once there, she was hiding behind a door when other hotel workers saw granades being thrown in the kitchen. They helped carry her out and somehow quickly got her in a cab. As the cab was driving away, the kitchen she had just been hiding in, blew up. She was in critical condition at a hospital in India and evidentally is doing much better tonight, thankfully.

If you think of it, please pray for Andrea while she recovers and for Celeste while she waits for Andrea to be able to return home. I know I often pray for people in situations like this, but somehow I remember to pray more when I know the personal story of someone and have a name to pray for.

Here is a link to the FoxNews phone interview with Celeste:
http://www.foxnews.com/video/index.html?playerId=videolandingpage&streamingFormat=FLASH&referralObject=3226655&referralPlaylistId=playlist