PERSPECTIVE - Helping and praying where help and prayer is really needed

     Please allow me the opportunity to share the story with you that brought perspective to my life as I’ve been focusing on the campaign trail. 

     Several weeks ago I went to Vevay, IN to knock on doors and meet as many of the people as I could.  It was the week of the Switzerland County fair and spirits were high. Upon my door-to-door routes I came upon a house in which no one was home.  As usual I wrote a note on one of my fliers, tucked it in the door, and started to make my way to the next home. As I was leaving a young girl pulled in the driveway and we struck up a conversation. She was energetic, engaging, and sincerely interested in what I was doing and why I was doing it. We talked about the importance of young people getting involved in our political process and about the possibility of she and her friends joining in the campaign. She obviously had places to go and I left to head to the next house feeling extremely encouraged by our visit.
     As good fortune would have it, I ran into her a few hours later at the Switzerland County Fair. We discussed the campaign in more detail and she told me more about Vevay. She talked about getting a youth group together to get involved and I asked her to contact me through the website if something like that transpired. As I drove home that night and I thought of the many great people I had met that day, she stood out.
      I didn’t make it back to Vevay until Tuesday August 19th. I got into town around 2:00 that afternoon with plans of spending a couple days in the town. It didn’t take long for me to notice the pink ribbons and messages on cars, or to overhear people asking about their condition. It wasn’t until the next morning that I realized the community was pulling so closely together to support the young lady that had impressed me just a few short weeks earlier. She and her father had been in a serious car accident not long after I had had the pleasure of meeting her, and she was still in intensive care. In addition to the pink ribbons, T-shirts and the constant reminders to pray for them all over town there were coffee cans in all of the stores for gathering donations.
      That Saturday afternoon, with the support of some of my most trusted friends, we headed to the hospital for a visit. I had the opportunity to meet her mother. Her strength in the face of all of this adversity was amazing. She welcomed me and we talked about the situation. It was a visit that evoked emotions that I can’t possibly explain.
      The young lady remains in the hospital, but is doing much better.  However, she and her family still need the support of their community. Down here we subscribe to the theory that it takes a village to raise a child. This family needs the help of everyone in the village right now.   Because I don’t want this to be about politics I have intentionally left out the names of the people involved. However, if you’re interested in helping out you can find out more through a link on www.vevaynewspapers.com. You can simply click on the picture of the beautiful blond girl on the right side of the screen to find out more and to find out what you can do to help.  Through the website you can learn about her and her father’s condition, and more importantly, where donations can be made. 
      Having met this young lady, I can personally attest that she is a wonderful girl with a bright spirit who will fight through her trials.  I only hope that because I have met so many of you that I can put those wonderful connections to work to take care of the members of our community.  Please, if you have the ability and the time, help them if you can.  All prayers accepted.

Thank you for your time, and God bless you and your loved ones.

--Jud