Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Interesting Developments

I'm sick at home today. Yesterday morning, I was still feeling ok, but later on my stomach started aching and I felt quite miserable. So I told my coworkers that I would take sick leave in the afternoon. On my way home in the metro, I had this strange feeling as if I would faint, and the next thing I knew was something hard hitting my head and all these people around me asking if I was ok! This incident scared me quite a bit, as I had never passed out before. Following some episodes of vomiting, I still feel kind of miserable today, so I'm going to stay home to rest. Nevertheless, I'm thankful for my general health, as I think there are quite a few people out there who would be grateful for only being confronted with a short-term bug.

Recently, I had another exciting witnessing opportunity. It was following this terrible train crash here in Belgium that I previously wrote about. Unfortunately, three of the officials of the EU-Commission lost their lives in this accident, and so they decided to put up an electronic condolences book on our intranet website. So everybody was invited to write something, yet they would first receive the comment and then decide whether it would shown to the public or not. As I included a bible verse, I didn't really expect them to publish mine, but they did!

This is what I wrote:

"I would like to express my deepest sympathies to the families of our precious colleagues who lost their lives in this tragic accident. May you find comfort and peace. John 16:22-23"

I'm thankful that this entry found it's way into our intranet.

Furthermore, I received a personal, hand-written note from Mr. Jacques Barrot, former Vice-President and Commissioner for Freedom, Justice and Security. Like to some of his former colleagues, I had sent him a copy of the Great Controversy in his own language. Back to France, he sent me this card with words of appreciation. This shows me again that my efforts didn't go unnoticed, and who knows what effects they will bring about.

Another interesting development is that next week, there will be a conference to relaunch the debate on Sunday protection at European level, which will be held at the European Parliament. László Andor, the new EU Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, will give a keynote speech at this occasion. This is organized by the Commission of the Bishops' conferences of the European Community. You may check the following link: www.comece.eu

This seems to be a groundbreaking event, and I will definitely try to be there. I will keep you posted on the outcome!

1 comment:

Agamy said...

Really sorry to learn that you fainted in the Métro a few days ago... Really sorry, Daniela. Such news just remind me that life is too fragile hence precious!!! As you may know, Guylain's mom has just passed away, dying alone in her appartment whereas she was brightly recovering from her sickness... Nobody expected that. It also reminds me that late in December, the 17th, I had a really bad accident/car crash on the E19 Highway to Breda, NL, sliding on the blackice... But God preserved my life and lifes of my beloved wife and baby Joëlynn.

Take care, dear friend and sister, and may God be with you.