Sad and Hopeful News Dear All, How to begin this letter. For those who have not yet heard about Saturday's tragic accident, I have sad, sad news, and for all, a bit of hope to break into the darkness. On Saturday morning at about 11:15, my husband Bill and son Karl were hit by a car as they were crossing the street. Karl was taken immediately to the hospital and underwent neuro-surgery, because he sustained severe head injuries. Bill was taken to another hospital, but sustained such critical injuries that he died two hours later. I was at a conference with my daughter Else at a town, Neuendettelsau, two hours or so away from Regensburg. Because I hadn't heard anything from "my menfolk" all morning long, I left early to return home, feeling that something wasn't right. They weren't at the train station to pick me up, despite the email I sent telling them I was coming back that evening. As I got nearer to our home, my feelings darkened, and right before we rounded to corner to our apartment, I told my eight-month old daughter, "Something very bad has happened." Indeed. The police were waiting for me, having just tracked down who I was. There with them was Prof. Dr. Martin Broeking-Bortfeldt, the other professor of our Department of Protestant Theology, who just happened to be on call as chaplain that evening. It was then I was informed of the tragic shift in our lives. My heart breaks for our family's loss. Bill was the gentlest spirit I knew. His love of family sustained me, and his hope in the Gospel speaks to me now. I will miss his tenderness beyond words. Karl remains in intensive care. The pressure in his brain could not be reduced, even after 5 days. That alone is no sign of brain damage. However, since we ran out of medicinal solutions, finally on Wednesday we had to remove the frontal portions of Karl's skull, to allow the brain to swell, and the dangerous pressure to therefore be reduced. The doctors were very pleased by the appearance of his brain--no lesions, it was diffuse, it was pulsating, and it was not pale. That, again, alone does not mean that there is no brain damage, but it is a hopeful sign. Since yesterday, the doctors have been able to reduce some of his narcotics, allowing for the additional hope that he will awake sometime in the next days. Whether he will be responsive at all is yet the question, and the waiting is painful. The medical care is beyond comprehension and comparison. The prayers for us, and support in so many ways, have sustained me and given me strength. Between a healthy dose of denial, knowing that people are taking care of details ranging from attending to matters of life insurance to washing out baby bottles, and the buoyancy of prayer, I am making it through this far. My parents arrived on Tuesday, and Diane, Else's sister, just happened to be in Germany anyway, so was with us on Sunday. Bill's Regensburger funeral was yesterday, and 250 people were in attendance. We sang, right out of the chute, "A Mighty Fortress," in German and English. When I got to the verse, "Though hordes of devils fill the land/ All threat'ning to devour us/ We tremble not, unmoved we stand/ They cannot overpow'r us..." I leaned over to my father and said, "Satan misjudged this one. He wanted to devour me. Instead, I'm just pissed." I will not, by the grace of God, let evil devour me. In Badger, South Dakota, I preached every Sunday that death does not have the last word, but rather life does. I cling to that, because it is no mere stock sermon turn of phrase. It must be true. "Were they to take our house/ goods honor, child, or spouse/ Though life be wrenched away/ They cannot win the day/ The Kingdom's ours forever!" My small family is still planning to move to Sioux Falls, SD, buy our new home, and begin our life there. For those in SD, I have been wearing my Black Hills Gold to remind me of "home." Please ready your tractors for my little boy Karl, who is so excited to visit a real farm! Do nothing but pray for my sweet baby boy Karl. He has such a brightness of being, as I hope you can see from this picture. My sunshine daughter Else also needs your prayers, as she is not certain what the fuss is about, and must spend much time in the hospital, no place for an 8-month old. Her sparkle adds luster to the unit! Of course, I will not turn down prayers as well, nor will my entire family. I apologize that these pictures are big--Bill knew how to do such things as condense them, but I do not. I have much to learn. I thank each and everyone of you for your care and emails. I woke up on Sunday to 64 new messages, and they have not stopped. I will try to give regular, and brief, updates. Please tell me if you do not want to receive them, or if you know others who do. I need the word to get out so that the prayers do too. God bless you all. In peace, Anna Madsen