A Tragic Weekend

Victor is a friendly young man in his twenties, an identical twin in a united family and the father to two young girls.  We often ride the same bus home late afternoon, and he smiles and chats to my daughters.  Sadly, after Friday night he won´t be sharing a bus with us again anytime soon.  He is fighting for his life in ITU. 
  
After work he went to play football, had too much to drink, then attempted to ride home on a motorbike, with his teenage cousin, without a helmet.  Minutes later, he was sprawled across the road, bleeding gravely with a severe head injury.  It took half an hour for help to come, and he has been in Intensive Care in a coma ever since, with no signs of recovery so far. 

His young wife is distraught, his 4 and 9 year old daughters are asking if they will ever see their father again.  His family take turns to accompany him in the hospital, hoping and praying for a miracle. 

That same night in our village a drunken brawl broke out between two friends.  One man hit the other over the head repeatedly with a machete.  His eye has been sliced in two and he too is in ITU in a coma in Quito.  No one knows if he will live or die.  The man who commited the crime has fled.  Both these men are also fathers of young children in our village.   In one foul swoop alcohol abuse has destroyed the lives of three families. 

Daughters, nieces and sisters of these men were at our village Girls´ Brigade yesterday.  We prayed to the redemptive God who offers hope and strength in dark times.  Perhaps you will join me in praying for these young men, these families and our community.