Letter from Overseas
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Report for AprilThis is the story of an accident that happened on the campus of the University where David and HyeRan spend much of there time. It is told by David since he was the closest to the accident. It will serve as our April report. The story is personal and at times uncomfortably graphic. It is an attempt to be honest and to invite you into a process of healing with David, family and students. The AccidentOn Good Friday, I was sitting in our office which over looks a good part of the campus. I had just finished helping to serve communion and HyeRan and I had been part of a hand washing ritual, washing close to a thousand hands. It was as beautiful a day as one can imagine. Magnolia, Rhododendron and Cherry trees were in full blossom. Blue sky. Warm sun. A perfect day. One church historian professor, who had also served communion and washed hands with us, decided to hold his class for first year theology students outside in a kind of natural amphitheatre. HyeRan and I had remarked on what a beautiful idea that was ten minutes earlier, just before we had split up to go do different things. As I was at the computer in the middle of doing e-mails I heard a terrible crash. I paused wondering, then went to the window. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. A car was right where the class had been. It was stopped and then started to move again. I saw it role over a number of students and then down the embankment to a level place below. Two young men jumped out. I heard one scream. I started to run and then stopped knowing the only thing I could do at this point was to pray. I could feel my heart pounding. I asked God to save the lives of the children I had just seen run over. I remember struggling with the feeling that this would be impossible even for God at this point. Then I got up and walked to the scene. There was a heap of three bodies when I arrived and other individuals scattered here and there. The most seriously injured student was a girl who lying face down on top of two other young men. I couldn’ t see her face but there was a lot of blood. There was already someone with her. I sat with a young man who was in that pile. He was wearing a white shirt which was ripped. I could see tire marks over his left shoulder. His face was gray and grimacing in pain. I took his right hand, thinking that his right side was O.K. and squeezed it gently and tried to tell him that he would be O.K.. But after a few moments he asked me quite urgently to stop. So I just sat with him. Soon others, including HyeRan were on the scene. There was nothing to do but wait for the ambulances. They arrived quite quickly. The students who were hurt were taken gently and skillfully away including a young man opposite from the pile I was sitting with whose head I had seen under tire of the car. When the ambulance was gone we were left gathered in the spot. Students were looking shocked and in grief. Others were crying together. A group of male students began to pray at the top of their lungs. Some emergency workers on still on the scene told us to move away from the spot and into a shaded area. We tried to consol one another. Eventually people dispersed. We learned later that 14 students in total had been taken to hospital. Of that number the girl in the group of students I was with had died. The young man opposite from her whose head was under the tire was in serious condition and in a state of paralysis. The student I was with had his shoulder badly shattered. Others were less serious: broken bones, torn muscles and bruises. The driver of the car did not have a license. He had convinced his friend, the son of the car owner, to let him drive. Apparently he could not find the brake of the car when it started to role down hill. The car was in a place where cars were not allowed. The driver and his friend had moved a plastic barrier to drive in. There were no safety posts around the amphitheatre. The funeral
was held on the Easter Monday. The
chapel, which seats over a thousand was packed and students were lined up
outside. The colour
of mourning in The body was taken away for cremation and then brought back to the campus. Her ashes were interred on a spot near the chapel surrounded by trees. Cherry blossom petals swirled in the wind as they marched her urn from the gate of the school. The service was beautiful and the speaker was very eloquent. On Tuesday
HyeRan and Hannah and I were taken by another student to visit the young man
whose hand I had held. Our student
friend looked after Hannah so we could visit.
The young man was in good shape and has been improving everyday. He was bright and alert and seemed quite
eager to see us. I was surprised that
he spoke English well. He had
apparently lived in the States for a couple of years when he was about 10
years old. I learned to my surprise
that it was not his left but his right shoulder that was badly broken. I had held the wrong hand. I told him how badly I felt that I had
seemed cause him pain. He wasn’ t angry. In fact we had a good laugh at my
mistake. HyeRan and I gave him a
beautiful green stained glass butterfly (one of many given to us by a
congregation member in The story continues. No doubt the wounds on campus are much deeper than flesh and blood. How will the students who caused the accident respond? How will the professor who held the class outside and saw his students being hit recover? What about the classmates of SoYeon Lee, the one who was killed? How will they deal with the loss and with the memory of the accident? And TaeHoon Choi who was paralyzed after the accident, what will his future be? Will he recover? Will he walk? What about me? What about HyeRan and Noah and Hannah? How can we help? How can we heal? How can we grow in trust and love in this place together with others and with God?… Thank you again for all the support and love of the people who read this. David |