Dear Companions,

     It's kind of tough to pray for everyone sometimes. Right now a
couple of guys I met back in Nov 2024 are dealing with the loss of four
kids at a daycare camp in Chatham IL. They were the first paramedics on
the scene for the car that drove through a building there. I have a long
history in that town.

Verdell's brother Merlin ,lead the Methodist church there for 10 years
and retired there. I was on the county rescue squad (Sangamon County)
and helped fight two house fires there in 1983, one across the street
from this event. Those guys came to my aid after I was attacked by a pit
bull, they even brought a shot gun just in case.

While we always pray for the victims and their families, I worry about
fellow responders. Calls like this are forever burned into our memories.
I still remember my first kid's body recovery after a house fire. He was
hiding behind a door in his bedroom. A four year old. It's moments like
these that our faith holds us together.  I am heading to Chatham on
Monday to help Verdell's niece rebuild a yard fence and lay new vinyl
floor in her house.

Thanks for listening.

Florian