Last Tuesday I wrote about some great men that I've been meeting here and one of them is Kelly Kosky. He moved his family to South Africa 20 years ago to reach the Xhosa speaking people of the Transkei region. They lived there for 10 years without electricity or running water. After amazing work there they moved to Cape Town to reach out to the men of that community that have moved here to find work. They have been reaching the men of that tribe now for 10 years here. They have just done tremendous work and have earned the trust of the people. Kelly is just an amazing guy with crazy stories. His work has been so fruitful that he consistently has the attention of the US State Department and the US Consulate General. I'm really enjoying getting to know him and cycling has been one way for us to do that.
We were at Kelly's house on Monday for a day-late Super Bowl party. We couldn't stay long because of other plans but he was telling me that he was cycling to Stellenbosch the next day. Well, apparently he ended up in a massive accident on this ride. From what I can understand he had hit a curb and was going down when his leg was runover by a truck (the details are fuzzy). His leg had to be amputated. That detail isn't fuzzy. A man who cycles probably 5-6 days a week is now without his leg. It's totally tragic.
I know that often you guys think we are "so spiritual", faithful, and have it all together. Well, I have lots of questions today, much the same you would ask. Why would this happen to a guy that is serving God in such amazing ways? Why would the thing that he loves so much be taken from him? I know that following Jesus doesn't promise us any sort of safety, but seriously come on! And I know that God will be glorified by all of this because Kelly will respond in a way that will bring that glory. So I'm just frustrated and heartbroken today. I'm obviously crushed for him, but I'm even sad for myself because cycling was my way of connecting with a man that I really wanted to learn from.
So, I'd ask for your prayers today. For Kelly's continued recovery, apparently he didn't have any other serious injuries. For his family. And for his spiritual and emotional recovery.
Thanks for letting me be honest.
Casey
3 comments:
"I'm even sad for myself because cycling was my way of connecting with a man that I really wanted to learn from."
You are learning from him even now. :-)
That is tough Casey...how one moment things can be so normal, so ordinary, and suddenly in the blink of an eye life as one knows it changes instantly. I have a friend, Diane, who's sister and brother-in-law have been long-term missionaries in Kenya. In December, Ryan, (the brother-in-law) was taking two journalists in his plane (Ryan was a pilot) over the slums in Kenya. A normal activity ended in disaster...the plane struck wires and came down. The journalists pulled Ryan and co-pilot from the plane...the co-pilot died on impact. Ryan died a week later in Johannesburg due to severe burns. Seven years ago, my friends Eric and his little brother Alex set out from Cape Town on dirt bikes to Egypt. In Egypt, they were struck by a suicide bomber. Alex died. Eric still lives with over 20 nails in his body from the nail bomb. Suffering that comes suddenly with no warning leave us asking so many questions. Yet, we know suffering is part of the Christian story and life. It is fine to wrestle with the questions, I think it is entirely normal and every bit relevant to healing. I can't imagine loving doing something and then not being able to do it any longer. I will be praying for you and your friend and his wife...through the grief, the questions, the acceptance, and restoration. They sound like an amazing couple. I am glad that you and Sarah can be a part of helping them through this too, and praying for one another. Thinking of you all. B
Zach Kosky has set up a facebook page for Kelly. You can find it at http://bit.ly/cYnzO5
He needs our help.
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