a moment of reflection.

Life is fragile... we all know that, and it sometime takes tragedy to make us really realize this. Being a Peace Corps Volunteer is not without its risks. Accidents can happen, like anywhere in the world, but sometimes they strike pretty close to home.

Last week, a PCV named Katie was killed in Benin, a west African country where one of my good friends and fellow Dykstra RA, Sarah, is doing her Peace Corps service. She was found murdered in her house in her remote village, where she was apparently loved by her community and fellow volunteers. Benin is a relatively safe country with very few outbreaks of violence such as this.

This really strikes home for me (and, I´m sure, many other PCVs) in terms of the dangers that we face in this life path that we have chosen. My thoughts and prayers are with not only with the friends and family of Katie and her fellow volunteers in Benin, but also with other across the world who loose sleep at night wondering if their loved one is safe.

As many of us know, tragedy can strike anywhere, whether it be in Los Angeles or in Liberia. And I guess all I can do is pause to not only think about and pray for her friends and family, but also to thank God for the people in my life that I have been so blessed with. We don´t often have a say over when or how we die, but we DO have control over how we LIVE. A tragedy like this makes me reflect not only in the pain of what happened, but also in the joy in life that we must all seek to find every day--no day but today--because life is short. Sometimes painfully so.

I want everyone out there reading this to know that, I love all of you, my friends and family, so much, and am so lucky to have you all in my life, no matter how long it may be.

A little write-up on Katie can be read here:

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/03/14/xeni-on-the-road-in-1.html

Please pray for her friends and family, and the families of PCVs everywhere who struggle to continue to support their loved one in their decision when things like this happen.