I just received our Rotary District Governor's newsletter and I've reprinted some of it here... I'm struck by his transparency and his perspective.
"I am struggling. My significant other has been diagnosed with lung and bone cancer and we have been told it is not curable. She has never been sick and was told at her last annual check-up she was fit as a horse. How one’s world can turn on a dime as we try to cope with the future?
"I am struggling. My significant other has been diagnosed with lung and bone cancer and we have been told it is not curable. She has never been sick and was told at her last annual check-up she was fit as a horse. How one’s world can turn on a dime as we try to cope with the future?
"Ironically, she joined me on our recent Rotary visit to India and she had decided to ask and observe how people in India regarded HOPE. In her journaling she wrote, “What does HOPE look and feel like in India?”
In her journey she came across an Indian who had been taken hostage on a hijacked airplane who said “Hope is a marvelous force...”
In her journey she came across an Indian who had been taken hostage on a hijacked airplane who said “Hope is a marvelous force...”
"Another Rotarian she met survived the Tsunami in Sri Lanka with his children. He saw the wave and was able to drive to higher ground, but saw 10,000 people die before his eyes. He said, “You need to experience reality to know HOPE.” He was obviously afraid, but maintained HOPE as the water receded.
"In another city we came across an individual who had one of the tricycles that a Past District Governor had purchased during his year as governor (for polio survivors). The individual was very grateful for it... Because of his mobility, he was able to marry and looked forward to a better life. In that same area a woman with an amputated leg spoke of HOPE that she one day would qualify for a tricycle.
"Today (my wife) is HOPEFUL and courageous about what the future holds. She has experienced Rotarians who have given “service above self” and who have dug deep to give to The Rotary Foundation in order for others to have HOPE."
