*Prepare yourself, this post might be disturbing to some readers. I don't know how to post this gently, but it is definitely on my mind...
On occasion when we are in Ames we will go to that country church, Sts. Peter and Paul out on R38 on the Story/Boone Co. line. Last winter one of the few days we went to that church the roads were pretty slick. We were waiting for Mass to start and then after about 5 minutes of waiting after start time someone went up to the ambo and announced that the priest had gone in the ditch and someone was going to get him so we would be delayed. The priest was just fine but our 1 hour for Mass turned into 2 hours for Mass.
Yesterday we again went out to Sts. P & P and sat down in the second to last row. During the opening hymn an elderly gentleman in the last row across the aisle from us went down with a medical emergency. At first they thought it might be a blood sugar issue but soon they had the AED on him and were performing CPR. The AED would check for a pulse every couple of minutes and advise to shock or not. After 15 or 20 minutes paramedics arrived, they put that automatic chest pumper device on him and took him to the hospital. Mrs. Velo and I both thought he looked like he was already dead long before the ambulance arrived. My thought was as a Christian, what better place to go if you have to go than in a church full of congregation, a deacon and a priest praying for you? We prayed both for him to be alright but also if it was time for him to go for his soul. Talk about a way to remind you of your mortality.
I'm beginning to wonder if we should stop going there because it seems to be bad luck for people about a third of times we do show up.
That was not how we expected to start our Sunday.