Today, Reilly turns 4 years old. He woke up this morning to a call from his grandma and grandpa in Arizona who had stayed up until 1 a.m. to wish him a happy birthday. But the fun part is that it’s grandma’s birthday today too. Reilly was born on the 14th — same as his grandma Linda Krause. Next week when we arrive back for Christmas, we’ll have a big birthday party with all of them… including Reilly’s uncle Stephen who shares his birthday on Christmas Eve.
Oh yes, he also came downstairs and saw his pinata — Percy from Thomas the Train. We don’t think that he understands that he’s going to get to beat the stuffing out of Percy later — but he’s excited anyway. Daddy loves pinatas too — they’re so therapeutic for stress relief.
Today, I came across this article in BBC news.
Mankind will say that this is needed and acceptable. The problem with mankind is that it is inherently filled with evil. Man is not good because “there is only One that is good — the Father in Heaven.”
Currently, the Netherlands is considering approving the law for this type of euthanasia in “extreme cases” of infants. As you’ll see in the article, it is already legal to euthanize over the age of 16 and sometimes 12! However, a few weeks ago, I also heard that the EU or the Netherlands (I can’t remember which body in particular) was considering offering euthanasia as an option for the “depressed.” Well that should cover about 90% of the people. If you’re a piece of meat — why be a depressed piece o’ meat? Take this shot, you’ll be happier when you end it all AND you’ll save us a lot of money. It’s too bad you caught the depression disease. Maybe you were born with it. If it were cancer we might be able to treat it - if we want to. This is the fruit of Darwinian Socialism. I guess they want to emphasize the “Nether” part of Nether-lands.
What condition will merit euthanasia next? Acne? I think there was somebody who already tried the route of selective euthanasia based on a set of criteria. Wasn’t his name Hitler? I know if we don’t learn from the lessons of the past that we’ll be doomed to repeat them — but so fast?
You might say, “Well you minister in Italy.” Yes, but this is no longer a fully sovereign nation. Whatever the Netherlands chooses to do, France is itching for them to do it. As France pushes, the EU like the UN caves to liberal socialism. Italy is not far behind regardless of what the Vatican says. Like America, if you can’t get an abortion or gay marriage on demand, go to a state where you can.
Here’s the alarming article:
BBC NEWS
Dutch consider infant euthanasia
By Geraldine Coughlan
BBC News, The Hague
Doctors in the Netherlands are calling for new laws allowing them to end the lives of newborn babies with intolerable and incurable illnesses.
The appeal for a committee of experts to be set up to consider the issue has been signed by doctors from the country’s eight university hospitals.
The Dutch government will give its opinion over the next few months.
The Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalise euthanasia in 2002.
The proposed committee of experts would define the specific criteria that would apply to this type of infant euthanasia.
Vatican criticism
The protocol would relate to only about 600 infants in the world - and between 10 and 15 in The Netherlands.
These children are born with extreme malformations. For instance they may have no brain.
The move has revived the debate on the controversial issue of euthanasia.
One university hospital has already drawn up a document setting out the circumstances in which euthanasia of newborn babies could be justified.
The text has been strongly criticised by the Vatican.
In the Netherlands, euthanasia can be given to people over 16, and to those over 12 in exceptional cases.
Doctors here say paediatricians worldwide are in favour of ending the lives of newborns in certain circumstances.
In France, 74% believe it should be acceptable, and in the Netherlands 72%.
Published: 2004/12/14 03:17:58 GMT
This is Sandy writing. I just wanted to share a little of the festivities in our Italian town at Christmas time. A few weeks ago the town began to assemble it’s annual Christmas market in the historic center. The market consists of wooden shed/booths run by vendors selling food and various products for Christmas gifts. On the weekends there are special activities for the kids. Earlier this evening I took the kids out for a walk in town. It was drizzling so it made the little excursion a little more challenging, but we were a bit stir crazy in the house, so it was nice to get out. Rob was teaching a course tonight so he was not able to join us. There is a little kid’s train set up in the center for the kids to ride, so we made our way to that location. The trees along the streets have been decorated with white lights. Each store has a beautiful Christmas display and most of the stores were open until 7:30 p.m. It is very common for Italians to go out on Sunday for a stroll around town in the late afternoon and so our town is well-equipped for window shopping. It’s beautiful to see all the different outfits and shoes in the windows and it’s fun to “people-watch”. Most people don their stylish clothing for their Sunday walk. We made it to the train just before it closed, so Reilly was able to get a ride in. Jessi had fallen asleep in the stroller. After riding on the train, we walked through the Christmas market and headed back toward the car, which was a 10 minute walk away. It was not an extraordinary outing, just a little quaint one. Tomorrow is a holiday in our town to celebrate the day of San Nicolo, the patron saint of Sacile. He will show up in the center at 5:30 p.m. to give the kids candy. He’s dressed similar to a Santa Claus type figure. 
Many of the Italian families give their children gifts and candy for this holiday and the kids get 3 days off of school. Happy Holidays!
We can imagine that the impact of the falling dollar is spreading across many US-supported ministry families in Europe. For us, this means that gas prices are well over $5 per gallon and our rent has increased 40% in the last two years without our landlord ever raising it. From another perspective, we’re doing more work, we have 7 years on the job, and we have a larger family — but we have taken a paycut of over 50% since we moved here.
So, don’t forget about us. 
Europe’s missionaries are all in for a rough time. Here’s a graph that I saw today that illustrates the decline:
Translating this graph — in 2002, you could trade 1 dollar and get 1.14 euro — Today in 2004, you can trade $1 for only .69 euro.
