God's mercy

This past weekend was much more eventful than we had planned, but we are thankful to be alive!
As Hannah has so preciously put it, "Momma's car has bumps. It is broken."

Andy wrote an article for church which is a little bit more eloquent and I would like to share with everyone.

In the Palm of His Hands

by Andy Kumpel

Pastor of Community Life

I'm not a fan of Christian clichés. I think they reduce the way we perceive God to a manageable size and take away from His awesome majesty. Yet there are times in our lives when these kinds of clichés become true to our experiences. Last Saturday night this cliché “In the palm of His hands,” became very real for our family. We left church on Saturday anticipating a night of fellowship with other young married couples from ARC. Our expectations were shattered as were hit head on by a drunk driver who was driving the wrong way on our side of the divided road. The car did what it was supposed to do, so Cassie who is 8 months pregnant suffered a fractured sternum (chest bone). However, our 23 month old daughter Hannah and I both escaped the accident relatively unscathed. Cassie spent the weekend at the hospital having our unborn child monitored and everything looks good with the baby.

I'm writing today to thank all of the wonderful people at Autumn Ridge who upheld our family in prayer over the last week. We truly felt encouraged and supported by the body of Christ and God's Holy Spirit. It's hard to express the gratitude that I felt for God's provision of safety as I looked down at our sleeping daughter late Saturday night. For my wife, Cassie, this was an awful way to spend Mother's Day. But God has replaced her shock, dismay, and worry with the joyful anticipation of a healthy baby that is yet to be born. In the midst of the twisted metal, the smoking dashboard, and chaos of a car accident we truly felt like we were being held safely in the palm of God's hands. It's hard to explain what this feels like, but over this past week it has taken shape through the countless acts of love, encouragement, and compassion from so many of you. Please join our family in praising God for keeping us safe from harm and drawing us through Christ with the eyes of faith to cling to Him more each day.

Here is the article from the Post Bulletin, the Rochester newspaper, as well.

Rochester police arrested a Hayfield man on expected charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and criminal vehicular operation after he was involved in a head-on collision in southeast Rochester on Saturday night.

The crash was reported at 7:20 p.m. near Woodlake Drive Southeast and 40th Street.

The 27-year-old Hayfield man, a 50-year-old Rochester man who was in the vehicle with him, and a woman in the other vehicle who is 8 months pregnant all were injured in the accident and taken to Saint Marys Hospital, said Rochester Police Sgt. Craig Anderson.

The pregnant woman had possible pelvis and sternum injuries. Two other people riding with her were not injured, according to the police report.

A blood sample was taken from the suspect driver, which led to his arrest. He also faces a charge of driving after revocation, Anderson said.