HEALING WATER: We have a winner!

Random.org, I mean - uh, my husband picked a number. And...

Peggy Reiff Miller, just won a copy of  
Healing Water: An Hawaiian Story!
Congratulations, Peggy!

From the flyleaf:   

Thirteen year-old Pia has never known his real father. But Kamaka, a family friend, has taught him how to work, explore, and take on physical challenges.Pia believes Kamaka is fearless. He never suspects that a time will come when Kamaka could actually be afraid of him. Neither does he expect his own body to betray him, or his government to tear him from his family and send him into exile.

When Pia finds himself abandoned on Molokai, Hawaii's leprosy settlement, he turns to the skills he learned from Kamaka to help him survive. But the conditions are harsh. Pia discovers he must choose between anger and aloha, revenge and forgiveness, his own wilfulness and the example of someone worthy of being like a father.

This fictional account was inspired by the experiences of many Hawaiians who were sent to Molokai's isolated Kalaupapa Peninsula, starting in 1866 and by the life of Father Damien deVeuster, who chose to live and work there in the late 1800s.

Here's the trailer.

Meanwhile, over at Joan Edwards' blog, someone else won a copy of Healing Water!

THE MAKING OF A SAINT

Artwork created by children to honor Father Damien. This hangs in his birthplace museum in Tremeloo, Belgium.

A saint is someone whose life makes it easier to believe in God.

Perhaps this quote by William Barclay sums up why I wrote Healing Water.

I was inspired by Father Damien, a Catholic priest who in 1873, chose to live among Hawaii's leprosy patients. The Kalawao leprosy settlement was filling with people who were taken from family and friends in hopes of protecting others from their disease.

The outcast leprosy patients did not have their basic needs provided so they went into survival mode. Then Damien arrived and his compassion helped transform the settlement from a place of hopelessness to a real community.

Eventually Damien himself contracted leprosy. And while leprosy itself, doesn't kill a person, its complications do. In 1889, after 16 years of sharing his skills and compassion with Hansen's Disease patients, Father Damien died.

After decades of consideration, the Vatican has decided that Damien is indeed a saint. This means his life has been scrutinized and 2 miracles have been attributed to his intervention.

On October 11, 2009 Damien will be canonized.

Not to argue with the Vatican, but as far as I'm concerned, Father Damien was a saint simply because of the life he lived in Kalawao. Everything I've read, indicates that his presence there led many to believe in God.

TODAY, YESTERDAY, LAST NIGHT

Healing Water was inspired by Father Damien who volunteered to live in Hawaii's leprosy settlement.

1. Today is Damien Day. May 10 is the anniversary of the day that Father Damien began his ministry to Hawaii's leprosy patients.

2. Yesterday, I thought I was meeting friends, Carol Baldwin and Shelley Worman at El Paso's for some great Mexican food before we attended the Blue play. Then, Shelley's grandchild decided to come a month early so it turned out to be just me and Carol. At least that's what I thought. But when I arrived I found a small crowd. The core group were NC school teachers and media specialists who took an NCCAT class Carol and I taught last fall. There were a few spouses and other family members. Great folks! I was slightly flustered by this unexpected gathering in my honor. And humbled that each of them drove 1 - 3 hours to get here. It was so fun to be with them again but there wasn't nearly enough time to catch up! Thank you! Thank you! And Shelley, I missed you, but congratulations on the grandchild!

3. Last night, when I came home from the play, there was a rose bush on my kitchen table. And cards from the grandchildren. You've got to love it when the two year-old dictates a card to his grandmother that says Happy Birthday, BopBop! I don't blame Solomon for being smitten with his grandpop. (After all, I am too.) But still, the way I see it, that little fellow owes me a Father's Day card!