Mary Letter -Day 10 - Condemned

Then each of them went home, while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, sir." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again." John 7:53—8:11 

Dear Aunt Elizabeth,

well this day has been almost more than I can handle. We were supposed to be at a friend of widow Johanna's home early today. We had just started out from our resting place when there was some shouting and carrying on behind us. It turned out several men from our village had followed us and were shouting terrible things at us. They called me a prostitute and sinner and picked up stones to throw. They raised their arms and we fled. It was a terribly frightening!  Joseph somehow made the donkey move fast and we got away from them, hiding in an olive grove. Some local people here stopped them before they followed us. We were all terrified, including the donkey. It wasn't until after things had quieted down that we realized both of us were bleeding. We had been hit by stones and didn't even know. Joseph was hit on the side of the face and I was struck on the back of my head.

The local people told us to move on for our safety. We did finally make our way to the friend's house. We will have to stay here for a few days. The assault has made me very sick. These nice folks have tended our wounds and gave us a place to stay for as long as we need it. The woman of the house, Miriam, doesn't want me to travel for a while. You can see the worry on her face. She sat with me and prayed with me. I wish I could know what to do but all's I can do is cry. Sometimes I sleep, but only for a while.

Please pray for us. It feels sometimes like God is far off. I know that is not true, but being so wounded and traumatized, it is so hard to be strong. We will be here for several days and Joseph will make some repairs for them in return for our lodging. He is quite talented and has been very steady on this journey. 

love

Mary