Today i slept in a little due to the long day yesterday, i spent the day doing some computer work and reading, i got a phone call from Edwin at 16.10 p.m..

Edwin is the lad that i met through Itgen and Edwin has been fantastically kind to me letting me stay at his house and working hard at getting me into schools to be able to speak to the children about street children and the local news papers.

Edwin was very upset on the phone and he asked me to come to the school as soon as i could, i left what i was doing and drove up to the school, i was worried about what had happened and a felt that maybe someone in his family had died, I have not known Edwin long but we have built up a close friendship and we both enjoy music and talk about how we can fix the world, we have been very honest with each other during my stay.

I arrived at the school and was asked to attend the headmasters room, Edwin very upset sitting in a chair discussing something in Dutch on the phone, i asked a fellow teacher if his dad had died and they asked me how i knew, i said i didn’t, Edwin off the phone we hugged each other and i remembered how it was for me when my dad of 53 died suddenly too when i was 23. Edwin’s life has just changed at this moment and i just wanted to do what i could to help him, he has a lot of support from the teacher’s and has a lovely Japanese girlfriend chieko and i was touched by the fact that he had asked me to come as he needed a hug.

A phone call came through from his uncle that his farther had a serious stroke and has gone into a fatal coma.

Edwin was booked on the next flight to Amsterdam at 7 am in the morning, I told Edwin i would drive him to the airport in Fukuoka.

Edwin packed his things at the school and we made our way to his house to gather up his essential stuff to take back home to the Nederlands, Edwin made a call to his girlfriend who offered to take him from her house to the airport and i drove him to Chieko’s house about one and a half hours away, it was already 9.30 p.m. and they had a 4 hour journey to the north and he had to check in for his flight at 5 am. I gave them both a hug and they were on their way.

I made my way back to his house shocked by the afternoons occurrences he had told me i could stay at his house but it is strange now he has gone, i also felt how he must be feeling now and i remembered how when my dad died i was working driving trucks on the continent ,and i was in west london it was 7.30 am, and i knew it had happened before my mum told me, i had to drive to another delivery in yorkshire then a night in the truck before i could go home the next day, that was difficult as when you drive your brain is in overdrive.

It took me 6 years to really be at ease with his death and now today i feel a sense of calm, i know life is for living, we owe that to those who have passed and i want Edwin to know that everything will be ok in time, it’s through these experiences that have enabled me to be able to do this trip, i feel peaceful.

God bless you Edwin “My love goes to you” Tim Dennis