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The Sun Still Came Up
April 18, 2022
by Stacy Lowe

“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” Isaiah 26:3 (NLT)

I crawled out of bed in the wee hours of the morning, grabbed my camera and drove to the beach. It was January 1 the start of a new year and I planned to mark it with a picture of the sunrise over the ocean.   Shivering in the cold, I waited for the sun to peek over the horizon, but as the minutes ticked by, all I could see was a thick blanket of gray. The bright, colorful hues I had been hoping for were nowhere to be found. It soon became painfully obvious I wasn’t going to see the sun.  Disappointment flooded my heart. That day was set to be the start of a yearlong photography project, and now my plan for the perfect “Day 1” photo had come to nothing.  That’s when it suddenly hit me: The sun still came up.  I couldn’t see it, of course it was obscured by clouds but if the sun wasn’t there, how could I have seen anything else? I was surrounded by sunlight and almost missed it simply because it didn’t show up the way I wanted it to.  How many times have I missed seeing God for that very same reason?

You see, it’s easy for me to take note of God’s presence when life goes exactly the way I think it should; I thank Him for His blessing and move on with my day. Problem is, that’s rarely how it goes. More often than not, my plans are interrupted as my day is rearranged, and my head is left spinning, trying to keep up with it all. But those moments don’t slip by the God of the universe. He isn’t caught unawares.  He is right there with me, just like He’s always been. How, then, can I better see Him?

The prophet Isaiah offers us a clue in today’s key verse:  “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” (Isaiah 26:3)

Keeping my thoughts fixed on God broadens my perspective beyond what’s right in front of me. It reminds me that my daily purpose is not to satisfy my own agenda but to play my carefully orchestrated part in accomplishing His.  As I remember this, my heart is flooded with that perfect peace Isaiah speaks of, and my eyes are opened to search for God in each and every moment, whether that moment looks anything like I imagined it or not.  I smiled as I left the beach that morning. I may not have gotten the picture-perfect sunrise I had hoped for, but the lesson God tucked in my heart was infinitely better.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12041035/The-murder-Sarah-Groves-Devastated-parents-waiting-justice-10-years-on.html

The murder of Sarah Groves: 10 years after 7ft Dutchman Richard de Wit 'stabbed Brit to death', her devastated parents fear they may never see justice

    The British backpacker was savagely murdered in Kashmir, India, in April 2013
    But the only suspect in Sarah's case is yet to stand trial more than a decade later
    MailOnline recaps the dark case and a grieving family's ongoing battle for justice

By David Averre and Vivek Chaudhary

Published: 08:52, 8 May 2023 | Updated: 09:51, 8 May 2023

On April 6, 2013, British backpacker Sarah Groves was brutally stabbed to death in the idyllic Kashmir valley of India as she slept aboard a houseboat.  The 24-year-old former public schoolgirl from Guernsey was found in bloodied sheets, covered in puncture wounds and slashes indicative of a violent attack.    Her suspected killer a towering 7ft-tall Dutchman named Richard De Wit was tracked down by authorities hours later. He said the Devil compelled him to conduct the heinous act and even confessed to the murder only to later retract his statement and declare himself innocent.  Yet despite the overwhelming evidence against him, the lying Dutchman has managed to evade justice as Sarah's case descended into farce.  A total of 225 scheduled court dates have come and gone. Witnesses have died or disappeared. And all the while, the now 53-year-old De Wit has embraced the role of the villainous, unhinged criminal.  Doctors claim he's likely a paranoid schizophrenic who refuses to take his medication, has fired five lawyers and believes the entire case against him has been fabricated by nefarious elements of the Dutch government.   But he has also toyed with the emotions of Sarah's grieving family, cruelly telling her father Vic that he had a 'secret' to share about his daughter's murder but never actually doing so.   Now ten years on and with no murder trial in sight, Sarah's ageing parents are frustrated and fearful that they may never see justice for their daughter's murder.  Vic Groves, Sarah's father, told MailOnline: 'We are not confident that it will ever conclude.   The worst aspect of the last decade is that we are no longer a complete family. There is a massive gap in our lives that can never be filled Sarah was one in a million, a wonderful person in every way who always considered others ahead of herself.'

Mr Groves, 80, and mother Kate, 76, added: 'She is sorely missed by very many people family, friends, acquaintances and even people who never really knew her.'

Here, MailOnline remembers the horrific circumstances surrounding Sarah's death, delves into the dark mind games employed by De Wit, and tells of the Groves family's enduring fight for justice.

Sarah's murder

Sarah Groves had travelled to India in February 2013 to meet her boyfriend, Indian national Saeed Ahmad Shoda.  Described by her family as 'a joy from the moment she was born', free-spirited and optimistic Sarah loved to travel. Her journey to the picturesque Kashmir valley promised to be yet another exciting adventure.  But parents Vic and Kate could not shake the feeling that their daughter's trip was a bad idea.  They had begged Sarah not to travel to Kashmir which lies in territory disputed by India and Pakistan and as such is prone to unrest and had even booked a trip to Nepal where they were planning to meet Sarah and persuade her to leave Kashmir.   But their chance to talk Sarah out of her travels never came.  Sarah was found dead inside her room in the New Beauty houseboat in Dal Lake in Kashmir's Srinagar city on April 6, 2013. She had been stabbed 45 times.   Mum Kate told ITV last month that even ten years on, she still blames herself for not convincing Sarah to leave Kashmir sooner.  'I have to live with that now anyone I tell says you can't blame yourself but I just said I was her best friend and I wasn't there,' Kate said through tears.

Sarah's bloodied, savaged corpse was discovered by her boyfriend's brother Irfan and father Abdul. They said she was clutching a mobile phone, as if attempting to call for help.  Dr Farida Noor, head of forensics at Srinagar's General Medical College, said the former public school girl exhibited a series of defensive wounds and had likely woken up to find her killer towering over her.   Dr Noor said: 'Two of the wounds were fatal, one on her neck and the other pierced her lung.  The cause of death was haemorrhage, but all the rest of the injuries were defence wounds. She tried to save herself.  I think she would have fought bravely.'

Hours later, Indian police arrested De Wit, of Ridderkerk in the Netherlands, some 50 miles away from the scene of the crime.  He was found shoeless and soaking wet, carrying nothing but a passport and £2,000.   Investigators quickly learned he had been staying in the room adjacent to that of Sarah on the New Beauty houseboat, and had stolen a rowing boat to escape after the murder. The vessel capsized, forcing him to swim to shore before he paid a taxi driver to whisk him to a neighbouring city.  He was charged with murder in June 2013. But almost ten years later, the Dutchman is yet to stand trial.

Richard De Wit: Paranoid politician turned killer

Richard De Wit did not have a history of crime and murder. But details of his past paint a picture of a man whose paranoia led him down a dark path and turned him into a ruthless killer with no remorse for his actions.  As a young man, De Wit had been a member of a nationalist, anti-immigration political party in the Netherlands, the Central Democrats, and served as a councillor for three years before being pressured by family members to leave the party which was disbanded in the early 2000s.  But the Dutchman's exit from politics saw the giant become increasingly mistrustful. He believed the Dutch government was monitoring his activities and wanted him to work as an agent to reveal insider secrets about the Central Democrats, and told family and friends that the Dutch government had tapped his phone and monitored him through his computer's camera.   Another of his wild theories suggested he had been visited by intelligence agents who believed he was a far-Right republican posing a threat to Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.  His wife, Thai national Uma Rupanya, told MailOnline that her husband had become increasingly insecure, bordering on psychotic, and had stopped taking prescribed medication before abandoning her and their two children six months before Sarah's murder to go travelling. In the months after leaving Rupanya, De Wit went to Kenya, Dubai and Nepal, before eventually settling in Kashmir the scene of Sarah's grisly murder.   In the years since his arrest, De Wit's behaviour while in custody has been highly unpredictable, and doctors who have evaluated him believe his erratic behaviour and inconsistent recollection of events is indicative of paranoid schizophrenia.  He has refused to take medication, took off his clothes even in the cold winter months, and has been known to lock himself in the bathroom to avoid attending hearings via video-link.  But despite De Wit's apparent struggles with mental health, he has exhibited a complete lack of remorse for his actions, and has even sought to torment Sarah's father Vic.  When questioned about the killing, the Dutchman told authorities that 'the Devil took hold of my body' and allegedly told Sarah's boyfriend: 'There is no reason (why I killed her) I just killed her.'

In 2017, he mysteriously told a court that he had a 'secret' to share about Sarah's murder, despite claiming innocence.  'I am not guilty. I want to meet Sarah's parents and reveal some things about the case,' he said.

'I won't say anything in the court but will only meet and tell Mr and Mrs Groves.'

These words have only served to increase the torment for Sarah's family, whom De Wit has kept on tenterhooks with cryptic messages and false hope.  And he has fired a string of lawyers, further complicating the tumultuous legal process and preventing his case from moving forward.

A family's fight for justice

Vic and Kate Groves have spent countless hours campaigning for Sarah's killer to face justice.  But they have been thwarted at every turn by De Wit's antics, a laborious Indian legal system and apparent refusal on behalf of the British government to aid in the expedition of their daughter's case.  Upon his arrest, De Wit told authorities he had consumed cannabis and heroin during his time in Kashmir.  Doctors who examined him then reported his apparent schizophrenic tendencies and concluded he had a 'well systematised delusional belief' that he was being pursued by the Dutch government.  Police say De Wit once confessed to having committed the murder, but later retracted the confession, claiming that he was under pressure from the officers. The act of retracting his statement meant authorities could no longer proceed to sentencing and were forced to initiate a trial.  In one 2017 hearing, the Dutchman declared that he had converted to Islam in an attempt to ingratiate himself with locals in the Muslim majority state of Kashmir.  I am trying my best to cope up with the case. I converted to Islam long ago to make myself comfortable with the people around,' he said.

'I am looking for a lawyer who could defend my case but there is no one.'

But De Wit's complaints that he had no legal representation were unfounded.  He in fact worked with five different lawyers willing to take his case only to fire each and every one of them, accusing them of incompetence or being in cahoots with the Dutch government.  Already four years into a constant and ultimately futile struggle with Indian authorities to speed along proceedings, Vic told MailOnline in 2017: 'I am beyond frustrated and now have little confidence in the system. The problem is Mr De Wit has no representation and until the court imposes that on him this will not change.  Due to his mental health he can't represent himself and he keeps getting rid of his lawyers as he is so paranoid.  We have written to the judge and asked him to appoint a defender for De Wit, as he has the power to do. Why he hasn't done it, I have no idea.'

Law experts say that the local police have failed to build a watertight case against De Wit and even failed to present witnesses in court.  Some of the witnesses named in initial proceedings have died, such is the length of the case, while others have been deemed 'untraceable'.  Meanwhile, flooding in Kashmir has wiped away evidence of the murder and two judges expected to hear the case have since stepped down.  With each passing day, the chances of Sarah's family seeing justice become yet more slim, and 80-year-old Vic this week slammed Indian authorities for not taking his daughter's murder 'seriously'.  He told MailOnline: 'It's frustrating because the authorities in Kashmir have never treated the trial of the Dutchman accused of Sarah's murder seriously.  There were more than 225 scheduled hearings over the first eight years of which only a small percentage actually took place. The trial was suspended some two years ago because the accused was deemed unfit to stand trial. This is the on-going situation as we understand matters.'

But despite his anguish, Mr Groves hinted that the family might receive some kind of closure in the near future.  He said: 'There are some developments, and we are hopeful that there will be a conclusion that offers some level of closure. No further comment on this at this stage.'

Following her death, Sarah's family and friends set up the Sarah Groves Foundation to help keep her memory alive.  Mr Groves revealed that its aim is to support art, fitness and adventure in young people's lives, areas that were 'close to Sarah's heart.'

Last month, Vic told ITV on the ten-year anniversary of his daughter's murder that he has all but given up hope that Sarah's killer will be brought to trial and slammed the British government for their lack of involvement.  'De Wit has supposedly been having treatment but we don't know where or how effective, so the trial itself has all but petered out.  We are unavoidably wrapped up in international politics and we have a British government who haven't stood by us.  Nothing has worked out in our favour as the political situation between federal India and Kashmir is at an all time low.  In other remarks to the BBC, Vic concluded: 'I haven't got too many more ten-year gaps to lose.'

An FCDO spokesperson told MailOnline: 'We are providing consular assistance to the family of Sarah Groves and are in regular contact with the authorities in Kashmir.'

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The Easy Way To Rest When You’re Exhausted
April 6, 2022
by Asheritah Ciuciu
   
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 (NIV)

I eyed the bright numbers on the clock telling me I’d be lucky to get four hours of sleep that night. Hitting “send” on my paper, I stumbled into bed, murmuring, “Once I graduate, then I’ll be able to rest.”

But over the years that followed, that midnight promise morphed to match new seasons:  “Once I meet this work deadline, then I’ll be able to rest.”

“Once our baby sleeps through the night, then I’ll be able to rest.”

“Once the children are in school, then I’ll be able to rest.”

Those refrains pushed me out of bed every morning and kept me working late into the night, until one day I found myself at our kitchen table, head in my hands and   obbing the words “I can’t do this anymore.”

I was exhausted.  And from talking with older women, I knew they were repeating the same worn refrain, merely aged to match their own challenges:  “Once we pay off the mortgage …”

“Once the kids leave for college …”

“Once we retire from our jobs …”

Women of all ages and stages are chasing rest, but that coveted rest eludes us all.  In a moment of clarity, I realized that rest won’t arrive on the other side of “someday” because, no matter how much we get done, there’s always more left to do.  Wiping my tears, I cried out: “God, I need You. I can’t do this anymore.”

And in His kindness, God reminded me that we’re not the first generation to struggle with such things, nor are we alone.  In fact, 2,000 years ago, Jesus looked at a crowd of women and men just as exhausted as you and me, and He said:  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30, NIV).

Jesus doesn’t tell us to wake up early and go to bed late in order to hustle our way into His Kingdom. Quite the opposite. He invites us to lay down our heavy burdens and find rest in Him.  What does that look like in real life? I developed an easy-to-remember R.E.S.T. acronym to guide me toward Jesus when I feel overwhelmed, and you can use it too:

  R: Recite God’s goodness. The next time we find ourselves hustling, let’s pause to praise God for who He is and what He’s already doing (see Psalm 103:1-2). What can we thank Him for? Let’s start there.
  E: Express your neediness. Then we get honest with God about our struggles and sins, casting our burdens on Him because He cares for us. (1 Peter 5:7)
  S: Seek His stillness. Next, we take time to “be still, and know” that He is God (Psalm 46:10a, ESV). We quiet our hearts to listen to His still, small voice. Is there anything He wants to say to us? Are there any burdens or to-dos He’s asking us to lay down?
  T: Trust His faithfulness. Finally, we declare our confidence that our good God, who began a good work in us, will be faithful to complete it. (Philippians 1:6)

We don’t have to wait for that elusive “someday” to experience God’s rest. The gentle and humble Jesus opens wide His arms, and He says, “Come.” Today, just as you are, come.  Let’s come to Jesus, lay down our heavy burdens and receive the gift only He can give us: rest for our souls in His loving presence.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/royals/king-charles-supports-study-royals-29645291?utm_source=mirror_newsletter&utm_campaign=royal_family_newsletter2&utm_medium=email&pure360.trackingid=1d98e5a4-56c1-4dc0-99ba-a0c256dd40d1

Dark history of William and Kate's home - as King promises to help investigation

The Royal Family has, for the first time, welcomed research into the historical links between the British monarchy and the transatlantic slave trade

By Rachel Hagan World News Reporter

13:02, 6 Apr 2023 Updated 13:26, 6 Apr 2023

It has been revealed that Prince William's home has links to a slave-transport company and his ancestors were directly involved in the trade.  The Royal Family has, for the first time, welcomed research into the historical links between the British monarchy and the transatlantic slave trade as the findings came to light.  Kensington Palace was the residence of William III and the Guardian has revealed he transferred £1,000 (£155,000 today) of shares in the slave-trading Royal African Company to King William III, from Edward Colston, the slave trader and the company's deputy governor.  A PhD project of historian Camilla de Koning at Manchester University, co-sponsored by Historic Royal Palaces, will investigate the monarchy's involvement in the slave trade and engagement with the empire.  King Charles takes the issues "profoundly seriously" and the royal household will help with the academic project by offering access to the Royal Collection and the Royal Archives, Buckingham Palace has said.  The Guardian reports that an imposing bronze statue of William III, Prince William's namesake, stands at the palace as it was he who built the building.  Prince William grew up there with his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales and today, it is his official London residence with his wife.  David Conn writes: "At Kensington Palace, in the stories of kings and queens told on the information boards on the public tour, and outside on the William III statue, there is not a word about their links to slavery."

A spokesperson for the King said he had continued his pledge to deepen his understanding of slavery's impact with "vigour and determination" since his accession.  He said he was on a personal journey of discovery and was continuing to "deepen my own understanding of slavery's enduring impact" and added that the roots of the Commonwealth "run deep into the most painful period of our history".

But there was no apology from the then-heir to the throne for the royal family's involvement in the transportation and selling of people for profit.  A document found in the archives by the historian Dr Brooke Newman highlights the Royal Family's involvement in the horrific trade.  Four lines of elaborately ink-written scrawl state that shares were given to William III in 1689. The shares were in the Royal African Company (RAC), which captured, enslaved and transported thousands of African people, with the monopoly power of a royal charter.  The Slave Voyages database states that in the 60 years of its operations, the RAC transported 186,827 enslaved people, including almost 24,000 children, to the Americas.  A few months after William was given the shares, the site for Kensington Palace was bought and William and Queen Mary commissioned the architect Sir Christopher Wren to build the lavish residence.  The palace became home to Queen Anne who then expanded Britain’s involvement in the slave trade by securing the right to supply Spain’s colonies with enslaved people.  The document clearly bears the handwritten name of the now notorious Edward Colston.  During the 2020 Black Lives Matters Protests in Bristol, the statue of Mr Colston was toppled and tossed into the river.  Three people were found not guilty over the act of public dissent. The judge urged jurors to “be on the right side of history”, saying the statue, which stood over the city for 125 years, was so indecent and potentially abusive that it constituted a crime.  A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said on Thursday: "This is an issue that His Majesty takes profoundly seriously.  "As His Majesty told the Commonwealth Heads of Government Reception in Rwanda last year: 'I cannot describe the depths of my personal sorrow at the suffering of so many, as I continue to deepen my own understanding of slavery's enduring impact'."

The spokesperson added: "That process has continued with vigour and determination since His Majesty's accession.  Historic Royal Palaces is a partner in an independent research project, which began in October last year, that is exploring, among other issues, the links between the British monarchy and the transatlantic slave trade during the late 17th and 18th centuries.  As part of that drive the Royal Household is supporting this research through access to the Royal Collection and the Royal Archives.  Given the complexities of the issues it is important to explore them as thoroughly as possible. It is expected that the research will conclude in September 2026."

Manchester University's website lists Ms de Koning's research as Royal Enterprise: Reconsidering the Crown's Engagement in Britain's Emerging Empire, 1660-1775.  Her previous work includes research into Dutch involvement in the slave trade while at the University of Leiden.  A spokesperson for HRP said: "Historic Royal Palaces is a co-sponsor, with Manchester University, of a Collaborative Doctoral Partnership, exploring how the royal family were involved with the structures that underpinned Britain's economic and imperial development in the 17th and 18th centuries.  "The project will examine the royal role in empire and look at how the royal family, as individuals, understood their place within it."

The King is to be crowned amid grand celebrations at Westminster Abbey on May 6.

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