MH17

I know many of you, if not most of you, have seen a lot in the news about Malaysian Airlines Flight 17. Most people are blaming the rebels in eastern Ukraine, and blaming Russia who has been supplying them with weapons and training for this horrible act. It always grieves me to think of any loss of life. Life is so valuable, so precious and 298 lives were taken in just a second. I don't need to tell you much more about this as I am sure you all have already heard a lot about it. I just encourage you to think about life in general.

God gave it to us. It is short, and it can be taken away in an instant. Don't waste your life. Don't wait until it's too late to tell a friend, a neighbor, a family member about the love and saving grace of Jesus Christ and what he did for us all on the cross of Calvary. Please pray for the family members and loved-ones of those who died on MH17 in this senseless act of aggression. And please remember the more than 300 Ukrainian servicemen and hundreds of Ukrainian civilians who already have lost their lives in this conflict in eastern Ukraine. Please pray for peace for Ukraine. I just returned this week from a youth camp. It was a great and encouraging time for me serving with other Ukrainian believers, and it was a blessing to be a part of. I was amazed to see God working in the hearts of these young people and really saw a change in many of them as camp progressed. Please pray for them, that they would remember what they heard at camp and that God would change their hearts. They are the future of Ukraine and I pray continually for God-fearing leaders for this still young country. Also please pray for me tomorrow as I head east, closer to the conflict zones, to help with another camp in Kherson. There we will be doing a lot with very little resources and we will have mostly poor children from the small towns and villages in the area. Please pray for our safety as we travel around 20 hours on train to this area. Also pray that God would use us in an amazing way as we help a church in the area with this camp. We pray that through the children we can help this church to connect to these families in this area, and be able to witness to them and show them the love of Christ. And also of course that they would hear the Gospel and respond to it. We know God desires that all men be saved, and again I encourage you to value every life, every soul around you. Remember that there are more important things than some of our everyday problems that seem to consume us sometimes. Think on eternal things! May God bless you all this week. Thank you again sincerely for your prayers and support for me and our work here in Ukraine.