In honor...

There has been so much hurt directly affecting people close to me the last couple of weeks.  And literally after hearing of the 4th death in a two day time frame while at FMSC prior to our prayer time... I broke...

Those lost are not even people I know... Yet those I know and love are hurting deeply... so I hurt...
That is one thing that losing Samuel taught me... empathy...
Grieve with those that grieve, rejoice with those that rejoice... people don't have to hurt alone... We can help shoulder that burden...
My heart hurts for those that hurt...

This past Saturday we packed in honor of the Pals family... When the slide was up on the screen as I set up for orientation... it was almost too much... too much hurt... One amazing family wiped out in a moment... All at once... Read this amazing article that was written on the FMSC blog and take a moment to pray for their families... She says it all so well...

‘Now I Know in Part….’

August 2, 2016 by Katie Koranda

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18

Death and life. Hunger and fulfillment. Sorrow and joy. At Feed My Starving Children, we wade in the mire of these dichotomies daily.

We know that more than 6,000 children a day die from hunger related causes. We grieve. We take action. We hope. We do it all again the next day.

We are about life, despite so often being surrounded by death.

This week we lost one of our own. Jamison Pals was a grant writer for FMSC for the past three years. He left us in April to pursue missions in Japan with his family. While here, he touched countless lives. He was about to touch countless more through ministry in Japan.

Not only were we inspired as staff by his heart for Christ, but thousands upon thousands of children will live because of the work he did as a grant writer.

He died with his family on a road in Nebraska. His wife, Kathryne. His two toddlers, Ezra and Violet. A two-month-old infant named Calvin. The thought is almost incomprehensible.

We are grieving with the families of Jamison and Kathryne. But we are not without comfort and hope — this is the wonder and the miracle of a life with Christ.

We know from God’s word that there is a time for everything “and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…”

Good and gracious God,

May we take time to mourn, to grieve.

Thank you for your grace — that there is room for questioning and anger in grief.

And that sorrow may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning.

Be near to us as we walk the line between sorrow and joy every day.

Thank you for Jamison, Kathryne, Ezra, Violet and Calvin.

Thank you for the thousands of children who eat MannaPack Rice™ and the volunteers and donors who make it possible.

Thank you for the comfort and healing from your presence, and we humbly ask for more of it now.

Amen.

After traveling to the Dominican Republic with FMSC, Jamison wrote a blog post about fatherhood. He closed with this verse:

“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12

More on the Pals Family

• Read Jamison and Kathryne’s blog, For the Joy of Japan
• Support For the Joy of Japan
• Memorial Worship Service for the Pals
• World Venture Remembers the Pals Family
• Bethlehem Baptist Church Remembers the Pals Family