What I Was Going to Say...

All day, I have had a number of thoughts float through my head about what I would write tonight. I knew I wanted to do my 30 Days Thankful post for the day; and I had a number of other, random things that I wanted to share as well. All of that changed in an instant though when we received a shocking email tonight from dear friends of ours in Tel Aviv, Yacov and Natasha, the couple to whom we transferred pastoral leadership of the congregation of which we were a part when the time came for us to leave Israel. After reading the email, what I was going to say suddenly became almost meaningless as my perspective shifted from the temporal to the eternal.

This email is from Yacov, and I'm going to post an unedited version of it. Yacov's first language is Russian; and besides that, he knows Hebrew and English (and maybe another language?)...interestingly, none of those languages share a common alphabet. So as you can imagine, his English grammar and spelling are a little rough; but I think the message comes through loud and clear. He writes...

1 Peter 5

8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Yesterday i came back home after meeting in Beitlacham. It was about 11 at night and I stared shere with my wife about the church there. At the meting we discus about sufferings, that they will come anyway and throe them we can be more united and more focus on God. Later on i go to bad and at 3 o'clock at the night i woke up. I sow fire i the hall , i called my wife and tried to put out the fire. It grouse more and more , than i fold and hurt may self at that moment i realised that we need to leave apartment as soon as possible. I screamed to Natasha to take a Little one and get out of app. In same moment i run to Ron's room but because of smoke i couldn't see my sun. To the touch i found him and took him away.Out side we sated all most naked and barefoot, we observed haw to burn down our home. We are weary [very--my note] glad to God for what happen course it is shows that we never now when we go to haven - Be ALERT. We are weary glad to God for what happen course it is united all church. We are weary glad for brothers and sister love and care. Please prey for us , just get a new home .With our love , Jukovski's family

Along with the email, he sent these pictures...

I cannot imagine what Yacov and Natasha (and their children Ron and Nichol) are experiencing right now. If my heart hurts--and it does...if my stomach feels sick--and it does...what must this be like for them?

A flood of memories has been rushing through my mind in the few hours since I first read their horrible news--sweet memories of pleasant times together, encouraging memories of their incredible faith, funny memories of relating to each other across cultural boundaries. Both Yacov and Natasha have hearts of gold...I can't say enough good things about them. They are a treasure to all those who know them.

I had to go back through my picture archives and find some photos of Yacov and Natasha from 2005, our last year in Israel. (And, by the way, I've mentioned them in this blog before: here and here.)

~ in yesterday's post about the quilt, the picture of our bed showed a heart-shaped pillow on it...that pillow was made by Natasha and given to me on my 29th birthday which we celebrated together in Tel Aviv...when we left Israel, that was one of the things that I KNEW we would take with us...it is an everyday reminder of our friendship since I can't help but think of her when I make my bed!
~ Natasha holding David when he was 10 days old
~ Natasha and my mother during a Pesach (Passover) celebration in Jerusalem, April 2005
~ Natasha holding David again, this time when he was a month and a half old
~ Yacov holding David...Yacov has the heart of a shepherd...he's a caring father for those in his physical family and his spiritual family
~ Natasha holding David again!...she snatched him every chance she got, it seems :)
~ we spent our very last evening in Israel with Yacov and Natasha and their son Ron...it was a hot July night, full of emotions of excitement for our future and sorrow at our parting...I'm so glad we spent it with them
~ Ron & Josiah playing together that night
~ this last picture was taken in October 2006 when Yacov had the opportunity to come to Virginia Beach for a conference...we drove 4 hours there and 4 hours back in the same day, just to have the chance to spend a few hours with him...we would do it again in a heartbeat...their friendship is so worth it

It feels a little strange to be doing a 30 Days Thankful post in light of what the Jukovsky family is going through; and yet, I am grateful. So here are a few things for which I give thanks today.

Day 3 - for the privilege of knowing Yacov and Natasha and calling them friends...for God's hand of protection on them...for His overwhelmingly good gift of sparing their lives and the lives of their precious children...for the inspiring and astounding response that sprang immediately from Yacov and Natasha (in the email, Yacov writes several times, "We are very glad to God" -- you are? wow!)...for the eternal perspective that Yacov shares, the reminder to be alert because we never know when we'll go to heaven

To those who read my blog...when you think of them in the days to come, would you please pray for Yacov and Natasha? Despite their faith, this has got to be extremely difficult for them. May all their needs be met, may their hearts be comforted, may their children be protected from the emotional trauma of the fire, and may God use this to, in some way, be glorified and draw many to Himself.