Katya and I are finally in the States after three years of not visiting family and friends here. We went to Texas first, and a couple of days after we got to Dallas, we heard that our “sister” (she’s actually a very close family friend and Katya’s sister’s roommate) was diagnosed with double-pneumonia. She has already had trouble breathing for several months and has been sick with autoimmune hepatitis for several years.

The next day, as we were making our way down to San Antonio, she died. Oksana really was a part of our family – she was there for Katya’s mom and sister when Katya’s dad died the last time we visited America. She was an amazing servant in the church, a good friend, and a very generous person.

Please pray for our family and friends back in Ukraine and for us as we can’t really mourn with them.