In Memory of Nicolas

Got some horrible news this evening.

My brother rang my mobile phone from Seattle to tell me that mom and dad had been trying to get a hold of me. My cousin, Nicolas (19), was killed in action during this week's fighting in Iraq.

It was tough to take. Just last week, while I was staying at my parents' place in Washington state, Nick's older sister came over with her husband and 2 yr. old daughter. We talked about getting care packages and e-mail message across to Nick. It's comforting to know that Nick had a relationship with his Creator (at least as far as I'm aware) and, in the long run, that will make things easier to handle for his parents and 9 siblings. I can imagine it's still going to be difficult, however.

The toughest part about it for me personally is being so far away from my family, and wanting to be with them to mourn this loss of a special family member. I had similar feelings when my grandmother died last year and when my neice was born. Guess that's just the nature of living so far away from home.

Please be in prayer for my family, particularly Nick's immediate family. I'm hoping to shop around to see if I can find some decently priced airfare back to the States to attend the memorial service. We'll see if it works out.