Time is an interesting human construct. Before there was time God was. In the midst of time God is. At the end of time God will be. In this system of time we live in, it never stops moving forward. Countless songs have been and will continue to be written about the mystery and reality of this phenomenon known as time. Ecclesiastes 3 tells us that there is an appointed time for everything under Heaven. Some of those times are joyful and some are mournful. We at English Connection are experiencing a time of mourning that, in a way, is also a time of joy.

In December, a member of our support family left us to go and be with Jesus. It was her appointed time. And now it is our time to mourn, but also to be joyful knowing that she is with our Lord and is no longer in pain. Death is always bittersweet for us as believers. We miss the person who has gone home but we know that it is not a permanent separation, only a temporary one. But that doesn’t make saying goodbye easy. In fact, the more we love and are loved, the harder goodbyes are, even if only temporary. And our friend Aldena Phillips loved well and was loved by many.

Aldena’s son, Daniel, has been on many trips with us in the past and does almost all of our media work as far as photos, videos, and even our website. In 2016, Daniel brought Aldena to Europe to see the work we do firsthand. She visited us in Prague and we traveled together to Ukraine to visit our partners at Nehemiah House. When we recorded some videos about our work in Ukraine, Aldena was right there with us helping assist in the video shoots. She was also with us when we visited an orphanage on National Children’s Day in Ukraine and was a great help and encourager to our friends there.

Like many people who visit us in Europe and personally experience the work we do, Aldena became a very faithful financial supporter of the English Connection. Having her as a part of our team has been a true blessing; knowing she was praying for us and our friends. She also gave faithfully to support God’s work. She left a great legacy with us and we thank God for allowing us to have her as a part of our ministry.

Please be in prayer for Daniel and his family this month as they celebrate her life with friends and family. Continue to pray for the work of the English Connection as well. As we enter a new year with many goals for ministry this year, we also enter into a season where financial giving is more important than ever. If you have ever considered becoming a monthly supporter for English Connection, your gift would be a huge help to us at this time of the year. Any small amount is always appreciated.

Even better, if you would like to come and join us and see some of the work we do, like Aldena did, we want you to come and be a part of what God is doing!

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From all of us at The English Connection, we pray that God would abundantly bless the time you have with your loved ones. We don’t know when our appointed time will come but we can strive to make the most of the time we are given, as Aldena did so well.