A heart-stopping reminder

Thank you, Lord.

I just saw online that a plane crashed at the Amsterdam airport today, leaving nine people dead and many injured. Normally, ashamedly, I would quickly move on from this story.

Except that my brother is flying out of Amsterdam today. I was on IM with him until late last night... he had a layover for several hours and was hanging out in the airport, wondering why he couldn't seem to find a single pack of chewing gum anywhere.

After seeing the devastating headline, with shaking hands, I checked Austin's blog. He's ok. He was somehow able to update the blog while sitting in his plane on the runway. His flight will be postponed for hours because of the crash.

Wow.

All of a sudden, I'm reminded that although my brother isn't one of the nine dead from that crash, someone's brother is. Someone's son, someone's daughter, someone's husband. I pray that next time I hear of such a tragedy, I won't be so quick to move on to the next story before lifting those involved to the Lord.

Now, although Austin is safe for now, he is heading into dangerous territory. Whenever his plane in Amsterdam is cleared for departure, he'll fly first to Uganda, and will then travel via a 4-seater charter plane into Sudan.  An organization called Aid Sudan has commissioned him to photograph several different projects in the southern part of the country. He'll focus mainly on the construction of a 200-foot radio tower that will be used to broadcast Christian radio, health & hygiene training and local news to 1 million Sudanites.

You can understand why we are trying to smother Austin in prayers while he is in Sudan... politically, socially, it's a bit scary. Gives his family at home a perfect opportunity to trust in the Lord's protection and perfect will. If you want to keep up with Austin's travels, be sure to check his blog. Thanks for remembering him in your prayers.