Mourning for Kela

As we gathered at the HM office on Saturday for a group office clean up day, our fellow missionary, Lahela Hughes Tagaroulious, shared with us the tragic news that her 22 year old sister Kela had died the day before in a car accident in Seattle. We were/are stunned.

Mike and I got to know Kela from the time we spent here in Greece in 2006. We also spent time with her again this past Thanksgiving. She was here for a couple of weeks visiting Lahela and was the one who prepared Thanksgiving dinner for us since her sister was too ill with morning sickness to do any of the preparations. We marveled that one so young could cook up such a big feast and it was all delicious.

The Hughes family lives in Seattle Washington where their father, David, is the missions pastor at Antioch Church. They have been coming to Greece and sending teams to work with HM for years.

Please join with us in prayers for the grieving Hughes family. Parents David and Holly, siblings Lahela 26 (married to Bobis and 5 months pregnant), and brothers Keoni 20-studying at Moody, Kuni 17ish and Kepa 13ish. While we grieve with the family we do rejoice in the knowledge that Kela is now in heaven. She had made her peace with Jesus and had given her life to Him; accepting the free gift of salvation that He offers to those who believe on His name.

We are still reeling from this sad news and are even more aware than ever that the time is short. Death can come at any minute. Do you know where you will be one minute after you die? Will you live forever in heaven with God or will you be eternally separated from Him in hell? Have you been reconciled to God through the blood of Jesus? It is in His name alone that we can enter the presence of God in heaven. It doesn’t matter how good you try to be or if you go to church, but whether or not you have chosen to follow the way Jesus prepared for you by His life, death and resurrection.

The time is now, the choice is yours. It is a free gift, but it must be received and opened by you individually. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me.” John 14:6