Hey! Wanted to share something heavy on my heart recently: I just want to encourage you to pray. Like, get on your knees and pray! Our world needs it. Something the Lord has been working in my heart is to pray for the people that are hardest to pray for(Matthew 5:44). It is easy for me to pray for the people in Ukraine to meet Jesus in the midst of all of this evil. It is easy for me to pray for the terrified people of Russia who also need someone to fight for them to meet Jesus too. However, praying for someone like Putin to meet Jesus? That is hard. Choosing to forgive and love him? Even more difficult(more like borderline impossible). However, as I have been praying for Putin everyday, the Lord has been greatly softening my heart for him. For those fighting with him. I do not just want him to meet Jesus for the sake of others, but so that he can be healed, restored, forgiven, and know true love. 

Jesus is weeping with Ukraine. With refugees. With scared Russian citizens. With those who have lost family members. With surrounding European countries. But He is also weeping for Putin. Jesus wants His heart, too. 

Pray for Ukraine. Pray for missionaries and refugees, for protection and strength. Pray for Russian forces to be radically changed by Jesus Christ! 

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:6-8 

with love, 

Ella