passing

Mike Richard's dad passed away. He died from cancer.

A lot of my family knows Mike, somewhat. He is a dear friend of mine, from college. Mike joined the Army last year and recently shipped out to Germany for continued training, en route to the Middle East. While in Germany he learned of his father's death; the Army granted him ten days of emergency leave to fly home and be with his mother and sisters.

The family buried Michael Sr.'s ashes in a plot in Whitefish, Montana.

Mike's doing well, all things considered. He wrote to me and told me that he is happy that his father no longer has to endure the torment and intense pain of terminal cancer; he also told me that he is even more happy that his dad is "truly in paradise." "Sometimes ," he continued, "I'm almost ecstatic for him."

Nevertheless, Mike has to leave his mother and sisters and return to Germany, tomorrow I think. His separation from them, in dark days like these, is compounded by the fact that he's heading to war in a couple weeks.

Anyways, if you know Mike, please pray for him and his family.