When All Is Said And Done

Paul in the village of Noiadi, 2009

photo by Tim Harold

In a few hours, people will begin to gather in an open air structure at the foot of Mount Cyclops in Papua, Indonesia to thank God for the life Paul Westlund.  As many of you know, Paul died in an aircraft accident last Thursday.  For those who knew Paul, these past few days have held such profound sorrow.  There's not much one can say or do to mitigate the sadness of losing a friend...and I sense that God would have us fully embrace the sadness.  And yet, even as I do just that, I find my spirit encouraged and comforted by glimpses of the Master's redemptive hand beginning to use Paul's death to do some truly beautiful things.

One of the ways Paul would get his shoes muddy was using video to bring to life what God was doing at the very end of the earth for far-away-others to see.  Paul shot this video a number of years ago.

He'd want you to watch it with a soft and open heart.