Posted on 08/01/2016 12:33:51 PM PDT by Gamecock
The five people killed Sunday in a crash on Interstate 80 in western Nebraska have been identified by relatives as a young family heading to Colorado for missionary training.
Killed were Jamison Pals and his wife, Kathryne, both 29, and their three children: 3-year-old Ezra; Violet, who was almost 2; and 2-month-old Calvin, family members said. They were from St. Paul, Minnesota.
“They were on their way to Littleton, Colorado, for a month of missionary training with WorldVenture,” said Karen Pals, a sister-in-law from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. “Then they were going to move to Japan to work, probably in October.”
Tony A. Weekly, 53, a semitrailer truck driver from Baker, Florida, was arrested on suspicion of motor vehicle homicide following the collision. The crash occurred in a construction zone about 4 miles west of Brule, Nebraska, just before 11:30 a.m. MDT. Brule is about 10 miles west of Ogallala.
The semi was heading west when it hit the rear of the Palses’ westbound van, the Nebraska State Patrol said. The force of the collision pushed the semi and van into three other passenger vehicles. The semi and van both were engulfed in flames.
Karen Pals said the couple had made a commitment to live in Japan, coming home for visits about every four years.
“This (the move to Japan) was going to be a permanent thing,” she said. “They were very committed to their work.”
Rick Pals of Hugo, Minnesota, Jamison’s father, said his son belonged to Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis and became interested in missionary work in Japan after hearing Michael Oh, a Korean-American pastor, speak. The Palses would have been affiliated with Christ Bible Institute in Nagoya, Japan.
“Jamison and Kathryne ... they had a heart for people,” Rick Pals said. “They loved what they were doing.”
Jamison and Kathryne Pals kept a blog, “For the Joy of Japan,” about their call to missionary work. The blog includes updates on their children, their progress in obtaining funds for their work and their move away from the Twin Cities.
In a May post, Jamison wrote about leaving the cramped duplex they had called home for the past four years. “It is, after all, the place where we brought home both of our children — the only earthly home they’ve ever known,” he wrote. “We will miss being three blocks from the Mississippi River and all of its trails. We will miss mowing Mr. and Mrs. Johnson’s lawn in the summer and shoveling their sidewalks in the winter. We will miss playing in the sandbox and sink-hole with our neighbors. Mostly, we will miss our neighbors.”
Jamison wrote that he wanted to help bring the Gospel to Japan, an area of the world he says is underserved by Christianity.
My heart is breaking.
May God be glorified.
Condolences to family and friends of the Pals.
(prayer)
Horrible. A tragic loss that. We need to remember them. They deserve it.
The only comfort I find in this tragic story is that this family is now with God in their heavenly home.
So Satan thinks that by killing Missionaries it’s going to stop the message of Salvation thru Christ in Japan? LOL!
Romans 8:28
God’s will will be done no matter what.
This is horrible - a whole family. You just never know when your time is up. Each moment is more precious than we realize.
Yes.
Prayers and Condolences for their loved ones, in Jesus Name, Amen.
Very sad; a true tragedy.
I think we can be confident that they are all greeted with the seven words all of us will long to hear from the Lord in that time, namely, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”.
Only God knows.
Satan is walking to and fro across the face of the Earth. Our Creator takes home those doing the good work.
Thank you Gamecock, and you are right: this God, this Creator of every star, only He is able to create glory for Himself, from what appears to be agonizing loss...
How so? Because we can’t yet see every story, in each heart so affected by His grace.
King of creation, bring glory to Your holy name here, and touch those You wish to awaken... in Jesus name, thank You Father, Amen.
RIP.
God called them to Japan.
They died while moving from one earthly home to another.
God ended up calling them to their eternal home.
God bless the young Pals family.
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