Newsletter: February 27, 2026 – Wide Awake International

Today’s newsletter is brought to you by me, Kim! 👋

Love in Action

“Love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing, compared with love in dreams.”
– The Brothers Karamazov
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Hi Friends,

The season of Lent began last Wednesday, and it’s really doing a number on me! Things are coming up that the Lord lovingly wants to deal with inside of me and I’m thankful, but…it kinda hurts a little too.

Lent is an ancient Christian tradition of fasting, prayer, and alms-giving for the 40 days leading up to Easter. It’s a time to set your priorities straight, to recognize the areas in your life where you have gone astray, and to prepare your heart for the big day of days- Resurrection Day. I appreciate the call to live more intentionally, to put aside some things and to say no to myself a bit more. And God is always faithful to meet me in those moments. I think he finds great joy in our deliberate efforts to say no to self and yes to him.

This week I wrote some thoughts on the blog about “Love in Action”. I’ve been thinking lately about loving without needing something in return, about the beauty of a hidden life, and about a longing to be content with just the gaze of our loving God- without a need for the gaze of other humans. I hope it encourages you this Lenten season. Saying YES is beautiful and also sometimes hard. But we are never alone on the journey. How beautiful is that?

Wishing you sunny and peaceful skies,
Kim

Read the Blog

Thanks from Vlad (and me)

Thank you to everyone who sent a congratulations note to Vlad. I read every single one to him and he was soooooo happy! He was giggling and clapping and just couldn’t get enough. He got tons of messages from you all and as a mom, I want to say thank you for loving my son. Thank you for taking the time to tell him you are proud of him. Your words are very valuable to him and to me. 💙

Now that the roads are a little bit better and it’s not so bitterly cold we’re back to our weekly cafe visits! It’s important to get the boys out and about, and also for people in our city to see our boys and interact with them. We love our weekly coffee dates!