"I am a 35-year-old mother who has never understood the meaning of heaven, hell, etc. I never went to church. When I was a little girl I always wanted to know about God and who Jesus was. I was never taught. "I now have a 9-year-old little girl. She always would ask me who God is. I am so embarrassed to say that I could never give her an answer. I had many people try to help me, however I never could understand what it was they would try to tell me... "Reading the booklet you have given to me (Heaven and Hell) has really helped me. The way you explain it is very understandable for me. I cannot wait to get my second booklet." We love to get letters like this one. I suspect they bring a feeling of satisfaction to you also. Jesus said to His Father on the night before He died, "I have finished the work which You have given Me to do" (John 17:4). One of these days, we, the Body of Christ, want to be able to say to the Head of the Church, "We have finished the work You gave us to do." The United Church of God's mission statement says: "The mission of the Church of God is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God in all the world, make disciples in all nations and care for those disciples." Would you say that is an ambitious statement? Most businessmen would call it preposterous. Yet that is the mission Christ gave to His disciples. While the wording may be modified from time to time, the core mission remains. Preaching the gospel to the whole world and every person in the world (Mark 16:15) is indeed a monumental job. Only Christ Himself has the capacity to do such a work. We must never forget that it is Christ who is doing the work and that we are at best feeble instruments in His hands. Nevertheless, we are not to fold our hands and wait for Him to do it miraculously. He wants us to be involved! Our dedication to His purpose assures Him that we really do want His Kingdom to come—we really do desire to share the gift of salvation with all people. Though we look with great anticipation for personal salvation, Christ's love in us will motivate us to want to extend it to every fellow human being. The following letter arrived today. "I wanted to say thank you so much for the literature you are offering at no charge. What a wonderful ministry. Large families, like my own, are often on such a strict budget (as we are), and so it's so nice to find a ministry who is giving away God's word and books and magazines about our Savior. I pray blessings upon your ministry. When I am able, I would love to donate to your ministry. That will be down the road for my family, but one day I will smile as I send in a donation with heartfelt gratitude." Let us personally pray fervently for wisdom and strength to collectively fulfill our mission from Christ. Let's also look forward with excitement to the wonderful time when "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the L ord as the waters cover the sea" (Isaiah 11:9). UN