Now I know how Apostle Paul feels

Apostle Paul loved all the churches he planted. He was a father, had a genuine love for them. In the course of his life, it seemed, he had little opportunity to be with those precious ones. Oh! How he longed to be with them, to nurture them to talk to them, to be refreshed by them, encouraged by their love for all the saints and their growing faith.

But the giant of a man, still could be imprisoned, in shipwrecks, in beatings, and many dangerous situations which he said made a man give up hope and could only commit his life to God. And in one of these imprisonments, he was in a man-made cell, concerned and desirous to know how they have progressed. This man should be more concerned for his own situation perhaps. But all he could do, was write letters, pray and think about them!

Old friend whose family name sounds like the sound of a river, pray tell me, how could he have made contact?