This week, while we were doing the Pizza Project at the hospital, I had a moment that’s been sticking with me.

We showed up with pizza, and Leonid shared a message with the guys. It wasn’t a long interaction—just a simple meal, a few words, a brief pause from everything else. But looking at them, it was hard not to think about what comes next for a lot of them: leaving that place and going right back into the war.

That’s the part that messes with you. You can be standing there handing someone a slice of pizza, and they look like any normal guy… but the reality is, this war is taking so many lives, and some of the men we served could be gone soon. You may never see them again—not because anyone chose distance, but because war doesn’t give people that option.

So I’m thankful we got to serve them, even in something as small as a meal and a moment of encouragement. And I’m praying for protection over them and an end to this war—because none of this should be normal.