Teaching our kids about life

It is a hard thing to explain to your children about life in this fallen world.  We support a friend who is a missionary for MAF in Indonesia.  A fellow missionary in this country drowned just over a week ago, he was a pilot there serving orphans.
Tonight we explained to our children about missionaries and what their 'mission' is, we also explained orphans, and also tonight we explained to them about who a widow is.
It does something to you when you consider the loss of life.  Death happens all too often, but we know nothing or little about the deseacsed.  It is all too common a death to some anonymous person, just a statistic, and usually effects our life in no way at all.
We are keeping this family in our prayers, our children are writing letters to the mom, Katie, and her 3 year-old son, Jeremiah.
Taking his death seriously somehow helps me live for what is important, appreciate my life more and not take the time I have for granted.  I want to spend the time I have with those that I love.