Last week I shared about the death of one of our second-year students who died when a bus swerved off the highway and tipped over. He was sitting next to the window were the bus landed on its side. Another student was sitting next to him, and suffered some cuts and bruises.
The following day we held a very short service of celebration in the AU chapel with large numbers of students coming to show their respects to him and his family, and all filing past the open coffin to say their goodbyes. There is great respect here for the loss of a life, regardless of the age.
There are often conversations about things like this being the work of the devil, or spells cast by witches who "manifest" dire circumstances on someone. There is also a very strong belief in the spirits of family members who have passed and who may be displeased with your behavior. Their anger may cause bad things to happen to you.
How important it is to share God's Love, and to teach about God's grace, acceptance, and forgiveness. But long-held beliefs about "the spirit world" run deep, even for those who profess a Christian faith. An African writer has recently said that this belief in the spirit world is one of the major reasons why Africa as a continent has not developed ~~ because the people are always trying to please/satisfy the spirit world, which keeps them always looking to the past. And so it becomes a cycle which prevents people from celebrating life and freedom through the forgiveness and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is why the Rev. Dr. Katsondo feels it is so important for the people of all African nations to know and embrace the power of the stories and life of Jesus ~~ so they can look to heaven and rejoice!
This past Thurs. as I was preparing to sit down to write this blog I received an urgent summons to come to the common room upstairs to provide support and sympathy for a final year student who had just learned of the passing of her mother in DR Congo. This death was unexpected, which makes the grief even deeper. She left the following morning for her home and to bury her mother. Many in the female dorms and males from DRC came to offer their condolences to her. Several led in singing and others (theology students) prayed for her in French.
About 15 minutes after I returned to my flat there came another knock on my door. Five Congolese young men came to ask for my help ~~ because the brother of a first-year student had been killed in an accident on his way home from school, also in DRC. The funeral and burial had already taken place, but her parents had requested that their daughter not be told until "later." It is the custom for family members to return to their home village to pay respect to the family and to be present at the burial. But this young lady will now have no real way to say goodbye to her brother. And it will take her longer to process this information than if she had been allowed to go home to be comforted by and be with her family.
It is so humbling to be a part of these very delicate and tragic experiences in our students' lives. They face challenges that college students in many other circumstances don't have to deal with. And for me, not being able to communicate with them in their first language makes me feel very inadequate. Fortunately, another young student stepped up and translated what I was saying.
Please offer prayers of sympathy for those who have recently lost loved ones. And pray for good health and safety for everyone on this campus.
Go live in the peace of God, my friends,
Live deep in the peace of God . . . .
Mary Beth
Thanks for your presence with these precious young adults. My heart is heavy for them today. Thanks for sharing.
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