Sorrow

Dear Friends,

Our friend Opio Martin died yesterday.  

We are feeling a lot of pain right now.  Opio was at our house every week for youth group or to see our kids and play games together.  He was faithful in church, served the Lord, ushering, singing and he had a servants heart.  We are all going to miss his smile, quiet spirit, and the encouragement he brought to all of us.

Opio was 19 years old.  He was finishing his last year of primary school.  God transformed Opio's life.  He was once an angry boy from a broken family.  I remember at the youth conference in 2016 Opio and many other youth gave their lives to the Lord.  Opio lived with his uncle and their family grew him up in the Lord.

It is hard to hold your children as they weep mourning a friend.  It doesn't seem real that we wont see him again.  None of us feel like having a funeral and burial for our friend.  Sadness and numbness.  

Josh was four hours away teaching at a FIC training when we got the news.  So he rushed home to be with everyone.  Emalai is sick which makes for one more thing right now.

Lydia, Grace and I mourned with our friends yesterday afternoon.  We walked to the home of Opio and wept with our friends.  It was hard to see the youth in so much pain - my girls right with them.  To watch everyone young and old crying.  Our hearts are broken today.  I held many youth.  There aren't many words, just being present.  We share the pain of loss.

We left with Samson to find Tom who had not yet come.  Tom and Samson were some of Opio's closest friends.  We found Tom on the path to his house and I have never seen such genuine weeping here among young men.  It was heart wrenching.  We all just held one another and wept.  We needed one another.

By the time we reached home we had about ten youth, whom I had welcomed, just wanted a place to be together.  For a while they played a game and it was good to hear them laugh but then it grew quiet and everyone was somber.  About then Josh arrived home.  He had Luka and Emalai who were crying as they learned about Opio's death.  Josh had his arms full with his own kids and the youth.

We all ate dinner together then shared why we loved Opio or a good memory we had of him.  I remember him having a servants heart when we repainted the church and he washed all the paint brushes, walking with him after Bible study and asking if he had forgiven his parents and he said yes, the first time he taught Bible study and he was so proud, and when he said he will never forget the question we challenged one another in youth group with, "Does this glorify God?"  Everyone had memories of Opio encouraging them.  Josh talked about how quiet Opio loved to share God's Word when we visited elderly people as a youth group.  Samson, who shared a room with Opio, talked about how they would share the Bible verses they memorized to earn a Bible.  One would start the verse and the other one would finish it.  None of us will forget his smile and him singing in the Freedom in Christ choir.  We ended the night praying together and more tears.  I am constantly so blessed by the youth here.  I am so thankful we could be together at a very hard time.

Opio's body came during the night with his father and uncle (from the capital city where he was in the hospital seven hours away).  Today people came to see the body, mourn, and prepare for the burial tomorrow.  A few hundred people sit at the house waiting for tomorrow.  We also went.  The body doesn't even look like our friend (he was very swollen when he died).  Most of my tears are dried up but some moments they still came.  We went into the house to see Opio's father.  He was not doing well.  He was already sick but now he is in so much pain loosing his only son.  He was almost uncontrollably sobbing.  It was really hard to see and we couldn't say much just sat with him in a dark hut with lot of other people.  He was so grateful for our help.  Opio's sister was having a hard time too and just couldn't stop crying as we sat with her.  

Although we are sad, we find so much comfort knowing Opio is with Jesus.  He is healthy and with the Lord!  We hurt but he is rejoicing.  We pray Opio's testimony reaches all the youth who have not yet given their lives to Christ.  We pray the burial tomorrow will proclaim the Good News and many will come to Jesus.  We pray even his own uncle and other family members will see their need for a Savior and put their trust in Jesus.

I will post a blog after the burrial tomorrow.   You can also pray for Josh who will be preaching.