Almost immediately, our schedule had to be adjusted because of the death of a prominent and popular pastor of a church about 20 kilometers from Bangui, southwest on the road to M’baike.

Because of his prominence in the Fellowship, many of our seminar attenders needed to participate, so we were invited to go along, even sharing a place of honor in the “visiting pastors’ section” near the bier.

Long before we arrived at the church, the road was filled with OTN ladies, dressed colorfully, marching along the center of the road, singing and chanting, enroute to the funeral.

What a blessing it was to see people in grief, and yet to see the sure hope they have that their beloved pastor was with Jesus and that they would be reunited with him some day–a stark contrast to the funeral/burial practices of those who don’t know the Lord.