In Zaire, we called it “sitting on a death”

That’s the phrase, translated literally, that we used to use when we attended a wake or a funeral.  I inadvertently said those words in English one time in America, and I was told by a dear buddy, kiddingly, that if I talked like that I would lose friends!   Here in CAR, we are called to participate in a “ndoye”, or, translated literally, love. There are the viewings and the funerals and the wakes right when a person dies, but here they have a system of gathering together in a ndoye/love to again hear the story of the loved one who has gone, and to encourage those left behind.   A ndoye can be a few days, a few weeks, or even a few months later.  We just went to one on Sunday afternoon because we know the father but had never met the young man who had died 2 months ago.  We sang and prayed and listened to a short devotional and heard about the life of the one who died.  It is good for friends and family to gather around and find consolation and encouragement.  I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose one of our kids.  May the Lord give peace and strength to Waki and his family.  While we were drinking the sweet coffee and eating buns, a huge wind came up so we didn’t have a chance to visit after the service.  We barely got home before it absolutely poured buckets of rain.

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About danforth

As Covenant missionaries, we are working with all the tribal groups of the Central African Republic (CAR) but are trying to give special attention to the Fulani, a Musxlim, cattle herding, and semi-nomadic people group. We live on an experimental/training farm, near a mission station which has a hospital plus bible and nursing schools. We are establishing relationships with the local people groups through compassion ministries; Roy through agriculture and Aleta through public health and visitation, in order, ultimately, to share the good news of Jesus the Messiah with them. CAR is one of the least developed countries in the world and is currently in continual crisis (since the coup in March 2013), so reaching out in compassion is key to reaching their hearts. Due to the ongoing conflict and resultant ethnic cleansing in CAR, we are crossing the border to interact with our Fulani contacts.
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