Elenga’s casket at the funeral
Last week we were privileged to attend the funeral for our friend and co-worker Rev. Liévin Liwawa Elenga. Born December 12, 1962, he passed away March 4, 2017 following an 8 month battle with intestinal issues. Ordained in 1995 Rev. Elenga served as a pastor, professor at the Bozogi Bible Institute and Director of Bozogi for 8 years. From 2004-2008 he served as 2nd Vice-President of the CEUM in charge of Biblical & Theological Education department and from 2008-2012 as Vice-President of the CEUM in charge of the Life of the Church department. From 2013 to the present he was the Community Health Evangelism (CHE) facilitator and worked closely with us. For over a year he made weekly visits to the villages of Bogbakole and Botakambia where he trained the CHE committee, the first CHEs of community health evangelists. The testimonies we’ve received from those villages about the impact of the training are powerful. (see blog links to the right for other CHE stories)
Memory of Elenga teaching
Memory of Elenga with his wife, Bibi
Rev. Elenga fathered 6 children with his first wife Martha. In 2005 he married Bibi and they had 3 children. We were moved by testimonies of those who worked with him.
Rev. Mawe: I knew Pastor Elenga as a friend, neighbor and colleague. We enjoyed talking about all the issues facing the church here. He was patient, joyful, receiving, endurance, strength. He worked hard to prepare a future for his children. If he was leading a service he had the ability to get everyone engaged, to get people laughing when necessary.
Rev. Luyada: I worked well with Pastor Elenga for many years. He was humble, collaborative, simple, hard worker, patient, a peace-maker.
Rev. Dr. Sanguma: Rev. Elenga served with me as vice-president for 8 years. He was a pastor to all, a peace-maker, a person of joy and laughter. He was a faithful spokesman for the people of the Bumba area; he campaigned for the bike project for them, the large cargo truck and more.
As our co-worker, Rev. Elenga was a passionate champion for CHE. He had caught the vision and wanted to share it with others. Upon returning from one of the villages he would stop by to share what they had learned and what was taking place. We also saw him as a pastor, living husband & father, faithful friend, man of prayer; truly a faithful man who showed the way for others. We miss him.
The crowd gathered at the funeral
It was a very large crowd
Bibi & kids at the funeral
