Till We Meet Again

Several weeks ago Pastor Titus Sibanda was traveling in the back of an open truck and there was an accident and he was thrown out. He never really regained his health after that. Titus (pictured below) leaves behind his precious wife and ten children, some of whom are grown and married. He was an overseer of at least 5 churches in Tongaland and the many people from those churches who came to bid farewell were testimony to His love for God and His people.

I would like to share some of the images from the funeral and share briefly some of our experiences. Leaving Gweru, we took three pastors with us. As we began to descend the escarpment into Tongaland the road grew noticeably worse.

The shoulders had not been maintained to the degree that thorn trees were encroaching on both sides and at times it was like a one-lane road instead of two.

As we approached his village we saw smoke rising from the where the women were cooking and people huddled in groups.

We were invited under the tarp where the other pastors were sitting who had also come.

I believe there were about 12 pastors altogether who managed to come. Soon after we arrived we were served sadza and meat and we ate while the pastors organized who would do what for the funeral.

As the service began about 12:00 noon the sun was bright and hot. But the people joined in singing and dancing as they participated.

Many of the pastors there were given an opportunity to speak. Others helped carry the coffin to the nearby burial site.

I had never been to a Tonga funeral before and was disarmed by the amount of wailing. It was very hard emotionally to hear the desperation in their cries. Several of the pastors, including the final speaker at the graveside sought to encourage the family and church members by reminding them that this is a graduation which all Christians will experience one day and that God will be with us until we all meet again on the other side.