Up is a guy from church who is currently studying at Bible College here with hopes of going into full time ministry in the future with his wife. Earlier this year he got married to Mam. His mother has been battling cancer and just last week, lost her battle and went to be with the Lord. It'd be great if you could be keeping Up, Mam and their family in your prayers. Whilst it is really sad news, there is also an upside in that his mum was a christian. Unfortunately i wasn't able to make it to all 3 days of the funeral, but what i did go to, and what i heard about the days i missed, the gospel was presented really clearly and even though she will be sorely missed by her family and friends, many were also rejoicing that she no longer has to suffer and is now with God. Today at church, it was really encouraging when Up got up to say a few words in church about the past week. To hear and see how he has been challenged in his faith in the past week and how he wanted to encourage others of the certainty that we can have in Christ and that while it is right to feel sad, it is also a time for us as christians to rejoice when others are able to go to be with God.
At Mam and Up's wedding earlier this year.I'm still completely astounded by the number of funerals that i've been to this year and the number of deaths that i know of (especially as i feel like in many ways, i'm still new here and don't really know that many people). It's a constant reminder of how we really don't know what the future will hold for us and that we need to make the most of every opportunity that we have.
