Manry Family

Sunday morning I received a somber call from Spencer. Goretti and Emmanuel, the wife and child of Grace Nyanga, a prominent leader among churches in Busoga, had lost their lives when their car collided with a truck in Mabira Forest.  One hour later I rode in a vehicle with nine other people, escorting Grace to confirm with our eyes the awful truth.  I have no words to adequately describe the heavy feelings that draped over everyone in the vehicle, especially Grace. He sat amongst us a broken man, receiving calls from shocked relatives and friends, alternating between stunned silence and uncontrollable cries.

Grasping for some lens to see Grace in this moment, painful memories were awakened that haven't fully healed. Last year, on my way to Kampala, a young man named Simon ran in front of my vehicle and died shortly  after we brought him to Jinja hospital.  A year before that, a phone call from Irene Kimeze began a long dark night in which we learned that her husband Moses Kimeze and our teammate Adam Langford  lost their lives in an  auto accident on Mount Elgon. These tragedies (still) seem senseless and leave only questions. 

Bright green hills surrounded the dark scene at the mortuary in Lugazi and highlighted an everpresent paradox.  Uganda is a land full of life: perpetual springs and summers bring water and sun to fertile soils that are bisected and nourished by the world's longest River.  Here of all places, people seem so fragile, vulnerable to tropical deseases and deadly viruses, and unsafe drivers on unsafe roads.  Ugandans often acknowledge these realities and deal with their consequences by repeating mantras of faith such as, "It was God's plan."  I'm never sure what is exactly meant when I hear these statements - words are loaded with unspoken understandings - but I have difficulty attributing divine intent to such tragedies, especially from my earthly vantage point. 

I take solace in a word Spencer shared from John 11 at Goretti and Emma's funeral the following day.  There Jesus encounters Mary weeping over her brother Lazarus.  Scripture says, "When Jesus saw Mary crying and the people with her crying too, he was very upset and deeply troubled. 'Where did you put him,' he asked. They replied, 'Lord, come and see.'"  Then, we are told, "Jesus wept."

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