Death Haunts Us All

With sadness, I must report that Ngone Ciss, wife of Momar Sylla and mother of Mbaye Sylla, passed away last Monday, February 22, 2010. To the vast majority of my readers, this lady is unknown, just another name. But to many in Senegal, she was a beloved mother, wife, daughter, and friend, a strong testimony to the presence of Jesus Christ in her life. My dad was able to visit the family while we were in Senegal, but this still came as a shock to him and everyone else. Death has been a frequent visitor in my extended family this past year. May I ask that you pause a moment and pray for this family and hold them close in your heart for a time?

This is a portion of an email I received from someone in Senegal:

Ngone has suffered with asthma for many years, and recently was having a lot of intestinal trouble. The doctor wanted to do a endoscope but was concerned about it being too painful so had her on some medication to calm her intestines before doing it. Yesterday she was in a bit of pain, but in the afternoon felt a bit better. Mbaye had been sitting with her, but when she felt better, he went over to the CAFÉ to prepare for SAUL. He is enrolled in the classes. He got a call about 10:30 PM or so to come home because Ngone was not doing well at all. By the time he got there she had already passed away. They took her body to Clinique Barthimee where they confirmed that she was gone. They then sent her body to the morgue at St. Jean de Dieu.

Ngone had made it clear to Mbaye some time back that she wanted a funeral at the church and to be buried as a Christian. Momar's family is very unhappy about this but Mbaye has stated categorically to all of them that he is going to honor his mother's wishes. I am so proud of him. It is not easy and he is asking prayer to remain strong as the Muslim members are making their displeasure known.

The funeral will be Wednesday at the church at 3 PM with interment at the cemetery by St. Jean de Dieu.

Psalms 23