Bandeko bakei liboso
Mowa Rene Nzambe, the first Director of the Elikya Center, has been sick for many months now. He received treatment in Gamboula in early July and then was resting and recouping in Bangui before returning to Congo. The decision was made for him to return here to Gemena with us on October 2nd after leaving our latest team in Bangui for their return to the US. However, Mowa’s health continued to deteriorate even following our return from the Central African Republic. He was gradually getting weaker and more frequently fatigued. Finally, on the morning of Thursday, October 20th we received word that he had passed away.
This does not come as a shock to us who have seen and been with him the last several months and especially during the last three weeks but that makes it no less painful. Mowa was much more to us than just the ELIKYA Director; he was a good friend (our first here) and the man whom was entrusted with our care from the moment we arrived here back in 2009, hardly knowing Lingala or the culture or anybody else. His loss leaves an enormous void on so many levels that it is hard to communicate. He was chosen for the position of Director because he was already actively caring for orphans and those who were without recourse, means or family. It is that love and compassion that makes his passing so painful those he leaves behind, especially his wife, Luta, and their eight children.
This past weekend was spent at numerous memorial services that culminated on Saturday with his burial at his home in nearby Bokonzo. The tears were always close to the surface. We will miss Mowa deeply. It is impossible to imagine the rest of our time here at ELIKYA without him. Yet we are grateful for the opportunity that we had to work with him over the past couple years, to get to know him and his family, to laugh with him and just to enjoy his company as literally our next door neighbor and friend.
We share all this that you might join with us in prayer for all of us who are affected by Mowa’s death. Pray especially for his family as they grieve and as Luta faces the difficult question of how to provide for their children. Pray for ELIKYA as there are many who have passed through who looked to him almost as a father. Pray that God would use his death and the spirit of compassion in which he lived his life to positively impact the local church and those he has left behind.
Finally, there is a benevolence fund recently set up for helping Mowa’s family with certain needs. If you would like to help you can get let us know and we’ll get you some more information.
This does not come as a shock to us who have seen and been with him the last several months and especially during the last three weeks but that makes it no less painful. Mowa was much more to us than just the ELIKYA Director; he was a good friend (our first here) and the man whom was entrusted with our care from the moment we arrived here back in 2009, hardly knowing Lingala or the culture or anybody else. His loss leaves an enormous void on so many levels that it is hard to communicate. He was chosen for the position of Director because he was already actively caring for orphans and those who were without recourse, means or family. It is that love and compassion that makes his passing so painful those he leaves behind, especially his wife, Luta, and their eight children.
This past weekend was spent at numerous memorial services that culminated on Saturday with his burial at his home in nearby Bokonzo. The tears were always close to the surface. We will miss Mowa deeply. It is impossible to imagine the rest of our time here at ELIKYA without him. Yet we are grateful for the opportunity that we had to work with him over the past couple years, to get to know him and his family, to laugh with him and just to enjoy his company as literally our next door neighbor and friend.
We share all this that you might join with us in prayer for all of us who are affected by Mowa’s death. Pray especially for his family as they grieve and as Luta faces the difficult question of how to provide for their children. Pray for ELIKYA as there are many who have passed through who looked to him almost as a father. Pray that God would use his death and the spirit of compassion in which he lived his life to positively impact the local church and those he has left behind.
Finally, there is a benevolence fund recently set up for helping Mowa’s family with certain needs. If you would like to help you can get let us know and we’ll get you some more information.
Mowa giving Soleil a gift at her kobimisa serivce in March 
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