Goodbye to a friend

I met Pranom in July of 2008. At the tine, he was already carrying HIV in his bloodstream, as the result of a period of marital infidelity several years back. He had long since repented and dedicated his life fully to Christ. Pranom was a man with a smile that could light up a room, and he was unashamed about either his current medical condition or his faith. In January, J and I hired him to drive us to the old capital of Ayutthaya in his taxi, and we spent the entire day together.



In recent weeks, he developed full blown AIDS and he quickly became very ill. Three weeks ago, the slum teams gathered at his apartment for a time of celebration of a life that had made a difference to many of us. We sang and shared memories and prayed together for our friend.

Pranom passed away gently yesterday afternoon. Today, after our time in the slums, the team gathered for his funeral. Some time back, his wife abandoned him, unable to handle the stress of the disease and the stigma that accompanied it. It was left to his older brother to make funeral arrangements. He is Buddhist, so he arranged the funeral in a temple. This was one unusual funeral. Pranom's Christian family gathered and sang worship songs together and the pastor of the church he was attending before his death (he had moved too far from Immanuel to continue there on a regular basis) spoke. Following that, Buddhist monks walked in and did the traditional chanting. Finally, the believers gathered once more before his casket and shared final thoughts and prayers.

Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." We celebrate the assurance that we'll one day enjoy being with our friend again, but for now, he will be missed.