Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted

This verse comes to mind when I think about the funeral service the kids and John and I went to yesterday. Daniel's sister, Martha passed away a few days ago. In case you don't remember, Daniel is on our staff team and he is one of nine siblings. He is not the oldest, but he is the one the family looks to during these hard financial times. As I share and show these pictures, I do it respectfully so you all can get a feel for what it looked like, but I tell you the verse above is truly what happened during this service. It was a most beautiful, touching service. By the end, I believe the Holy Spirit comforted all of us through tears of remembrance and fellowship of a people who love the Lord and knowledge of what his faithful servants can accomplish through a life of obedience.

The above picture is the ambulance car that took the casket to the burial which I understand was not in a typical (for us anyway) graveyard, but they found a place in the boulders high above and everyone walked to it while they personally lifted her down. We as a staff team were humbled when a call was made to our director asking to borrow shovels so they could dig the hole for their sister.

This is Daniel's church. It is the same church that his dad was the pastor of for six years, many years ago when all of them were little. This is where the service took place.
This is Daniel who was talking about his sister's life.
They had a few choir groups come forward to sing and then at the end the family all stood up and sang the closing song. Every single song was led by the Lord, it was amazing. Beautiful, accapella(sp?) voices. There was a testimony time that was given and by the end of it we all felt as if we knew the heart and soul of this women, Martha. She was 35 years old and had spent her whole life breathing life into other people, ministries and her family. The pastor challenged all of us about how we are living our life NOW and we will be held accountable. I am not kidding you, I felt so blessed to be a part of the morning and to mourn with our friend. By the end of the service I realized that I had cried off and on as the Holy Spirit worked through all of us and we all indeed were comforted. We give him all glory for the life of his faithful servant, Martha.