Final Celebration!

This is the final installment of the Celebration of Life posts that I’ve been doing since I arrived in Lagos, Nigeria. For those of you that have closely followed the proceedings with interest, this, sadly, will be the last post. For those of you that have been thinking, “Hurry up and post on something different,” you’ll be pleased to know that beginning tomorrow your wish will be granted.

The photos I’m posting today are photos of the Thanksgiving service. After all the activities of the week, which lead up to the funeral service, there is a final Thanksgiving service, which was held yesterday at my mother-in-law’s home church. Much of the service is a traditional celebration which includes a time for the family to come to the altar and be prayed over and then we give an offering to the church in thanksgiving for the life and service of my mother-in-law. Today, with all of the activities having been concluded, I am resting at home and am back to sporting my shorts and T-shirt.

This has been an amazing week; full of highlights, memories, sadness, rejoicing and a whole gamut of other unnamed emotions. Because of the frenzied pace that we have had to keep, Sola and I have barely had time to “unpack” much of what has happened. Her dad will be returning to the States with her this Friday for about 3-months, as he valiantly works to begin the next phase of his life without his wife of almost 50 years. Please keep our family in your prayers. While I’m at it, how is your family doing? No matter what your answer to that question may be, remember that there is an Eternal Father that wants to adopt you as His own if you will simply accept His invitation.