“Your landlord’s wife has died. Come, let’s go to the funeral to support the family,” George Tooray, my missionary colleague, called unexpectedly to say.

Our landlord is a busy guy. I think I have only met him once or twice, but he is a younger man, younger than myself. And I suppose his wife who died was no more than in her 30s.

It was quite a journey to their village. The dirt road was in bad shape. Thankfully, it was the dry season, so there was no mud to get stuck in.

Upon arriving, we met our landlord and his brother almost immediately. He was severely grieving his loss. After giving our condolences, we went to where other friends and family sat under the shade of large trees.

One of the young imams was passionately appealing to those gathered for the funeral to live right; perhaps they infrequently visit the mosque for worship. That part was somewhat familiar, for pastors in America do the same thing at funerals.

A little later, we talked, and I asked, “Does anyone know why the lady died?”

“Maybe she had died of sadness or grief. Her husband had taken a second wife, and she had taken it very hard,” he replied.

I wasn’t the only one interested in that question, for on our way home, we gave a few other people a ride, and they also brought up the topic. They had a different explanation of the cause of death. They said she was probably a witch and had transformed into an animal, like a snake or lion. While in an animal form, as she was going around, someone probably shot her; thus,
she was wounded to death.
That was quite shocking to me, so I asked, “But why would she want to change herself into an animal?”

“Generally, they do it to hurt somebody.”

As a nurse, I cannot help but wonder—what was really the cause of her death? Could she have lived if she had received proper medical care? As a Christian missionary, I long for the people here to know the One who is the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25), the One who longs to deliver them from the fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15) and holds the keys of death (Revelation 1:18).

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