I still sniff for the smell of blood every time I climb the stairway. The horrid smell is long gone, but the memory lingers. A man named David died in that stairway, leaving behind a wife and young child.

Several months before that fateful Sabbath, David had been severely injured in a motorcycle accident. He was in the hospital for many days, but his internal injuries didn’t heal right. Doctors told him they could not repair the damage, and his only hope was to travel to Europe for specialized surgery. For David, Europe might as well have been the moon. He couldn’t begin to afford the trip, much less the surgery. As the doctors released him from the hospital, all they could do was advise him not to exert himself. But David’s injuries were a ticking time bomb inside him, and his time finally ran out.

That Sabbath, David had arrived with Pastor Matthew, who was being ordained that day along with another pastor. After the ordination service, we all met at the mission president’s apartment for a rooftop reception dinner. As David was walking up the stairs, something inside him ruptured. Those around him said he began to vomit large quantities of blood and fell forward, smashing his face on the stairs. His friends quickly grabbed him and carried him down the stairs and out of the building to look for a vehicle to take him to the hospital.

That is when Michée Badé and I showed up at the apartment building. Michée was driving the mission treasurer’s car. As we drove up, we saw a crowd milling around. Somebody asked if this was the treasurer’s car, saying he had given them permission to drive David to the hospital. Then a group of men rushed up to the car carrying David. He was covered in blood from the internal hemorrhage, which continued to drain from his nose and mouth, and his face was grossly disfigured from hitting the stairs. At first, I wondered if I could help in any way. I have advanced First-Aid training, but it quickly became obvious that there was very little any of us could do for David.

A woman was sitting in the back seat of the car, and as she saw the men rush up with David, she tried to get out. Her door was locked, and in her panic she couldn’t open it. Meanwhile, the blood-soaked men were pushing David into the back seat through the other door. The poor lady started to scream and threw herself against her door. I reached around, unlocked her door and opened it up for her. She bolted out, screaming and crying. I got out as well, and Pastor Matthew took my seat to direct Michée to the hospital, and off they drove.

At the apartment building, another stairway accessing the roof was opened while the first stairway was cleaned. Up on the roof, the mood was somber. The reception dinner did not taste as good as it should have. While we waited for news, we picked at our food. Rumors had already begun. Somebody thought he wasn’t even a church member. Somebody else speculated that there was some sort of curse or spiritual activity involved in the accident. Nobody seemed to know who David was or exactly what had happened, and we just hoped he would be all right.

Several hours later, Pastor Matthew and Michée returned, and Michée filled me in on the facts. The doctors at the university hospital had examined David and tried to revive him, but very soon they realized his case was hopeless. After he was pronounced dead, he was taken to the hospital morgue.

Death seems to be a more frequent visitor here in Africa. Widows, widowers and orphans abound. I have never been so close to death before, but here it seems to be a regular part of life.

That is why we are here. Not to watch people die, but because people are dying. Not to see blood and gore, but because evil still exists on this planet. Not because of the brutality and death directly, but because God has called us to hasten the day of His coming. He has called us to reach the unreached people groups here in Benin and to train up others to reach those groups as well, so that the Gospel can be carried to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. So that all can have a chance to hear the good news of the kingdom, that the end may come and Jesus may return to take His waiting church home. So that David and so many others like him can be raised to new life in immortal, incorruptible bodies, and be re-united with their loved ones.

• Twitter