Neema

On Thursday, Maxwell Adventist Academy lost one of our senior girls. Neema had sickle cell anemia, and had been in the hospital since the beginning of the week with an infection. At staff worship, the staff were told that she was doing better, and was expected to be back at home, or on campus, around Saturday. Macy, Tanzi, and I were all sitting in the library office when Mrs V came in, not 30 minutes after worship, saying that Neema was gone. Immediately my heart felt sick. Even though Neema had been one of my senior chemistry lab students, it wasn't until that Thursday that I finally put the correct face with her name. My chemistry lab meets only once a week (if that) and since they don't give me as much trouble as the other classes, I've still been working on getting everyones names and faces straightened out. Even though my memories of Neema were few, the reality of her death stunned me.

When the three of us emerged from the library office, the campus was eerily quiet. As the students filed into the chapel, not one of them said a word. After giving the news to the whole student body, the rest of the school day was canceled. Students found comfort in different ways, and I, along with a group of students and staff, stayed in the chapel and sang hymns. 

Jacqui captured how we were all feeling:

October 18

Now all I see is your face and your smile

A quiet reminder that we’re here just a while

And life is a fragile, dangerous thing

When you think of the pain and injustice it brings

When death shows us his disfigured face

It causes us sorrow, we start losing our faith

But really it’s placing us a little bit closer

To joining our creator, our heavenly father

Death, where is your power? 

You prowl around

seeking to devour

But we have a power much greater than yours,

we have a king who loves and restores

And on that day when he finally returns,

we will watch as your reign

crumbles and burns

For we are not subjects of your wrathful hand,

with GOD on our side we have courage

to stand

To the grave,

I’m not scared, you can roar all you like

And when it’s my turn, I won’t even fight

When you come to me, when you take my last breath

I will see the face of the one who conquered death