Yesterday the head of our young adult ministry (and member of the adult and youth worship teams) passed away due to sickle cell anemia. He was 27 years old.
We are all in shock - Andre was one of the sweetest guys you'd ever meet. He's the guy I've written about from time to time who was my "enabler" when it came to my Starbucks addition. He worked at Starbucks, and would frequently drop bags of coffee on my desk - it always seemed to come on a day when I really needed some encouragement. I actually knew him when I worked at North Central University - he was a student at the same time, and we would reminisce about random things/places we missed about Minneapolis. I don't use the word "friend" lightly, but I would definitely place him in that category.
His Facebook page is flooded with remembrances from people - he loved Jesus with all his heart and I know that he is with Him right now. But saying goodbye still sucks.
Pray especially for the students in the youth group - they are having a hard time with it - not only was he very special to them as one of their leaders, but our church has been doing an emphasis on healing and miracles, and the fact that he was not only NOT healed, but was taken away is a little confusing.
As one of the men of our church said, "I have a list of questions I plan to ask God when I get to heaven, and today I just added one more thing to it."
Will be keeping the students and church in prayer. It is always hard to understand when healing doesn't come in a earthly healing. So sorry for your loss.
