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Hundreds gathered at church Bibleway Ministries church in Nepean Saturday for the double funeral of two teen sisters killed instantly when their car collided with a dump truck on Mitch Owens Road more than two weeks ago.
Long-stem red roses lay at the feet of both Muzaliwa sisters on top of their twin open caskets at their Christmas Eve funeral. A white banner on each flower arrangement spelled their names: Elizabeth and Rehema.
The Pentecostal congregation, full of grief, still sang, clapped and danced as they worshipped.
“You give and take away, my heart will choose to stay,” worshippers sang, in chorus, about God.
The collision on Dec. 9, happened shortly after 8 a.m. Bernadette Muzaliwa was driving Elizabeth, 18, and Rehema, 16, to church when they c0llided with the truck. The daughters were pronounced dead at the scene. Firefighters removed Bernadette from their mangled car and paramedics airlifted her to hospital in critical condition.
Bernadette, with a broken arm, broken ribs and a fracture in her back and in a wheelchair with a hospital bracelet still around her wrist, attender her daughters’ funeral and said she wishes her “two beautiful girls” will “sleep in peace.”
The family’s story has touched not just their church and family members but the community at large and is compounded by earlier hardship. Two years ago, the girls’ older brother David, was struck by a car at Bank and Heron roads while out for a run. David suffered serious injuries and was in a coma. His family was told he might not fully recover.
Bernadette Muzaliwa holds Pastor Raymond Grant’s hand while her husband Kayamba and her son David stand at her side at the funeral of her daughters Elizabeth and Rehema Saturday.
In a eulogy for his daughters, Kayamba Muzaliwa said that when he came to Canada from the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1990 he was surprised to find prospective employers ask him what experience he had for a job as a dishwasher. The congregation laughed, but Kayamba explained that he knows now the importance of experience.
“Now, I have experience in tragedy,” he said.
Kayamba was at home the morning of Dec. 9 when he heard a knock at the door. A police officer came in and asked if he was alone and then insisted on waking his son up, too, before telling them what had happened. Before leaving to go see his wife in hospital, after learning of the deaths of both his daughters, he asked police for a moment to pray.
“I needed God’s strength,” he said.
Kayamba told the church that they were all gathered to celebrate the “wonderful 18 years we spent with Elizabeth and the 16 years we spent with Rehema.”
“We should not be crying here,” he said. “To us, these girls are not dead. They went back home.”
David told the church that he put his sisters’ lives first, second to his own.
“My love for both my sisters will live for eternity until God calls my name,” he said.
David turned to their caskets and spoke to his sisters in Swahili, a language he was teaching them. He asked them to be with him, always.
Photos: Funeral for sisters killed in crash
Hundreds of friends and family attended a funeral Saturday at Bibleway Ministries Church for sisters Elizabeth Muzaliwa and Rehema Muzaliwa who were killed in a car crash earlier this month.
A steady stream of mourners hugged the family, many lingering with David and holding him close before taking their seats in what would later be a standing-room only service, with overflow rooms live-streaming the funeral.
The church shared with the congregation messages of condolences, some from complete strangers who heard about this unexpected twist of fate and were touched by the Muzaliwas and wished them continued strength. Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre sent a letter saying that the grieving community can take comfort in knowing that the Lord has a plan for each of them.
The parish, too, heard a letter from Ottawa police Const. Jennifer Simpson, who was one of the first officers on the scene of the fatal collision that claimed the Muzaliwa sisters’ lives. She couldn’t attend the funeral because she was on duty, Pastor Raymond Grant told the congregation.
“As first responders, we get up everyday hoping to help our community,” the officer wrote in a letter to the church.
The crash was a “harsh reminder” that oftentimes life “defies understanding,” Simpson said.
As a police officer, she witnesses tragedy and miracle and told the church she saw both on Dec. 9th. The sisters’ deaths was tragedy, but their father, turning to God immediately afterwards was a miracle, she said..
“It’s a reminder that all that is good can triumph in the world,” Simpson said. For “police officers who encounter evil in this world,” that moment “was a miracle.”
“We stand with you today,” Simpson wrote.
Bernadette Muzaliwa and both her daughters were popular employees at a neughbourhood Tim Hortons. Bernadette had left the restaurant a few years ago to help tend her son David, who was seriously injured when struck by a car.
Kayamba has had to leave his job as a truck driver to help David’s recovery while his wife mens and the restaurant has begun a fundraising campaign to help the family.
syogaretnam@postmedia.com
twitter.com/shaaminiwhy
查看原文...
Long-stem red roses lay at the feet of both Muzaliwa sisters on top of their twin open caskets at their Christmas Eve funeral. A white banner on each flower arrangement spelled their names: Elizabeth and Rehema.
The Pentecostal congregation, full of grief, still sang, clapped and danced as they worshipped.
“You give and take away, my heart will choose to stay,” worshippers sang, in chorus, about God.
The collision on Dec. 9, happened shortly after 8 a.m. Bernadette Muzaliwa was driving Elizabeth, 18, and Rehema, 16, to church when they c0llided with the truck. The daughters were pronounced dead at the scene. Firefighters removed Bernadette from their mangled car and paramedics airlifted her to hospital in critical condition.
Bernadette, with a broken arm, broken ribs and a fracture in her back and in a wheelchair with a hospital bracelet still around her wrist, attender her daughters’ funeral and said she wishes her “two beautiful girls” will “sleep in peace.”
The family’s story has touched not just their church and family members but the community at large and is compounded by earlier hardship. Two years ago, the girls’ older brother David, was struck by a car at Bank and Heron roads while out for a run. David suffered serious injuries and was in a coma. His family was told he might not fully recover.
Bernadette Muzaliwa holds Pastor Raymond Grant’s hand while her husband Kayamba and her son David stand at her side at the funeral of her daughters Elizabeth and Rehema Saturday.
In a eulogy for his daughters, Kayamba Muzaliwa said that when he came to Canada from the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1990 he was surprised to find prospective employers ask him what experience he had for a job as a dishwasher. The congregation laughed, but Kayamba explained that he knows now the importance of experience.
“Now, I have experience in tragedy,” he said.
Kayamba was at home the morning of Dec. 9 when he heard a knock at the door. A police officer came in and asked if he was alone and then insisted on waking his son up, too, before telling them what had happened. Before leaving to go see his wife in hospital, after learning of the deaths of both his daughters, he asked police for a moment to pray.
“I needed God’s strength,” he said.
Kayamba told the church that they were all gathered to celebrate the “wonderful 18 years we spent with Elizabeth and the 16 years we spent with Rehema.”
“We should not be crying here,” he said. “To us, these girls are not dead. They went back home.”
David told the church that he put his sisters’ lives first, second to his own.
“My love for both my sisters will live for eternity until God calls my name,” he said.
David turned to their caskets and spoke to his sisters in Swahili, a language he was teaching them. He asked them to be with him, always.
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Photos: Funeral for sisters killed in crash
Photos: Funeral for sisters killed in crash
Hundreds of friends and family attended a funeral Saturday at Bibleway Ministries Church for sisters Elizabeth Muzaliwa and Rehema Muzaliwa who were killed in a car crash earlier this month.
Bibleway Ministries Church was overflowing with family and friends there to support the Muzaliwa family during the funeral for sisters Elizabeth Muzaliwa and Rehema Muzaliwa Saturday December 24, 2016. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
Bibleway Ministries Church was overflowing with family and friends there to support the Muzaliwa family during the funeral for sisters Elizabeth Muzaliwa and Rehema Muzaliwa Saturday Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
Bibleway Ministries Church was overflowing with family and friends there to support the Muzaliwa family during the funeral for sisters Elizabeth Muzaliwa and Rehema Muzaliwa Saturday Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
David Muzaliwa pays his respects at his sisters coffin Saturday Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
David Muzaliwa pays his respects at his sisters coffin Saturday Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
Bernadette Muzaliwa was full of positive energy as songs were sung for her two girls. Her sister-in-law stands beside her with her hand on her head. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
David Muzaliwa, brother of the two girls takes a moment at the front of the church during the service. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
Bibleway Ministries Church was overflowing with family and friends there to support the Muzaliwa family during the funeral for sisters Elizabeth Muzaliwa and Rehema Muzaliwa Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
A group of friends and family of the girls came to the front to perform a Swahili song. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
A group of friends and family of the girls came to the front to perform a Swahili song, including one very close family friend who was holding Bernadette's hand. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
Bernadette Muzaliwa has been in the hospital since the accident but was still able to get up out of her wheelchair for a couple select moments during Saturday's service. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
Bibleway Ministries Church was overflowing with family and friends there to support the Muzaliwa family during the funeral for sisters Elizabeth Muzaliwa and Rehema Muzaliwa Saturday Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
Bibleway Ministries Church was overflowing with family and friends there to support the Muzaliwa family during the funeral for sisters Elizabeth Muzaliwa and Rehema Muzaliwa Saturday Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
Bibleway Ministries Church was overflowing with family and friends there to support the Muzaliwa family during the funeral for sisters Elizabeth Muzaliwa and Rehema Muzaliwa Saturday Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
David Muzaliwa, the girls brother, wipes his eyes at Elizabeth's casket. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
Bibleway Ministries Church was overflowing with family and friends there to support the Muzaliwa family during the funeral for sisters Elizabeth Muzaliwa and Rehema Muzaliwa Saturday Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
David Muzaliwa, the girls brother, wipes his eyes at Elizabeth's casket. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
From left, David Muzaliwa, his aunt, father Kayamba Muzaliwa and Bernadette Muzaliwa. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
David Muzaliwa hugs a mourner at his sisters' funeral. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
David Muzaliwa was comforted by a woman who was at the service Saturday. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
The girls brother David Muzaliwa reaches down to hold the hand of Elizabeth. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
Bernadette Muzaliwa reaches across to hold her sister-in-law's hand during the service Saturday. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
Kayamba and Bernadette Muzaliwa hold hands at their daughters' funeral. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
A mourner at the funeral for sisters Elizabeth Muzaliwa and Rehema Muzaliwa Saturday Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
Bernadette Muzaliwa was full of positive energy as songs were sung for her two girls. Her sister-in-law stands beside her with her hand on her head. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
A steady stream of mourners hugged the family, many lingering with David and holding him close before taking their seats in what would later be a standing-room only service, with overflow rooms live-streaming the funeral.
The church shared with the congregation messages of condolences, some from complete strangers who heard about this unexpected twist of fate and were touched by the Muzaliwas and wished them continued strength. Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre sent a letter saying that the grieving community can take comfort in knowing that the Lord has a plan for each of them.
The parish, too, heard a letter from Ottawa police Const. Jennifer Simpson, who was one of the first officers on the scene of the fatal collision that claimed the Muzaliwa sisters’ lives. She couldn’t attend the funeral because she was on duty, Pastor Raymond Grant told the congregation.
“As first responders, we get up everyday hoping to help our community,” the officer wrote in a letter to the church.
The crash was a “harsh reminder” that oftentimes life “defies understanding,” Simpson said.
As a police officer, she witnesses tragedy and miracle and told the church she saw both on Dec. 9th. The sisters’ deaths was tragedy, but their father, turning to God immediately afterwards was a miracle, she said..
“It’s a reminder that all that is good can triumph in the world,” Simpson said. For “police officers who encounter evil in this world,” that moment “was a miracle.”
“We stand with you today,” Simpson wrote.
Bernadette Muzaliwa and both her daughters were popular employees at a neughbourhood Tim Hortons. Bernadette had left the restaurant a few years ago to help tend her son David, who was seriously injured when struck by a car.
Kayamba has had to leave his job as a truck driver to help David’s recovery while his wife mens and the restaurant has begun a fundraising campaign to help the family.
syogaretnam@postmedia.com
twitter.com/shaaminiwhy
查看原文...
