The Dearly Departed part 1

One of the youth group pastors I had in middle school right after I became a Christian was Dave Cho. He was a really funny Asian guy who was reknowned for his practical joking and Asian jokes. He was a good pastor though. This last semester I found out that he had cancer and that he only had like two months to live. I prayed like everyone else, not really expecting him to die, after all, he had a baby on the way. His fifth child was born just days after he died.



His funeral was supposed to be the day that his wife, Shelbie, had her baby. I was going to miss the funeral because I was at the beach, but because Shelbie was in labor, they postponed the funeral for a little over a week.

I got home on a Friday and on the following Wednesday I drove up to Virginia and I met some of my closest friends under what I wish were different circumstances. It was a bittersweet day. I saw a lot of people I haven't seen in years and was feeling a little guilty because I was enjoying the chance to see so many people I missed in such close proximity. I think funerals suck that way. Why can't we all just get together every so often?

David Cho was a godly man and a godly father, husband and pastor. There were hundreds of people at his funeral. The ripple effect that this man's life had on his community was insane. There were people there from California. There were people who stood up and talked about how Dave brought them to know the Lord and now they were in positions of influence and were still inspired by his passion. His wife didn't speak because she couldn't, but she wrote a letter to everyone about the kind of father and husband that Dave was. I almost lost it. Because Dave knew he was going to die, he recorded a video to be played at his funeral. You can watch it- it's an awesome testimony to never-ending joy in any circumstance. I highly recommend it even if you have no idea who this guy is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qly_9HETHhs&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fdavidchoproject%2Ecom%2F

I look forward to catching up with Dave someday and I can only hope that my life has as much impact as his still does. Take a minute and pray for his wife Shelbie and his five kids- Abigail (6), Samantha (4), David Jr. (3), Charis (2) and Liam (about a month old.