Update June 18 - the refrigerated body arrived successfully in Liberia, West Africa. Funeral services were held and she was buried in the village alongside her parents.

Tuesday June 18   Funeral services were held in Liberia and she was buried in the village on the family plot alongside her parents.

The scheduled funeral service was held as planned in the Gardnersville section of the capital city of Monrovia. Afterwards a group travelled north some 60 miles to the Kandakai village family plot. This is their rainy season and it could have disrupted travel, transport and burial. But sister Grace reported "I was worried about the heavy rains that had fallen all week, but God answered our prayers and gave us wonderful weather on that Tuesday, 18th June".

LK's son Everest Thomas sent a link to a 9 minute movie of part of the services. The first half is the funeral service in Monrovia by the Olumba movement Brotherhood of the Cross and Star that all of LK's sisters belong to. The second half shows where the burial takes place. 

The movie plays much better on a computer than on a cellphone. Just click the forward arrow at the bottom left; no need to sign in. (On a cellphone or mobile device, click on the link, then go to the very bottom of the next page and click on "Open in browser", just below "Open in app". It's a very large file that may load slowly.)  It's currently possible to download a copy at the top right next to 'Share"; the highest quality 1080p HD version is a 914 MB .mov file.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/lt63bgf9vyb0spstb4k60/031A2517-C85C-49D1-B7E5-34AC209F6778.MOV?rlkey=iwhb2bk9qkwxsectkoyrqrhw5&dl=0

It took $13,000+ to get this accomplished and many many hours of effort. What a relief it finally happened, more than 6 weeks after her death! As per Jesus's last words, It is finished.

Afterward I learned just how meaningful it is to be buried there with family. During Liberia's civil wars, sometimes entire city blocks of residents were massacred and the bodies had to be anonymously buried quickly in mass graves. So her family is one of the 'luckier' ones who know where the bodies lay.  

======================================================================

Saturday June 15 1:30 - Sister Cornelia just phoned to report success!!!  The cold refrigerated body has arrived and was picked up at the airport in Liberia, West Africa, 4 days after being delivered from the local funeral home to the San Antonio airport.












(I've been numb for the last 6 weeks. I think I can let it out or let it go now.)

==============================

Good news - June 6.

All the paperwork required by the Liberian Embassy and Consulate has been met. The Funeral Home has scheduled the flights for next week. The cold body arrives in Liberia late Friday night. 

The family in Liberia has schedule the burial for Tuesday June 18. There will be a short service  9 a.m. at the funeral home in Monrovia. Then the group will travel on 2 buses to the family plot some 60 miles north. There will be a short graveside service at 11 a.m.

Their rainy season has started and the roads are often washed out.

The sisters said they will report back on the services.






















==========================================================

June 1 - Still hasn't happened.

Delays due to several reasons.

Had to wait a month for Death Certificate. She didn't leave a Will and didn't have a current passport. The Liberian Embassy in Washington and the Liberian Consulate in NYC needed a lot of documentation. But Mr Saenz with our local Funeral Home is confident that it will happen.



Some maps of Liberia in West Africa..


The Kandakai family plot is in Grand Cape Mount County, about an hours' drive north of the capital Monrovia.



Comments

  1. dhJune 4, 2024 at 4:17 PM

    Olinger Office
    From: office@olingerservices.com
    To: Dan H
    Tue, Jun 4 at 3:08 PM

    Good afternoon,

    I just wanted to provide you with an update. We received the paperwork back from the Embassy and are working on securing a flight. It looks like the soonest flight into Liberia is June 14th. Once we have confirmed this flight, I will email you once more with her flight schedule.

    Abriana Funari
    Olinger – Saenz Mortuary Service
    6614 S. Flores St, San Antonio, Texas 78214
    Tel: 210-924-4137 | Fax: 210-924-3299

    ReplyDelete

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