Bolivia's Cemeteries and Customs

1 Thessalonians 4:16b
"and the dead in Christ shall rise first;"

Customs and Comforts

We had an invitation this week for a family gathering to remember and celebrate the life of a family member who died a month ago. Arriving late, we sat in the back. Everyone was wearing black and sad. The lady was a friend of ours also; we bought land from her. Everyone in the crowd was from our village or close by, all friends and neighbors. We sat on wooden benches, and huddled together as the winds whipped around us; our winter is near. The sound of children playing in a distance was soothing to all.

After the ceremony, we were served a hot soup that warmed our bones, and then a delicious chicken dinner cooked in a mud oven. The aroma of the wood burning and the chicken cooking filled the air. We talked, laughed, ate, and enjoyed being together. There was sadness, but joy also, because of the hope we have in Christ that we will be reunited one day.

The picture of the Bolivian cemetery above is dark and dreary, but our hope is bright like the picture below when we have Christ living in us. Whether we are dead or alive when Christ returns, we will all rise to be with Him forever.

"Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, 
to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Wherefore, comfort one another with these words"
(1 Thessalonians 4:17-18 NIV).