‘God is still God’ — Remembering the lives lost in Lesotho bus accident

MAPUTSOE, Lesotho — Nearly a month after the tragic bus accident that resulted in the deaths of 15 individuals — including 10 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints going to a youth activity — a memorial service provided peace to families and a community in pain.

Nearly 500 individuals gathered under tents on a local soccer field in Maputsoe, Lesotho, on Wednesday to share memories of loved ones and to comfort one another during a time of intense loss. Three days later, on Saturday, a crowd of more than 3,000 surrounded 11 caskets on the same soccer field as part of a shared funeral service. Four others who died in the accident have had or will have separate funerals. The sunrise service came after a night of heavy rain that settled the dust and cleared the air.

Among those in attendance at these events from the Church of Jesus Christ were leaders from the Maseru Lesotho District and the South Africa Johannesburg Mission, and an Area Seventy, Elder Siyabonga Mkhize. Local civic leaders included tribal chiefs, members of the Parliament of Lesotho, district leaders and Prime Minister Ntsokoane Samuel Matekane.

Family and friends remember their loved ones

Setso’ana Selebeli, 17, survived the accident and spoke at the memorial service representing all the young women who had been in the bus.

“Jesus Christ loves us and is with us, even though our hearts hurt,” she said. Setso’ana’s younger sister, Moliehi, 11, was also in the bus and is currently in a hospital recovering from her injuries.

Setso’ana said she has already identified one reason that she feels some of those on the bus survived.

God ”chose some of us to stay behind and testify that God lives,” she said. “No one planned for the accident to happen. But God knew, and he prepared a way.”

Partway through the four-hour memorial on Wednesday, the audience joined in singing all seven verses of the Latter-day Saint hymn “How Firm a Foundation.” Tears flowed as individuals sang the words to the beloved song, and great reverence was shown as they sang a verse replete with new meaning:

Many speakers spoke of that “pathway” mentioned in the hymn as being part of the plan of a perfect God.

Family members who were invited to stand and share their feelings from the past month spoke of patience, hope, faith and consolation.

President Mahlomola Kutoane, second counselor in the district presidency, spoke about the difficulty in understanding how and why tragedies happen. And he shared why attending a memorial service like this one is important to those in mourning.

“We are here in the memory of all who left us,” he said. “We empathize to show how much we care now for those who are here and for those who we loved.”

‘Thanks be to God’

Speakers at the funeral shared similar messages of hope and comfort with family and friends of those who died in the accident. And each speaker — including church leaders, family members and tribal and civic leaders — shared scriptures as part of their message.

Elder Mkhize presided at the funeral and spoke after the audience sang “I Need Thee Every Hour.” Elder Mkhize said that the message of that song is particularly important at this time for those who loved those who died.

“We should all turn to the Lord at this time and ask him to comfort our hearts and to be able to soothe the pain that we feel,” he said.

His words came after many testimonies of God’s perfect knowledge and plan for his children. And it was the only message to directly invite reaching out to God for comfort.

Quoting from Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, he said God knows what has happened to everyone involved in such an unexpected tragedy, that some events have seasons, and all of them have a purpose.

“We also learn there is a time to plant,” Elder Mkhize said. “With the loss of these loved ones, this is now a time to plant. May we plant seeds of faith, seeds of hope to know that God is in control.”

Alma taught his son Corianton in Alma 40:11-12 about the state of an individual’s spirit between the time they die and the time they are resurrected.

Elder Mkhize invited those who mourn to weep out of love and to take comfort in the “state of happiness and peace” available to those who are now on the other side of the veil.

He concluded by sharing scriptures from the New Testament. First, he read from 1 Corinthians 15:57, where Paul wrote, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Then he shared some of the Savior’s final words from John 14:27, when he said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

With these two scriptures, Elder Mkhize invited the funeral’s attendees again to pray in thanks for Jesus Christ and his Atonement. And he encouraged attendees to pray for the peace that the Savior promised can come only through him.

Maseru Lesotho District President Khopolo Tsiu asked those in attendance if they believe that God lives and sees each of his children. He said that the scriptures teach that God knows all the living and those who have died and does not forget them.

“Death is temporary, not permanent,” he said. And while those who have died are on the other side of the veil, they wait for the trump to sound that will reunite them with their bodies.

In the meantime, he said, “rest knowing that the angels take care of them now.”

President Mampho Makura serves as the Young Women president in the neighboring Leribe Branch of the Maseru district. Makura opened the funeral by sharing hope she gained from President Russell M. Nelson’s counsel to find answers in Jesus Christ.

“Jesus Christ is ‘the author and finisher of our faith,’” she said, quoting Hebrews 12:2. “Turn to the Lord, and find the strength to accept His will.”

In that process of accepting the will of the Father, Makura encouraged listeners to endure with patience as they look to Him.

“Don’t look away, but look to Him,” she said.

President Kutoane said this tragedy has been nearly unbearable for many. Looking forward, he said, “we will live together with love, and we will cry for those who have passed.” Both of these things will be true, he said.

“God has a plan of salvation,” President Kutoane said before reading from 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 and emphasized that Paul’s teaching that “even so in Christ shall all be made alive” means that the Savior’s unique and perfect sacrifice allows all of God’s children to one day be resurrected.

“We will meet them again,” he said.

Prime Minister Matekane opened his remarks at the funeral by quoting from Ezekiel 24:16, where the Lord told Ezekiel following the death of his wife, “Neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.”

In sharing this scripture, Matekane told mourners that there is a time to weep and a time to move forward with renewed faith. He repeated the phrase that had been said in both the memorial and funeral by others, that “God is still God,” even when things happen that are hard or impossible to understand.

The Minister of Public Works and Transport for Lesotho, Neo Matjato Moteane, shared his condolences with the families and shared a piece of counsel with those who drive.

“Drive your car as if you are praising the living God,” he said. He asked the people to think about how differently they would drive and with how much more care they would drive if this was their mentality.

“We pray, but after we pray, we get up and do something to assist ourselves,” Moteane said. And in the case of literally moving forward on the roads, he encouraged thinking about God while doing so.

Graveside services were held at various cemeteries around Maputsoe. Some were held just a few blocks from the soccer field where the funeral took place. Many in attendance walked in processional to the graves and sang both traditional tribal songs and sacred hymns as the caskets were lowered and graves filled.