My Dearest Eritrean friends

On behalf of myself and my family, I like to thank everyone of you who have written me and my family

all your heartfelt condolences. You all have really touched our hearts and this means a

lot to us. The only consolation at this difficult and painful time is the condolences and

the love that we get from loving friends and families like you. Our hearts are filled with the flood of

As you know, our life will roll up like the rolling up of a carpet. What will benefit us
tomorrow is what we do to others today.   I have gotten calls and emails from all
over the world sending their condolences and prayers. That makes us very proud
children of my all loving father.   That is because they have always known him as a
humble servant of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

I like to personally thank each and every one of you for writing me condolence emails and

prayers for my father’s spiritual progress: Steve Anderson, Nate Moats, Judy Dugas,

rithana habteyesus, Habteab Mihertab, Cheri Shakiban,Ed Rice and many, many more.

I like to forward some selected synopsis of letters so that you may know how comforting

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From: malcom malcom [mailto:erimalc...]
Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2004 11:57 PM
To: eritrean_youth@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [eritrean_youth] My beloved father has passed

Dearly beloved Barnabas:

Please accept my condolence on the loss of your dear
father. May God give you and all your family the
strength and comfort to endure the sting of grievance
and be consoled from the sorrow of your father's
death.

No one lives forever in this rather dissipating world
of ours. The world will pass and everything that is
in it. The question is when we cross over, where do
we end up.

As you have put it, your father seem to have left this
world that is full of agony, anguish and misery, to a
far far better place. I am sure that even if one of
the family members tried to call him back, he would
not want to return from the place that has been
appointed for him before the creation of this world.
The place that is full of peace, love, joy,
everlasting happiness and rest.

Hence, as much as you all should be happy for your
father's peaceful resting, yet I am well ascertained
that separation from any such well loved, highly
revered, and valued one is hurtful and aching. Strong
in faith are the ones who overcome the weeping and
wailing in such temptations, however.

May your dear father rest in the heavenly Jerusalem,
in the bossoms of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, in that place where foreign is the concept of
pain, afflictions, aggravation, anguish, ...etc.

My deepest sympathy to you and all your family once
again and may God comfort you all.

Sincerely,
Erimalcom.

Your matchless eloquence, elegant expression, and brilliant thinking are always beyond comparison. You are absolutely right, the world we live in is full of anguishes and sorrows. But for the God loving and God fearing people like yourself, it is not without meaning or purpose that God allows such suffering to happen to His close ones in its most unbearable forms. Each one of his Holy ones have been immersed beneath oceans of hardships, a drop of which no human being could possibly bear.

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Dear Barnabas:

I was saddened to hear of your loss; and I will prayer for the advancement of the soul of your father in the next world. However, I wanted you to know how spiritually uplifting and wonderful your letter and comments were. It is not often during the day that one detects the fragrance of the love of God from the actions of others. Clearly I catch the accents of His beauty from your words. May God bless you always.

With deepest respect and love, Ed Rice

Barnabas, I am so sorry to hear of the passing of your father. I will pass this information on. Our Prayers are with you and your Father. Beth Colacci

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dear barney i just checked my email, i am sorry to hear about aboy araia passing. my condolences. i will call you later tonight.

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Hi Barnbas,

I've just learned that your father passed away. I'm very sorry to hear that and can not imagine how you dealing with it.
I know it is painful as I had the same experience six years ago with my father. I know it feels as life will never be the same again. But, death is in our nature...as we come we all shall go. On due time you will come to accept this and move on with your life. But in the meantime, my prayer goes to you and your family to help you go through this difficult time.

Your brother,
Habteab Mehreteab

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barnabas, Sorry to hear about your Dad. My prayers are with you and your family. God bless his soul.Baharak Norouziani

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I feel the loss!! I am speech less. I had to close my office I cannot control my tears. He has touched our soul in a kinder, gentler loving way. May God bless his soul!! Thanks for telling me. I am shocked and in pain. Please send me your phone number so I can call you.

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I too believe that my father is not dead. He is living as Jesus has promised to whomever believed in Him. You would not believe how much yearning he showed to go to the next world and to be with Jesus. Many people fear death, especially when they approach it. But, my father never showed any fear.

My reply: yes the reason is that the sinners fear death because their sin comes to their face when they approach death.

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tsinat yehabeka.This incident showed us more the value and deep meaning of religion.Your respect and attachment to your family is beyond measure.Hey, only a few people esp. youngsters take time out to cross oceans and seas to see their sick father.I reckon the Eri youth in diaspora has a lot to learn from you....plus those of us ….

My reply: yes, without the religion of the one true God, life has no meaning or purpose.

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May you and your family find strength during this difficult time.//Amanuel Melles

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I will keep you in my prayers. I know at a time like this words can not express the way a person really feels so

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Hi Barnabas,we are all sad to hear that Aboy Araya passed away. I am sure he is resting in gods hands.

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I am sorry for your lost of your beloved Father. I will include him in my prayers for so God to open his doors and accept him to the heavens and for you and your family may God gives you the strength and hope to on. He is in a better place with his creator.

ps - What is you cell phone number. I tried cccalling home, but no one picked the phone.

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I am sorry to hear about you Fathers Death. I want to extend my deepest condolence to you and your entire family.

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I am very sorry to hear the passing of your father. Please give my condolences to your family here and back in Eritrea.

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Sorry for the lost of your beloved father. He was truely a genuine Christine and a good father. You have in your previous e-mails told me he was seek but never thought he will depart so soon but as God gives he even will take us to the other side because the life we have we owe it to him. On behalf of my mother, my siblings and myself accept our condoles and we will pray that God will give you the strength to move on.

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I used to look up to your Dad and wished I had my Dad close to me as yours was to you guys. I am sad and it is even more sad to know my friends, you and your sweet sisters, my old buddies are as well sad as I am reading this msg.

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i AM SHOCKED! I AM REALY DEPRESSED ! I WISH I WAS NEAR YOU .I WISH I COULD TRAVEL AND BE NEAR YOU AT THIS MOMENT.BUT YOU KNOW,BARNABAS,YOU ARE A VERY STRONG PERSON WITH A STRONG PERSONALITY.I AM 100 PERCENT SURE YOU CAN HANDLE THIS.YOU ARE A VERY FAITHFUL PERSON TOWARDS YOUR BELIEFS- THAT MEANS YOU POSSES BOUNDLESS COURAGE AND REASON TO COPE WITH THIS NATURAL DEATH OF YOUR BELOVED FATHER.

IN OUR CULTURE WE CALL SUCH DEATH "meraa" meaning that youe father enjoyed life to its full extent . In this hard times,people are dying by fellow humans.Your father had no enemies,reared his children,and enjoyed life.So,please Barnabas accept it as a natural-course .

O my God! This is Thy servant and the son of Thy servant who hath believed in Thee and in Thy signs, and set his face towards Thee, wholly detached from all except Thee. Thou art, verily, of those who show mercy the most merciful.

Deal with him, O Thou Who forgivest the sins of men and concealest their faults, as beseemeth the heaven of Thy bounty and the ocean of Thy grace. Grant him admission within the precincts of Thy transcendent mercy that was before the foundation of earth and heaven. There is no God but Thee, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous.

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Sorry to hear about your father and I will pray from him and your family.... - Art--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Barney,

Thank you for the lovely email. I can only imagine that you are such a kind and gentle man because of your father! I am so happy you were able to visit him this last time!! Perhaps after such a wonderful reunion with his earthly family, he was ready to move on to his heavenly family. I don’t know if you knew, but when I finished my nursing degree-I worked in hospice nursing. Hospice of course is for those who are terminally ill. The real beauty of hospice is that you work with patients but also with their families as they make their way through this transition of life though physical death to spiritual life. I worked with people who had no faith, some faith, great faith and many families who were in conflict because they had been unable to say I love you or forgive their loved one for whatever reason. Your email and website tell me a great deal about your faith and how your family has embraced this spiritual journey. It is such a gift, really to share in this transition from this life to the next- it is really like a birth- but to something we have yet to know.

Wishing you and all of your family much peace and love as you continue your journeys.

Judy

My reply:

Thank you very much Judy. This really means a lot to me. It is true that people with faith that are terminally ill usually yearn to say “I am sorry” to whom they may have wronged or “I love you” with whom they may have had grudges during their life. I too am very touched by such people. I am sure the reason they do such things is because they don’t want to carry any trace of ill feelings towards the next life.

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I wasn't told about your father, although I did overhear a conversation that pertained to him. I am very sorry to hear about your father, and I know things will most likely be bad before they get better. I lost both of my parents when I was 21, and to this day cannot express that feeling of loss. I am so glad to know you got to spend some time with him before he passed. I hope your last meeting brought some catharsis to you. If you need to talk to someone just let me know. -Steve Anderson

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Barnabus:

Hey there. I just read all the emails from e-group today and I just wanted to drop a note and send my condolences to you and your family. Bright side of the whole thing (if there actually is such a thing) is that you got to see him before he passed.

When my uncle passed, I went into a deep depression and the only thing that helped me out of it was my true friends always being there for me and speaking of him in the present tense and reminding me to think of the good times when all else failed. I suggest you surround yourself around good people and only think of the happier times. That way, your tears are replaced by smiles and laughs, as you know he will always be in your heart and is watching you from above.

May God Bless you and give you the strength to overcome this tough period in your life.

Should you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask me! Take care.

Love,
**Senait**

As always, you are very sweet. Fortunate are your families to have you. Indeed, loving friends like you turn tears into smiles and laughs.

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B,

We don't know each other personally, but I wanted to extend my heartfelt condolences to you and your family in the loss of your father.

I know what it means to lose a father (and at a young
age) and the realization of the continuous interpretation of the love and behavior that was shared between you two. I trust that you will "make it" and that for how ever unbearable or sad his loss may be you will find equal strength through the presence of his spirit and legacy.

God Bless hawey,
Filmon

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I just heard that my beloved father has passed away last Wednesday, May 19, 2004 in Eritrea. I think, it was on the same day I asked the Bahais of the Twin Cities to pray for him. He was really suffering a lot because of his long illness. As Baha'u'llah has said "death is a messenger of joy", so this is a relief for him, for us, his family, and, most of all, for my mother who has been nursing him all along. Please remember him in your prayers. Perhaps, my father will forever be remembered as a very devote Christian. He raised us all his 10 children with the deep conviction and belief in the One True God and all His Teachings. When we were children, he used to take us to all kinds of churches and we used to love the music and the gospel songs of all kinds of different denominations --a practice I till do to this day. In fact, I was a Christian before I became a Bahai in 1987 in Sudan. Some of you may already know that I have traveled to Eritrea three times to visit my beloved father in the past three years.

As it is written: "Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" " --(John 11: 26)

Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." --(Luke 23:42-43)

The point is, even if you spent your entire life as a criminal and believe in the end, God will forgive you, except no one knows when his/her end will come.

He was never afraid of death neither was he complaining about his long illness because he lived his life believing that he will forever live with Christ as he had lived his entire life humbly loving Him and serving Him and serving all humanity. He was very very ill and he always said that God punishes the ones that are very close to him. You would not believe how much yearning he showed to go to the next world and to be with Jesus. Until his last breath, nothing could be heard except his praising the Lord. Many people fear death, especially when they approach it. But, my father never showed any fear. Anyone that fears God fears from nothing; but anyone that doesn't fear God fears from everything.

I like to thank every one of you that visited me and called me in these most difficult and painful times and all your condolences have really solaced me. In this lonely exile l live in, I am very grateful to have such a loving friends and families.

O my God! O my God! Verily, thy servant, humble before the majesty of Thy divine supremacy, lowly at the door of Thy oneness, hath believed in Thee and in Thy verses, hath testified to Thy word, hath been enkindled with the fire of Thy love, hath been immersed in the depths of the ocean of Thy knowledge, hath been attracted by Thy breezes, hath relied upon Thee, hath turned his face to Thee, hath offered his supplications to Thee, and hath been assured of Thy pardon and forgiveness. He hath abandoned this mortal life and hath flown to the kingdom of immortality, yearning for the favor of meeting Thee. O Lord, glorify his station, shelter him under the pavilion of Thy supreme mercy, cause him to enter Thy glorious paradise, and perpetuate his existence in Thine exalted rose garden, that he may plunge into the sea of light in the world of mysteries.

Sincerely yours true brother,
Barnabas A. Yohannes.
“ O SON OF SPIRIT!
My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart, that thine may be a sovereignty ancient, imperishable and everlasting.” --(Baha'u'llah, "The Arabic Hidden Words")