This past week TJ and I flew up to New Jersey to meet the rest of his extended family. TJ's cousin Micheal Bovill had just died in a motorcycles accident, and we were going to be a support to the Bovill family and to be there for Micheal's funeral. Micheal was 23 years old and an older brother to his 3 younger sisters. I wasn't sure exactly what to say to the family or how to encourage them. We arrived there on Monday and saw everyone at Micheal's viewing. We walked in awkwardly and sadly saying hello to family we hadn't seen in along time, everyone sort of acting happy, but you could see the sorrow in their hearts. TJ and I walked up to view his body, and I found it so odd just his body laying there, no more life in him, his soul already gone to be with God in Heaven. As we walked away from his body we approached Jillain... Micheal's mom, it was then that I couldn't hold back the tears in my eyes, my heart broke for her, her only son had just died. I didn't have much to say, I just looked at her unable to speak, she took Ava from my arms to hold her for a brief minute, then she handed her back, and with tears running down my face I hugged Jillain tightly, we told her we loved her, then moved on.The next day was the funeral. Some how TJ, Ava and I ended up in the front row with the Bovill family. We felt sort of Awkward, but unable to change the circumstance, as we sat down Ava let out a very high pitched scream in the extremely quiet echoing church, later Jillain told us how glad she was that there was a baby in the front row... :). There was a lot of people that loved Micheal, I couldn't help but cry every time someone got up to share about their relationship with Micheal, and about Micheal's relationship with God. One person talked about Micheal's death effecting him in such a way that made him want to reach the unreached, it reminded him that people are dying everyday, and they need God, which I thought was interesting because that is how it effected me, I was actually having dreams and still am about sharing the gospel with people. Micheal didn't seem to have wasted his life which is quite rare for a 23 year old young man.
I continue to pray for the Bovill family that this only strengthens their relationship with God, and that now they can have a testimony that will only further the kingdom of Heaven.
After the funeral the whole family hung out and had a pool party, it was good to just hang out and talk, we didn't go to bed until 1:30 that night. The next day my brother and sister in law, Kyle and Cherie, TJ, and I went to meet up with some friends we know in Pennsylvania, which was a blessing, then headed home the next day.
