I sometimes wonder if John's death was necessary. He had liver cancer. He had not felt well for months. Each time that he had gone to the doctor, he had been sent home, told that he was not seriously ill. I wonder whether he could have received a diagnosis if the local medical establishment had seen him as an international diplomat rather than a poor African immigrant. John leaves his wife, Mary, with 10 children, including a newborn in the hospital who is struggling with health.

After the funeral at the Covenant Church, we reconvened at our building for a "reception". I listened as Nuer men from throughout the United States speak in honor of John and charge those gathered, especially John's eldest sons, to be strong, stay united, and care for each other an the family. I thought of the Scriptures, and how they encourage the church, as a minority, resident aliens with their own culture, to sustain life in a culture that wants to assimilate them. The earnestness, the repetition, the passion that came with the addresses showed the concern and hopes of the elders. What a shame it would be if, at the time the Nuer are preserved in the Sudan, they undergo a different type of "genocide" by the assimilative processes inherent within the "pluralism" of the United States culture.

Bol Lual and Peter Kweck honored me by asking me to speak to the group. I stressed how John had helped me understand so much, how he combined goodness and wisdom in his life. I tried to express the honor that I have for the Nuer way of life.

It was disturbing that many of the young adult males did not gather for the funeral or reception. They do not have families, as they were killed in Sudan, and seem much more prone to assimilation than the refugees who made it out with families. They have not been unfolded in the church, often having to take jobs that conflict with Sunday mornings.

Already the Nuer have ordered John Kweck, a widower, to take care of Mary and the kids. It is very hard with the families scattered throughout San Diego with little resources. We will have a long journey with John's family, and amidst the Nuer. They have much to teach us as part of the body of Christ.

I will miss John Kang. I sense the challenges ahead for us, with our brothers and sisters among the Nuer as well as supporting John's family. Yet I have learned amidst these challenges there awaits a profound glimpse of a life that truly is life.

Aaron Friberg, who has worked with the youth group and the older of John Kang's family, said a very profound thing at the funeral. "It is a whole lot harder to let go of John Kang than it was for Brother Mike [Patterson]." It is true. But still, we go on, grieving, wondering, but in the assurance that Christ is with us.