TRIBUTE BY GLOBAL EVANGELICAL CHURCH, CALVARY CHAPEL, MATAHEKO
TO OUR BELOVED PASTOR REV. PROF. ELOM DOVLO
There is one thing in which all men believe without exception; that is death. Everyone is convinced that it will come. It is one of the few facts of life which there is no dispute or ignorance about, but the time of its appearance is hidden from all men.
Death is inevitable, but we most times find it difficult to come to terms of this reality, even though scripture has made it clear that “For we will surely die; we are like water spilled on the ground which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away life, but plans ways so that the banished one will not be cast out from him” [2 Samuel 14:14].
We are here today with a very heavy heart to pay tribute to an illustrious son of the great family of Calvary Chapel, Mataheko and the entire Global Evangelical Church fraternity. Prof., the message of your sudden departure was a great shock to us, and has made us slip into a depressive mood. Though the feelings of your separation will not stay with us for long, it has managed to evoke a sensitivity that makes us to come to terms with the reality of our vain pursuits. It has also opened our eyes to the fleeting nature of these earthly accomplishments. Yes! The Good Lord has spoken and who are we to question Him? He does what pleases Him; for He knows what is good for us, and knows what we do not know.
We count ourselves blessed to have had enough share of your hidden treasures, though your stay with us was for a brief moment. We can say with certainty, that your short stay with us was one of the greatest things that ever happened to us as a congregation. It was a great honour to have had such a high profile personality like you, to serve a small congregation like Mataheko, which already had a senior high personality in the person of the late Inter Church Relations Secretary, HE Retired, Rev (Dr.) (Cdre) P. F. Quaye.
Down the memory lane, we cannot recollect the countless things God used you to accomplish at Mataheko when you were commissioned and posted to Mataheko in 2000. As an assistant pastor you were made to supervise a preaching post, established by Calvary Chapel, at Tetegu, a fishing community within the Ga South Municipal Assembly. You were mandated as part of your assignments to prepare the Tetegu church for its formal inauguration by the Moderator in November 2000. This was a challenging assignment, because Tetegu had no bridge at the time and could only be reached by a canoe. Sometimes it became very dangerous crossing the river to Tetegu and back, especially when the Weija dam is spilled to overflow its banks. Notwithstanding these difficulties, you worked assiduously to see the church inaugurated on the set date. On 23rd February 2001 you performed your first sacrament of Holy Baptism for eleven candidates from Tetegu, made up of seven females and four males through immersion.
The fond memories of your leadership are so phenomenal. You indeed added so much to the growth of the church. We cannot forget the facelift you gave to our Praises and Worship team. You hosted them at your residence for one week and provided them with resource persons at your own cost. They were awarded with certificates at the end of the training. We can also not forget the funds you raised to support the construction of a pavilion for the Sunday school children. The support we also received from your better half cannot go without mentioning. She took up the Children’s Ministry as her personal project and ensured that it was groomed to an enviable standard.
You instructed that your monthly station allowance be paid to Mr. Martin Atsagli, then a past student of the Agape Bible College to assist in the reorganization of all the home cells of the church, and also to help with the work at Tetegu. No wonder Martin is now a Reverend Minister of the Global Evangelical Church.
Your selfless devotion, modesty and benevolence demonstrated the depth of your friendship with people. You related very well with everybody irrespective of their ages or social standings. No wonder you have been a mentor, counselor, hope giver and motivator to many especially the youth. We can say with no reservation that you were indeed a special person who cared deeply about people and always eager to help make things better for those who find themselves in difficult situations.
Despite your caring and friendly nature, you were also a great disciplinarian who frowns on wrong doing and stands for the truth. On rarer occasions, you aggressively reprimanded wrong doers especially whenever issues at stake were heinous. But in all these your anger never lasted for long. You are indeed a peace maker and unifier. This is the gem we have lost, and lost forever.
It is also certain that we have lost a man of God who teaches and preaches with passion. We will surely miss your captivating short sermons that always kept us in suspense. That wonderful concluding remark at the end of your sermons, “to be continued” will forever remind us of you, anytime that phrase is mentioned. Our memories are also fresh on the healing miracle God performed through you, when a dying member immediately recovered when you prayed and administered the Holy Communion to him. The member was discharged from the hospital and lived for eight more years.
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” O death, though, you are considered in most cases as cruel, for us as Christians, we see your actions as a reminder that life is precious, temporary and not to be taken for granted. We are also reminded that, you are the only vessel that can carry us to the New Jerusalem that we all yearn for, which had been revealed to Apostle John in Revelation 21:1-4 That:
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Indeed! Prof, the old order of things has passed away and we can vividly hear your voice from afar inviting us through the song writer Isaac Watts that:
Come, you who love the Lord,
And let your joys be known,
Join in a song with sweet accord,
And thus surround the throne.
We’re marching to Zion
Beautiful, beautiful Zion;
We’re marching upward to Zion,
The beautiful city of God.
As your mortal remains lie before us today, we can clearly hear you admonishing that: “This outer life has been given to us for a short time. Make the best use of it....After all, we have to leave this body someday, Sooner or later—maybe tomorrow, maybe after leaving this place, or maybe we go to sleep and never rise again”.
We are confident of the fact that you are resting in the bosom of the Almighty God.
We Love You; But the Good Lord Loves You Most.
Sleep well and Rest from all your Toils, Pains and Anxieties.
“Prof, Xede nyuie!!!, Na dzudzɔ le ŋutifafa me”.
Written by Rev. Martin Bedi-Tsatsu
