I know as a blogger, I am supposed to write chronologically, and I
have not been good at doing that. I suppose it is because writing about the
funeral is so hard that I have been avoiding it like the plague. Remarkably, and thankfully, Deborah's long
time friends and parents from the Surrey Christian School, and church
members where we have been known to attend for many years, have all
pulled together the week after her death. She went to youth groups, and
since she has attended several schools, word spread quickly of her
passing on social media.
One friend, made her a beautiful video on you tube, called Deborah Gordon Rest in Peace, with scripture verses attached, about her memories. Bogota Columbia is her place of residence since she moved from Surrey. One group of friends locally, made a memorial site for her by the river shores, close to where her body was found. There were candles, flowers, photographs, and notes of sympathies all over the site. This was one place I was not strong enough to visit, but my other girls found comfort in going there, especially around the evenings. A pink cross and cedar chest was erected in memory of her, visible from even the skytrain as it crosses the Fraser River. The young adults would gather and reflect there about her life.
Visitors kept piling in my door, and flowers would be delivered during the day and night hours. Meals were prepared and brought to our door numerous times. The outpouring of love was ever evident even from people I have never met. I appreciated those who sat with us in our living room in silence, as really no words were adequate. Some gave us financial help, in secret, so they may receive their reward from God.
I asked my Portuguese neighbor to please water my garden in the coming week, and he did. He was here tenderly caring for my plants the whole time. He's sweet wife, would prepare sandwiches and trays of cakes. They attend a Catholic church, and I couldn't have asked for better neighbors.
It was interesting to see the
many talents people had, and how God used those many gifts. One sweet
friend, who is the manager of a thrift store for missions, had lively
ideas for the decorations that were used throughout the church. The theme I believe was Deborah's love for music. There were rolls of music sheets in the vases on the tables downstairs. Blue hydrangea would fill these vases.
My friend arranged for the technological support, and the video recordings. A
young man who at first thought he would not be able to do it, as he
wanted to be part of the service, agreed to this very difficult task.
Our video would turn out to be more than 9 minutes, eventhough 6 minutes in total was recommended. She liasoned with the church secretary and pastors, and made sure that everything ran smoothly. Pastor Sam from Calvary Worship Centre would do the officiating at the service and Pastor Wes from Surrey Pentecostal would come to the graveside with us afterwards.
The night before,
was when the decorations and memorabilia's such as Deborah's violin was
taken to the church. Theme colours were pink and blue. All the photo albums she assembled herself were on
the tables. Arts and crafts from kindergarten all the way to her graduation diploma's were displayed. The only thing that I purchased and went out to get was the
guest books, at Michael's with the signature papers, and a black hat.
The manager at Michael's was very kind, and seeing my near collapse in
his store, and rush to the bathroom, he gave my oldest daughter a
considerable discount. My neighbor who is gifted on the sewing machine
took in my dress a few days prior, and lent me a black shawl, that was
not so heavy, since the weather would be beautiful that day.
My
friend who is a cook with a Red Seal, also a dear sister in Christ just recently bought
some meat slicing machines, and she was able to slice bulk sandwich
meats, and cheeses from the States. I was able to give her some
vegetables from the garden, such as zucchini, onions and cucumbers. She
bought everything the day before, and the volunteers assembled all the
food in the morning. It was very hard to know how many people we would
be expecting, as Pastor Wes indicated that usually about half of the
number of people that we expect would usually show. Therefore, it was
very difficult to know how many people to prepare the food for. This gem
of a lady teaches high school children to cook, and does catering for
various functions as well. She made Greek wraps, sandwiches on buns,
veggie platters, and fruit platters. I think there was no lack of any
good thing. People lingered around till we got back from the burial
site, and there was still plenty of food left. In total there was over 500 people , and some had only standing room.
cont'd
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