Give us the words

I just found out today that my aunt (my father's older sister) died. She had battled dementia for many years and didn't recognize anyone in recent years. She walked out of the house once about 7 years ago and went missing for about a week. My mom called and asked us to pray that she would be found, a few hours later, she called again and told me a nurse reported to the police that she took care of a patient whom was taken in by some strangers, because this woman was stealing bread and she didn't look right. My mom told me that my God did 'work'.

My aunt's funeral will be on the night when we arrive in Hong Kong (April 19, Saturday). My mom think that us being Christians will reject going to a Buddhist funeral, my sister told her we do not reject Buddhist, we just reject the belief. My mom was surprised that we are so 'welcoming' to other religions. I would very much like to go to show my dad that I respect my aunt, though I am sure he understood that as Christians, we will not participate in any Buddhist rituals in the funeral.

My dad took the news quite badly, after all, my aunt was the third oldest of the 7 children my grandparents had, and she was close to my dad because their age difference is small. Now that this aunt has died, my dad might think he will be next.

Since my brother and sister are both Christians, we have been trying to share the gospel with our parents for years but to no avail. We sense that my aunt's death is going to open up a window that allows us to talk deeper into the meaning of life and death.

Jesus, give us the right time, give us the right words. May all glory be yours.