Asher had a deep faith. James Chapter 3 Verses 13 – 18 talks about
The Wisdom from Above – Is there anyone among you who is wise and understanding? He is to prove it by his good life, by his good deeds performed with humility and wisdom. But if in your heart you are jealous, bitter, and selfish, don’t sin against the truth by boasting of your wisdom. Such wisdom does not come down from heaven; it belongs to the world, it is unspiritual and demonic, where there is jealousy and disorder and every kind of evil. But the wisdom from above is pure first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle, and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deeds; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy. And goodness is the harvest that is produced from the seeds the peacemakers plant in peace.

Asher’s faith was strong and these verses described his life well. He gave up much to plant seeds of peace for his homeland.
Asher’s parents, Philip and Martha Mutsengi, were living in Plumtree in western Zimbabwe when they gave birth to him on March 8, 1983. He attended Solusi, an agriculture college, in eastern Zimbabwe. Rodger, Laurel’s husband, met Asher when Rodger picked him along with six other highly qualified students to do his attachment or work term with the community farm Rodger was involved with. The term went very well for Asher, and Rodger soon discovered Asher’s strengths. Along with other duties, Asher performed his admin. assistant position with success. When Asher was put into many important positions, he always rose to the challenges. He was even dialoguing with chiefs. With his easy-going, quiet-spoken personality Asher was a pleasure to work with and talk to. He could slide into any crowd, and fit in well.

The last stanza of the poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling describes him well.
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue
‘Or walk with Kings – nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!

When writing his holistic goal on how he wanted to live his life, Asher knew that it was important to him to include “that he must treat people well”, as this would be a direct reflection on how people would treat him. When Asher had to leave Zimbabwe in 2006 he finished his education at the University of Texas in Austin.

Asher was a great ambassador for his country. He cared passionately for his family, land, and country. Members of his family knew the importance of working together to give each other a leg up in life. At the time of his death he was giving financial support to his family, including his sister and brother who are both attending colleges in Germany and Malaysia, respectively. A friend on his web page gave him the title “son of the soil” as a tribute for his love of the land. And his love for his country has been shown by his leaving Zimbabwe in 2006. Due to the political situation at home he stood up for what he believed in and was trying to make it better for all, by working from afar. He was working very hard, politically, to improve the political horizon in Zimbabwe by using peaceful means. His dream was to one day return “home” to possibly be a chief. But he knew that he must be older, with gray hair, as that color of hair shows wisdom. He also worked hard saving money for his family and his country. Though he spent little of his money on himself, on one occasion Asher went shopping with Laine and Lisa in Saskatoon where he bought a pair of shoes and a new shirt. He was so excited about them! He also was excited about buying KFC – which is a status symbol in Zimbabwe – if you take a girl to KFC that means you really like her. Dancing and music were also loves of Asher’s. He loved to dance anytime, anywhere. He was even dancing on top of the tractor one day, but quickly jumped down before any proof could be recorded. Asher realized very early that to be successful one had to study the models of successful people. Nelson Mandela and Gandhi were amongst his heroes. We were very lucky to have gotten a glimpse of some of Asher’s many layers in his personality. From his practical joking, infectious laughter, love for music and dancing, family loyalty, to his political involvement, one common thread prevailed – his strong belief and deep faith. He was a man of peace and he had many goals set up for himself. He had already systematically worked through and succeeded in many – he had an education, was making money, and was helping his family and his people in the ways he could at this point. Many more of his goals were still to be met, but it is comforting to know that Asher did not fear death as his faith was so very deep.

Grieving

The death of someone you care about means the end of a relationship. You grieve what you have lost, but others cannot assume to know what this means for you. Only we, individually, know what relationship we had with Asher. Each of our losses will be very different. Therefore, how we grieve our losses will also be very different and just as difficult. We have not only lost the presence of Asher, but also what he brought to our lives. These secondary losses are important and need to be mourned too. Grief is not an illness; it is not a sign of weakness. It is not like a broken bone or a cold – there is no quick-fix or easy cure. Nothing can be used to replace, deny, or avoid the pain of grief work. Grief is a transition – a slow, time consuming, painful, healing process towards wholeness. As Helen Keller said, “The only way to get to the other side is to go through the door.”

Grief is like a jigsaw puzzle. Sometimes we feel like we have it all together. Then something happens. Our lives fall apart. We try to put the pieces back together, but they don’t fit any more, because our picture has changed. Our values, priorities, and outlook all have changed. We may feel overwhelmed. We do not know where to begin. But by taking one piece at a time, and looking at them closely, we are able to adjust to the new picture and to find the new way of placing the pieces back together again. Our lives or our pictures have been changed by knowing Asher. We will now have a new sense of normalcy. By understanding and accepting the new “normal” we can begin to look clearly at what Asher gave to us. How has knowing him added to our new “normalcy”?
Grief is also like waves pounding on the seashore. At first the waves come in piled one upon the other, tumbling in confusion. Gradually they slow down. At first grief seems to knock us down every minute. Gradually there is more time between waves. We still get knocked down from time to time, but sometimes we can see the wave coming – such as a birthday or special occasion, and we can brace ourselves for it. Often the anticipation is worse that the reality of the actual wave. When we fight the waves, we find our energy drained quickly, but anticipating the waves and riding them, we find ourselves seeing them as normal and expected and we allow ourselves to ride the waves through and let it pass.

We are all experiencing the pain of grief differently. We would all like everything to be painless, but grief is painful. It hurts to lose someone we care about. For all the clichés and all the brave fronts people put forward, we need to realize that we cannot lose someone we care about without experiencing some level of pain. Know and accept your feelings and know that they are normal and okay. Cry and know that that is okay. Know that we all go through the stages of grief and know that that is also normal.
We may be experiencing very different feelings. One may be the feelings of shock, disbelief – how could this happen? I can’t believe it. Another feeling of profound sadness – we have very heavy hearts. The feeling – of guilt and the what if’s – if I had only… if I had done … it should have been me in there… The feeling of anger – why did this happen? What or who can I blame? The feeling of depression – overwhelming sadness. Recognize that these feelings are okay, normal, and are feelings of grief. And all of us have to go through grief to heal. We all must go through the door to get to the other side.

It is so nice to see you here today to support each other with this loss. We find peace in sharing our stories. We find strength in knowing that we are not alone in our grief.

Asher had a very strong faith which helped him through difficult times. Faith can also help us cope with grief.
Why was Asher put into our lives? And why was he taken away from this life so soon?
One good thing that has occurred with Asher’s death is that his father and grandfather were not on speaking terms before, but his death has brought them back together.
How has knowing him added to our new “normalcy”?
Maybe it is to make us see once again how precious life is.
Maybe it is to show us how important it is to stand up for our beliefs.
Maybe it is to show us how having such a positive outlook on life has such a positive impact on the lives of others.
Maybe it is to help us see global issues.
Maybe it is to show us how lucky we are to be Canadians and how important it is for us to help others in need.

To Laugh Often and Much – by Emerson

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
Asher succeeded.

Asher wrote these words about Learnmore Jongwe, who was the first spokesperson for Zimbabwe’s main opposition party Movement for Democratic Change. He was in custody when he died. Ironically, if we put Asher’s name where he had Jongwe’s name, as I did, we have a very good description of Asher.

On July 27, 2009, we heard the news that Asher Mutsengi has passed on. No informed person could well deny that Asher was a spectacular spokesperson in the history of Zimbabwe’s politics.
Like Moses before him, he had the task of leading a people to freedom, the task of healing the festering wounds of a nation’s man-made flaws.

Like Moses he never lived to see the promised land. But he pointed the way for us – a land no longer torn asunder with intolerance, tyranny, ethnic strife and poverty; a land in which strength is defined not by the capacity to wage violence but by the determination to forge peace – a land in which all Zimbabweans come together in true patriotic pride. We have not yet arrived at this longed for place, but he passed on the torch.

I remember not one moment of tragedy, but a short life of great purpose and achievement.
May it impress upon all of us that the greatest homage we can pay to Asher and all those who have paid with their lives in the struggle for democracy in Zimbabwe, is to work together for a society based on the principles of justice and true democracy to which he dedicated his life.

PRAYER – Let us pray.

Eternal spirit, before whom generations rise and pass away, we find that even in the face of death, our words can be those of thanksgiving.
We are thankful for one who shared his life with us…One for whom love and family were so important. For the struggles of life, and for the triumph of character over trial, of courage over difficulty, of faith over sorrow, we give thanks.
God grant us such strength in the memory of Asher that we might be thankful for the gift of life that is given to each of us, and in our hearts, may the loss of him be balanced by thanksgiving for the life that was shared with us. Great Spirit, we thank you for the days of life that you gave to Asher. May his memory live long among us and be a source of strength for us.
May we find the courage to face the changes which life presents to us as we go on from here.
Give to those who most deeply feel this loss, the comfort of your presence, and enable each of us to support each other. We commit his spirit into your keeping. Amen