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Tuesday, July 21st 2009

“Hey Morgan, you leave today for Africa don’t you?” Rory yelled as he jogged across the church patio towards me. He then gave me a huge hug, which he did every time I saw him. Since Rory had started to work at the North Coast Calvary, I got to see him almost every day and always looked forward to being around him. He was impossible to be in a bad mood around. Every time I saw Rory he would genuinely ask, “How are you doing?” Then sincerely wait for an answer, the real answer, like he had all the time in the world.   

“Yep, we leave today, I’m so excited, can’t wait for this trip.” I was in a huge rush and trying to not be antsy about much I had to get done in the hour before our team left for the airport. All my pre-departure chores were circling through my head, pick up keys for the van, copy passports, weigh luggage, print out itineraries. 

“I’m so excited for you all, next time I’m going to have to come along.” 

“For sure,” I responded. “That would be amazing.” My mind drifted back to the Thursday night at Green Room, our church young adults ministry. Our team was being commissioned for the trip to Swaziland, we all went up front, and Rory was the one to pray over us. He prayed for our safety and that our world would be rocked. He specifically prayed the verse over us, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the Good News.” While he prayed I looked down at my calloused, dirty, pedicure needing feet and laughed. 

 “I think you and your sister are amazing, I love watching how God uses you both, and love how you both aren’t afraid to step out in faith and go for it.”

“Thanks!” I truly appreciated the fact that every time I saw Rory he told me how highly he though of both Molly and me. It never felt like empty flattery, but sincere genuine encouragement, the kind that left me prepared to face tough days. Rory had become a part of our Fill-a-Belly family about a month before. He came every week and loved getting to know our homeless guests. He was so excited about forming connections, and always let me know how much he loved Fill-a-Belly in general and how great his conversations were with the travelers. 

Someone waved across the parking lot at Rory and my time crunch came back to the forefront of my mind.

“I’m going to be praying for your trip every single day you are gone.” 

“Thanks, I really appreciate that, we need all the prayer we can get.” 

We hugged one more time, said our goodbyes, and I ducked inside to grab some books, while he jogged across the sunny courtyard to encourage the next person he came across. 
 
Wednesday, August 5th 2009

 
It had been a short night, with nowhere close to enough sleep. Our team was at a guest house in Nelsprit, South Africa, and we would be leaving that morning to travel back to the U.S.A. We had wireless access and I decided to check e-mail one last time before starting the almost 50 hour journey home. Out of the hundreds of e-mails one caught my eye; it was titled simply “Rory Graham.” 
I opened it and the second I saw the picture and text my breath caught in my throat, something wasn’t right. The e-mail started out….

Rory

  

“Many of you know our good friend Rory Graham as he was a valued friend and leader in the green room.  Rory was asked to speak at the High School Lake Nacimiento trip this week.  Unfortunately, Rory drowned shortly after arrival at the camp on Monday, Aug. 3rd. Everyone involved is having a difficult time with the news…”

My heart started to pound, a few tears leaked out and I wanted it to be a horrible joke, or something wrong with the e-mail, it just couldn’t be real. Rory couldn’t be gone. He was going to be there when we got back. 

The day was a daze, as we rode for hours on the van and waited in the airport.  Rory’s death was all I could think about. I tried to pray, but had trouble getting the sentences out. I couldn’t imagine what his family was facing, I kept thinking of the high school students and leaders and everyone at the church. 

 
We finally boarded the plane and thankfully had some empty seats around us. Kevin, Tegan, and I were all near each other. The three of us talked for a long time about Rory, his passion for life, how excited we all were to get to know him more, his encouragement of our trip, his heart to serve. The tears finally started to flow and the talking shifted into prayer.

 
We prayed for Rory, for his family and for everyone involved. Kevin prayed, “God, we know Rory is with you, and we know that he wouldn’t trade being with you for anything, but can you just tell him how much we love him, can you tell him that we miss him and are excited to see him again.”