We were blessed to be close to the group of university students who moved in 1994 to Jinja, Uganda. They planted churches all around the Busoga region of Uganda, learning the language and loving the people. What a blessing to our family to join the team for a month in the summer of 2000!
In the past few years, the team members came back and were replaced by a second generation mission team. You can read about the team here.
One of the team members, Adam Langford, died suddenly and tragically yesterday in a traffic accident in Uganda.
Here are the final things he wrote in his online journal.
We also grieve the loss of their coworker Moses Kimeze, the director of the Source Cafe, a leader in the Jinja Church of Christ, and, as I remember well from our month in Jinja, an incredible man.
May God bring merciful healing to the families and friends who suffer even though they know these men poured out their lives for the mission of Christ in this world.
After staring at my computer screen for ten minutes I have no words.
It sounds like we lost some great brothers yesterday.
This quote from the top of Adam’s journal caught my attention:
Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.
- Mahatma Gandhi
It sounds as if Adam lived by that maxim. And he did some very important things. The world needs more Adam’s. Today it has one less.
How sad. Thanks for sharing and we’ll keep their family members in our prayers.
He died a hero in the faith. I will pray for comfort for his family. To suffer cheerfully is a gift from God. I praise the Lord for men and women who give their lives for the Kingdom!
“But in this broken world, I am beginning to believe we need more people who are willing to enter into the suffering of others whether they can help or not.” Yes, yes, YES!!!
Heart felt sorrow for the families.
Mike is Adam related to our own Langfords at Highland?
Memorial Drive in Tulsa joins you in heartbreak. The Langford’s are a part of our mission hopes. The Lord’s body is broken once again.
Tragically sad. I am thankful for their faith in the midst of suffering. May God help us all and receive them back to him by His grace!
Peace.
“May God bring merciful healing to the families and friends who suffer even though they know these men poured out their lives for the mission of Christ in this world.”
amen
A bit of news that is hopeful. I just got word that a film crew was at the Village of Hope in Ghana, West Africaand spent about two hours filming there. They interviewed one of the former slave children that Mike wrote about a few blogs ago, and they also interviewed Fred Asare. I almost forgot to mention it, but it was a film crew from the Oprah show. The program is scheduled to air sometime in March. I hope it is ok that I mentioned this. Sometimes it is not the right time to mention things, but I think you all will understand.
I’m sorry for the Adam’s family and for Moses’ family. I’m sorry for the pain you feel. May prayers and thoughts and comfort be with you.
Thanks, Richard. My sister-in-law has been interviewed by people from Oprah and from the NY Times. Last night my niece, who’s just returned to ACU, showed me pictures of their visit with the children in Ghana. We’re praying that the story will be picked up by someone big because there are many more children there in slavery. It might inspire lots of people when they find out that normal, average people can absolutely make a difference. These seven children were slaves, sold by their parents who couldn’t feed them. Their conditions were inhumane. (See my earlier post.) Now they are being loved at Village of Hope!
Our prayers reach to our Creator God on behalf of those families the work in every mission field.
So sorry. What a loss.
“Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Yes’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, and their works do follow them.’”
Thanks for including the online journal link, Mike. I was lucky enough to hang out with Adam twice and what everyone told me about him was true: “Adam only needs a few hours with you before he’s forever in your memory”. I wish the people of Uganda had his presence for more time. I wish my best to his family and friends.
It’s all I hear as I read of this today. May the God of comfort of peace be with their families, their friends, and those he loved so deeply as they served His kingdom.
Oh Jesus if I die upon a foreign field someday
‘Twould be no more than love demands, no less could I repay,
“No greater love hath mortal man than for a friend to die,”
These are the words he gently spoke to me,
“If just a cup of water I place within your hand
Then just a cup of water is all that I demand,”
But if by death to living they can thy glory see,
I’ll take my cross and follow close to thee.
May our Father of mercy grant peace and healing to family and friends who have suffered such a great loss.
And when we pray for our missionaries, let’s remember that the greatest threats to their physical health are not from terrorists and exotic diseases, but from traffic. May God’s angels protect his servants working on the front lines all over the world.
Adam was a dear friend of mine and true servant of Christ. I was honored to call him a close friend and will miss him greatly. My heart has broken repeatedly this week.
Adam loved hiking and he had this strange rule that whenever he started a trail he strove to find the end. That is truly the way he lived his life, he did everything (even his Christianity–if you can believe it!) to the absolute fullest. He lived a large, loud life for the good news of Christ and Adam’s story will be heard for years to come.
Aaron
I’m asking the obvious question here: Why does God allow these things to happen? I know there’s not an answer to that, but it is hard to comprehend or accept.
Amy, I’m with you. This makes no sense.
Aaron, I know you loved Adam, and it’s clear from the little I knew of him that his death is a terrible loss. Jocelyn and I are thinking of you guys. Our condolences to his family and friends and the family of Moses Kimeze.
What a heartbreaker! My prayers are with their loved ones and the church families that will miss them so very much. May our LORD’s promised comfort be theirs, accompanying them through this heavy mourning and grieving period.
Mike, this has nothing to do with 2day’s post but I am needing some information that maybe you can provide. Greg Spinks that was the youth minister at Farmers Branch, my son who is 17 is seeking his counsel and cannot find him on their church web sight. They met several years ago and became friends. They’ve spoken occasionally and my son has has relied on him in difficult times. He is needing him now and we can’t find him. Do you or any one else know where he is and how to reach him. Any info will be appreciated.
My best friend, Adam Langford, died this week. After receiving the news, I spent the evening calling friends to inform them of the tragedy. I woke up the next morning to the voice of my seven-year-old informing me that she heard there was no school (a 1st grader with a radio alarm clock is a wonderful thing). We had received five inches of snow. Amidst more phone calls, I dressed my three children so they could go out and play in the snow. I sat at our kitchen window, drank my coffee, and watched as they played in the snow. I could only think of one thing…Adam would have been teaching them how to build a snowman!
So sad.
I heard on Tuesday that he passed. We were in the middle of a snowstorm. I went walking in it. All I could think of was Adam and I lost on Mt St Helens in a whiteout. We nearly made the news that day. But I was never worried because Adam was in charge. We made it down (after being lost) ate the best hamburger we ever had at the country store in Cougar, WA and listened to the rest of the Oregon Oklahoma (the year they didn’t get cheated) game on the radio. We both couldn’t feel our fingertips for weeks.
This year I will root for OU against Texas in honor of Adam. I will also start living life to the fullest to honor him. I will miss one of my very best friends but he will always be with me.
Ben, I can see Adam playing with Emma, Aiden and Izzie. I remember him always talking about them as we climbed at Rocky Butte. Love ya Ben.
I have been feeling lately that God is trying to teach me something about loss. I don’t think that I understand what the lesson is yet. This is one more part to that lesson. I am hearing God’s strength in Adam’s and Moses’ lives…their connections with their savior and their friends, their playfulness, resourcefulness, and willingness to open themselves up. I don’t understand the why and maybe I’m not supposed to.
I will pray for their families and their friends….for peace, comfort, God’s hands felt, and understanding. I know their journey will rocky for awhile. I am sorry.
I climbed Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens with Adam back in 2003. I wrote about some of those experiences here (with pictures). We had some great times up there.
I’ve been thinking about going up St. Helens again - I’d like to honor Adam in some way up there if I do.
Leland, I hadn’t heard that story; contact me if you like.
Like so many others, Adam Langford was one of my best friends. It has truly been an honor to spend the last year as a teammate of his in Jinja. Alan, The picture that you took of him on St. Helen’s was his favorite pic. Perhaps you knew that. We will miss him always.