Dr Lin Calvert passed away 2 years ago this week, so here is a message that was shared at her funeral in memory of her.
“Each and every one of you heard the message that Bubu Mei has died. But I want to tell you the truth. The truth is Bubu Mei died a long time ago. Today, we are putting to rest her old and tired husk, the body of clay God gives everyone of us for this world, in this grave.
But when did Bubu Mei truly die?
Her parents dedicated her to God as a baby. They gave up the right to hold her back from following God.
At five-years-old, she read a paper that said: “If you want to follow Jesus, put your name here”. She wrote her name: Lin. Her mother smiled and said, “That’s nice”. Maybe her mother did not understand what this commitment to follow Jesus would mean for the future.
Then in 1976, Dr Lin made another decision to “die.” This decision was to “die with Jesus.”
On that day, Bubu Mei and Dr Peter heard the voice of the Holy Spirit of God telling them to follow the example of Jesus and be baptised. In obedience, they went down into the water just here, into the Wame River, close to the grave we have dug this day. That baptism in the river was the true grave of Dr Lin, not this grave.
Jesus chose to die on the cross for us. He died on the cross for our sin and to give us eternal life, the life of heaven. Jesus did not die so you and I would not have to die. Jesus died on the cross so that we could die with Him. This is why God’s Word tells us that to follow Jesus, we have to carry a cross. The cross we carry is for us to die on. We choose to die so that we can be buried with Jesus. If we die with Jesus and are buried with Him in baptism, then God can raise us up from the grave, just as God raised Jesus from the dead on the first Sabbath at Easter.
How do we know Bubu Mei died a long time ago?
When God called her to leave her family, her homeland, all that the world could offer, and say, “Yes, I will go,” this is how you know Bubu Mei had already died. She had already dedicated herself to God and prayed, “Not my will, but Your will be done.”
This is why we, the family, did not mourn or wail when Bubu Mei died. Death is not to be feared; death is a door for us into Jesus’ place. (Amua nu pairi).
Drs Peter and Lin came to serve the nine tribes of Baimuru, the people of Kikori, Ihu, and the people of PNG. Therefore, this is where their bodies are buried.
There was a dream about Bubu Mei that speaks much about the heart of her life and work. The staff member who had the dream knew Bubu Mei had died; however, to her surprise, in the dream she saw Dr Lin walking toward her, many crosses in her hand. She said, “Give these crosses to the people.”
Why would Dr Lin want crosses given to the people? Because the cross shows the picture of how her life was lived. The cross is the power of God in our lives that joins us to the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Why did Bubu Mei give the crosses? Only when the people of Baimuru and PNG die to their old ways, by the power of the cross, will our people come out of darkness and walk in God’s light.
Bubu Mei’s greatest desire was that our people would be saved, and on that day, the people of PNG would take their seats together with Bubu Mei at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven…
