Seconds in Heaven by Joy's niece, Faith

My daughter Faith, who is 9 years old, wrote this 

about a vision she had a few months after Joy died. She gave it as a speech in her language arts class. I asked her and she agreed to let me share it with you.a9

(Joy's sister, Charity Bausum)

     My Aunt Joy, who was a missionary, died in Malaysia, and I asked God to give me a vision of how she was doing in heaven. I was feeling traumatized since she passed away, and I hoped that seeing her in heaven would help me realize she was okay.

     The next day I was feeling tired and sad so I closed my eyes. There she was, standing at the top of a hill made of clouds. The clouds were the color of a sunset, with shades of gold, orange and yellow. Aunt Joy was glancing around as if she wasn’t sure what was happening.Standing next to her on the hill was Jesus. He wore a white robe with a sash across his shoulder. He glowed so brightly that my eyes could hardly gaze upon Him, but just one glimpse of Him calmed my broken heart.

     Suddenly, Aunt Joy noticed me standing at the bottom of the hill. Immediately she dashed toward me. As she ran, I noticed how happy she appeared. She was wearing a robe similar to Jesus, but her sash was tied in a bow around her waist. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail just the same as when she was alive. She was smiling more happily than she had ever smiled at me before and it warmed my heart. When she finally reached me, she hugged me so tightly I could barely breathe, but I didn’t even notice it. Aunt Joy and I stood at the bottom of the hill hugging for several seconds, and then my vision of heaven was over.

This article was used with permission from Russell Board who writes the Asia/Pacific Updates, IPHC World Missions in the Asia/Pacific Region.

Joy's parents, Dan and Patty Bausum, traveled to Malaysia months after Joy's death for the dedication of The Joy Bausum School.

Malaysia

December 13, 2010

Joy Bausum School

On November 12, the Joy Bausum School was officially dedicated in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This is the school for Burmese refugees where 26-year-old SOW missionary Joy Bausum was working when she was suddenly stricken with a massive cerebral hemorrhage that took her life.

Participants in the dedication ceremony included Presiding Bishop Ron Carpenter and World Missions Executive Director Doug Beacham, as well as Joy’s parents Daniel and Patti Bausum. Bishops Carpenter and Beacham spoke to the schoolchildren and guests about Joy’s commitment to serve the Lord, and encouraged the students to follow in her steps. Her parents also spoke to the students, emphasizing that Joy was an ordinary girl who gave her life to the Lord, and ended up being used by God in extraordinary ways.

IPHC ministers Henry and Serena Martinus operate the school, which serves about 75 children from Myanmar, whose families have fled persecution in their home country. These families struggle to eke out a living while their applications for refuge in America or Europe are processed by the UN, which takes two to three years.

Henry and Serena have a vision to start many Joy Bausum Schools to serve refugee communities in Malaysia and beyond. They welcome young (or not-so-young) people like Joy to join them, short-term or long, in the rewarding work of redeeming lives and giving children a solid foundation on which to build a future of hope in Christ.

Donations to support the school can be sent to World Missions, PO Box 12609, Oklahoma City, OK 73157. For online donations, gohere.

Posted at 02:49 PM in Malaysia, Missions, Myanmar | Permalink | Comments (0) |TrackBack (0) ShareThis

How Great is Our God (World Edition Live)

Posted by Joy's mom, Patty, on Joy's Facebook page. 


"This song was sung at Joy's Memorial Service. Wouldn't she love the cross cultural flavor?! Well, She IS hearing it right now, and oh how she must love the worship of the nations!!"     

Beautiful.