The following was read by Akwasi, the son of the Rev. Stephen Boakye-Yiadom, at the memorial service of his father on June 7, 2007.
Before we read this, we just want you all to be aware of something. Thinking of and writing this speech was difficult, because there are not enough words or a word that exists to encompass all that our father was.
Dear Family in Christ, (My dad would probably begin by greeting you all this way, because he saw each and every one of you as family :).
Saturday afternoon was hard for us. But I think it was also hard for all of you who happened to be present or hear about our father’s death. It has not been easy, but one thing our father always instilled in us was the gift of knowing Christ. He also spoke fervently about faith and the word of God. So, we as a family are riding on the power of faith and the Word of God. He wanted to give this gift to everyone and was passionate about witnessing to anyone at any time.
We saw our father as an oak tree, with his roots deeply rooted in faith and his branches providing shelter for all those who hungered for the Word. We also saw him as a mountain range - beautiful and strong for the Word of God. Our father can also be described as a river – fresh and clear. Constantly quenching people's thirst for the Word.
Why is this?
Our father’s whole life revolved around bringing the Word of God to the people of Africa. His constant theme or motto was “Africa needs Jesus.” It sounds simple but it contains so much truth. A truth that needs to be carried on. A legacy that needs to remain.
Even in his home life, he was all about Jesus. Our whole lives, every problem - the solution was Jesus. Every praise that came our way could only be attributed to Jesus. He began his day with the Word of God, and ended it with the Word as well.
Our father taught us so many things, mostly through his actions and not only through his words. He loved people, and claimed everyone was his friend. He truly enjoyed saying “hi” to strangers, chatting with them and making them his new friends. He was kind, generous, forgiving and compassionate, from persistently greeting and carrying a conversation with people who were not so friendly to him, to buying things he did not need just so he could support the street vendors' businesses.
When our father spoke to people about Christ, he would get verbally loud. This is because he gave expression to the spirit of God living in him.
Another memory that comes to mind is our trip to Israel, where we were in a taxi with our taxi driver. While chatting away with the taxi driver my dad suddenly asked, “Do you know Jesus?” What developed was a deep conversation about Jesus between the taxi driver and our father. That was our father. When it came to witnessing about Jesus, he had no fear.
“Hope is the one constant in the life of each Christian who has achieved great things for the kingdom. From a parent's hope for a child to a missionary’s hope for a nation, there is no other conviction like hope to make a believer rise up each day excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.”
Right now, our vision of our dad is of him in heaven with his hands raised in the air, laughing and so happy and excited to be with Jesus. Our dad’s life was all about loving God and loving people. He ran the good race and fought the good fight and now he is in a better place, for sure!
Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Life wrote: “At death you won’t leave home; you will go home....“
Thank you all for your wonderful support, your constant love and fellowship with and for us, not to mention the abundant prayers here and around the world are also very much felt.
Thank you all again.