This is an e-mail Houser sent out earlier this week:Dear friends and family around the world.
This is the e-mail I never wanted to send, but it is true. Our dear brother Toshi Ao passed away Saturday morning at around 9:00. He died peacefully and in his sleep at Satribari Christian Hospital in Guwahati – a place his family once lived, where he did lots of ministry, where he met his wife while she was a nurse there. Among his last words several hours before were "Hallelujah, Praise the Lord, in the name of Jesus…" He then asked his family to sing a song "in the name of Jesus, we have the victory"
I don't know what to say other than it is extremely hard and painful to even think about.After hearing the news through a friend, my wife and I went down to Guwahati to be with his family in their home. I met again with so many friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in a long time. I kept saying, "It's good to see you, but not for this, not like this…" His family members were strong and steady, encouraging those who came and thanking us for our presence. I didn't realize Toshi's father had never met my wife, he said "is this your wife?" and to her "…wow, what a great day this is to have you in our house, Houser is also my brother."
I cried as I sat there and thought of so many dreams I had for what Toshi and I could do together in this life. His son , Yanger, is around three, and his daughter, Rachel, is around 1. He is missed by anyone who knew him. They say more than 400 people came to his funeral yesterday (Sunday). When I got there I was thinking about all the tribes and even nationalities who were present there. It was appropriate. He was a blessing to many nations and people. They asked me to say something on behalf of YWAM Shillong. I had actually been thinking of what to say for weeks now, but every time I tried to put it out of my mind and focus on praying for his complete recovery. I said that I didn't have words, and I'm sure it's even harder for the family to find words (although just before that his mother had eloquently given a great speech about him). I said that his family should be honoured, that their son, their brother, their husband, their father had brought joy to everyone who knew him. He was caring and compassionate, kind, sensitive, to others, unselfish in his way of giving his time and effort to everyone who needed his help. He was always there to crack a joke and get people laughing again. I kept thinking about that verse where Paul says "I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far, but for you I desire to stay…" I said that we are happy for Toshi, that he has gone to be with Christ – which is better By Far, but for our sake, we want him here. For our sake he wanted to stay. I said that one comfort is that the joy that he gave so many people here - he will now have that joy and better joy than that forever from God. So many things that people say I did (like start Mission Adventures in South Asia) – he did with me, and without him it could not have been what it was. So much of what I know about this city of Guwahati, I know from him.
I had two prayers on my heart yesterday, the first is that his children will grow up to be just like him. The second is that God would call 100 new workers to the city of Guwahati to fulfill each every one of the dreams in Toshi's heart. I'm asking God that his life would be the seed that bears fruit one hundred times as much. I shared those prayers at the service, and I said that as Toshi always dreamed of a new Guwahati with better and smoother roads, he now walks on streets of gold. As I walked behind his coffin to the place they buried him, I was thinking about how after so many walks around this city and these streets, this was our last walk together. After he was buried, I started walking back to his house by myself. I started crying again, realizing again how I missed him when I walked alone.
I want to thank all of you for your prayers. I shared at his funeral about how people all over the world were praying and how his care and his concern for teams from around the world had caused the place of Guwahati and the Northeast to have a dear place in people's hearts around the world. After everything was over, his family thanked us for coming and his father said that "only because of so many YWAMers are we comforted today". I can only ask God to comfort them again and again.
It's still so sad on my heart, and I cannot believe this has happened. If I close my eyes I can still see him jumping around, making some joke, I can still hear the sound of his voice. Toshi was the first true friend I had in the North East. From 2000 until 2002, he was one of the closest friends I had in the world. Please pray for his family and friends as we walk through these incredibly hard days and as our minds keep slipping into those thoughts of "why" and "what if". Please ask God to be our strength. As I walked away from the house to the road to get a bus back to the city, I passed by three young girls standing on the road. One of them called out to me and said that she appreciated what I said. I asked them how they new him, and they said "uncle Toshi was our Sunday School teacher". I thought to myself "another ministry he was doing that I didn't know about, how many young people did he work with in this town?". I talked with them for a few minutes and then said to them "whatever Toshi did for you, you must now do for others." They nodded, and I walked away. I feel like I saw the first step towards the 100 new workers I am praying for.
As I said at the funeral, we miss him and we are so sad, but we are grateful for the time that we did have with him in this world.
Thank you for your prayers
