Catching Up -- the Death of Bishop Bullen Dolli

I haven't been good about writing here because the Diocese of Missouri gets the Lui news better from the Ning blog. Since Bishop Bullen's surgery in Nairobi, he was in ICU for a couple of weeks and then was stepped down to the High Dependency Unit, from which he was to be flown back to Lui Hospital on December 14th. Sadly, he died in the Nairobi hospital on the 11th.

All along, I've been corresponding with Stephen about helping to pay the part of the hospital bill we hadn't already paid (so, as I understand it, the body could be released); we had sent money to MAF-Kenya for the medical flight back to Mundri, and that money was converted into hospital bill money when the flight was no longer needed; I think other friends were going to front the balance until funds arrived from us, Lund, and Blackmore Vale to cover it.

I do not know what other assistance they may have received from NGOs, church friends, and the Moru people, but I learned today from a friend at ECS that the bishop's body will be flown to Juba tomorrow, rest in the cathedral for prayers, and then be returned to Lui for burial and the funeral this weekend. I'm not sure how this fits with our understanding that the funeral is usually about a month after the burial. I also don't know how soon the process will begin to elect a new bishop; I'm sure whatever would normally happen will be affected by the referendum, which is supposed to be January 9th. In any case, I guess we can infer -- since the body is being released -- that the hospital bills have been paid.

I will remember Bishop Bullen for his amazing stories of survival and witness, for a few famous sayings, like "if you don't change, change will change you" and (about the mosque in Lui) "it's a house of prayer, but only the mosquitos worship there now," and for his tenacity and his charismatic ability to make friends. Bullen Dolli, rest in peace.

For more about Bishop Bullen:
http://www.diocesemo.org/news/2010/12/11/bullen-dolli/
http://www.lui.anglican.org/index.php?PageID=newsbpbullen