The Perspective
Atlanta, Georgia
July 4, 2020

Mrs. Elizabeth Menguah Gongloe

Mrs. Elizabeth Vonyee Menguah-Gongloe was born in 1923 to Coppee Menguah and Lalebay Seleh Menguah in Quoipa, Wolota Clan, Upper Bong County.  She met her late husband, teacher Wilfred Kehleboe Gongloe in 1946 and they became husband and wife in 1948. In 1951, a group of early mid-Baptist missionaries and evangelists had traveled to Quoipa to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our mother was among those in the crowd.  She would later narrate the story of how deeply touched she was by the preaching of the gospel by the missionaries. She accepted our Lord Jesus Christ as her personal savior at the end of the service. From that day in 1951, our mother followed every teaching and Christian philosophies with staunched devotion.  

Ma Elizabeth stated that the missionaries taught the gospel along with hygiene. Among the hygiene taught was the idea of drinking boiled water to prevent illnesses, something she did with passion throughout her life span. That became one of the symbols of her faithfulness. One benefit she derived from drinking boiled water was that unlike many persons who live in rural Liberia, she did not suffer from any form of stomach illness.

An outstanding aspect of her Christian faith was the habit of praying.  She prayed without ceasing. Our mother would have morning devotions with us before going on the farm every morning. On the farm, she would pray before starting her day’s work. She would pray when she divides the meal and still expects us to pray before eating, though she had generally prayed over the meal. Praying was just an integral part of her. She prayed for everything, I mean everything. Our mother was without a child for many years into her adulthood after years of marriage as one of the wives of Chief Bowah in Zanboyee. Of course, this was before she accepted Christ. Even after she met her husband, Wilfred K. Gongloe, she lived with him for many years without bearing a child. The situation worried her but did not shake her faith in Jesus Christ. She became the subject of community gossip that she was a barren and would never bear children. Regardless of the gossip, our mother continued to pray, believing that God would provide the answer she needs. Thanks to our father’s patience and belief in God, he did not abandon her for being childless.  As she prayed, God faithfully answered her prayers and she became a mother in 1956, when her first child, Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe was born. Thereafter, our mother and father had 7 additional children together. In 1980, our mother became the president of the Yarwin  Mehnsonnoh Chapter of the Lydia Women Group of the Mid Baptist Church in Nimba County. Mama continued to serve her Lord faithfully in a community with very few believers at the time.

She was a hardworking farmer and a true servant of God. She was the pillar of our family. Her strong family values were evident in everything she did and said. With her support, she complimented our father well in their marriage. Many may wonder how our father could educate so many children on a $50. 00, monthly salary, as a village teacher? The answer is lying right here in this casket. Our mother was always available to pick up from where-ever our father could not reach financially. Proceeds from the sales of her farm products were always available to complete payment of tuition fees that our father’s meager salary could not handle. She was the rock and the pillar behind our father and us, his children.

In July 1980, she faced her first major test as a Bible-believing Christian. She was bitten by a mysterious snake that was never seen, but suspected to be cassava snake. She bled and became helpless. Our nervous father chattered a car to take our mother to the Phebe Hospital, as the herbal medicine initially applied was yielding no positive result. By the grace of her God, she survived the Venom of the snake. Though, she was discharged from the hospital after spending 3 months, the sore from the poison did not heal until several years later. After her discharge from the hospital, our mother spent a few years with her people in Quoipa to continue herbal treatment to heal the sore from the snake bite.  While in Quoipa, she became very active in the Quoipa Mid Baptist Church. There she introduced regular morning devotions, which helped to strengthen the church. Her faithfulness further revived the Quoipa Church and increased its membership. She later moved back home to our father in Glehyee Zorpeay, where she remained until the end of the third cycle of the Liberian civil war.

In early 2011, our mother had a major surgery at the John F. Kennedy Hospital. After the surgery, a surgical error was suspected by two of her daughters who are a nurse and midwife, respectively. With our interventions, the administrator of the hospital admitted that indeed there was perforation to her intestine during the first surgery, which was causing bowel leakage. The leakage had caused about 2 centimeters of her intestine to decay as she became a sceptic. A second surgery to correct the error was performed by Dr. Vuyu Golakai, an internationally experienced surgeon, just within 6 days of the first operation. Even the doctor was pessimistic about her survival from the second surgery just days after the first. He was concerned about her age. He also advised that she would need 2 pounds of blood. That, we were prepared to provide. While everyone around her was giving up about her survival, she was confident that her Lord would bring her from the operation theatre alive. Amazingly, the doctor found our mother to have stronger cells than normal for her age and sufficient blood even after the first surgery. The success of the second surgery was beyond amazing. For lo and behold, our God showed up and she survived both surgeries within the same week. Her recovery puzzled the JFK medical family. To the extent that she lived 9 years after that surgery is beyond human comprehension. It just got to be God Almighty. On Sunday, June 21st, 2020, our mother complained that she was not feeling well. Her daughter Mercy and Gloria attended to her. Her pressure fluctuated between high and low. She was stabilized by Monday. She even got out of bed with some assistance. She participated in the morning routine devotion.

For the first time in our experience, our mother could not pray, but asked her daughter Renee to pray for her instead. She sang along with her children and her voice was a bit faint and frail that morning. Though, she seemed weak, we were confident that as a fighter and overcomer, she was going to bounce back again. We almost taught of our mother as immortal or someone who would live forever.

On Tuesday morning she told her grand-daughter, Angie Gongloe, that she wanted to eat dry rice for breakfast instead of her usual moringa tea and bread. She did eat all of her portion served. She declined to eat lunch. She stated that she was still feeling full from the morning dry rice. By 10 pm, our mother asked Gloria to switch off the light because she wanted to sleep. Gloria did. By 11 pm, Renee switched the light back on to take one of our mother’s younger granddaughters to the bathroom. Our mother again asked that the light be turned off because she wanted to sleep. Renee also did as she requested. By 12 midnight, Renee turned the light switch on to check on our mother. She saw that our mother looked peacefully asleep. As Renee drew closer, she realized that our mother didn’t seem to be breathing. Renee shook her and called her, “Mama, Mama.” Our mother was unresponsive. Gloria woke up at the frantic sound of Renee’s voice. They frantically bathed and dressed her and rushed her to the ELWA Hospital and later to the Catholic hospital where she was pronounced dead at 1:00 O’clock am on Wednesday, June 23rd.  Our mother was a fighter. She was a change agent, standing for the truth without fear. Ma Elizabeth was a disciplined woman. She could not tolerate uncleanliness in any manner, shape or form. She loved us and was equally loved by us and her family members. She was a soft-spoken woman with impeccable character and unmatched tolerance, endurance and wisdom. Above all, she was so peaceful that she did not display anger in any form such as quarreling or fighting with anyone. She did not even lay her hands on any of children, in an effort to discipline them for any form of misconduct. She will rather lecture them and use lessons from the Bible to help them change.

Our mother by all accounts lived her life as a soldier for the Lord . Mama, you had a full life and you lived it well. Today, there is no doubt that the angels of heaven are rejoicing because a beloved and obedient child of God is now with her father and a host of angels. We weep not your passing, for we know exactly where you are at the moment. We weep not the end of your life, but the emptiness it creates in our lives. Your death again reminds us that this fleshly life is not immortal. You had a full life. All the boxes are checked and we can only celebrate a life well-lived. We wanted to have you forever, but this is a call that all of us will have to answer. Bye-bye mama. Sleep on, as you asked for the light to be turned off on Tuesday night because you wanted to sleep. Mama, the lights are off forever. Sleep on till we meet again on that beautiful shore.
Your children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, as well as your only surviving sister, nephews, nieces, and a host of relatives will keep your loving memory forever.
May your soul and souls of all faithful departed rest in perfect peace.
Amen.

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