Remembering Timothy Polii

Today Perry Clement Timothy Polii was buried. He was born on November 10, 1984. I remember when I was still in middle school, whenever I go to Yordan I would meet him with his brother, Terry, in front of their house, near Om Utu's telaga.

The next time I met him was when I started working as a Bible Teacher in SLA Tompaso in June 2002. He was in III IPA, together with all the bright young kids striving to become doctors and scientists. Actually, during the first day of class, I saw him seating in III IPS.
He was a leader among his batchmates. Although looked upon negatively by some teachers. My first impression of him was a smart guy, with a photographic memory (reminds me of Marto when we were in high school). He was an adventurous fellow, a sportsman.

The first weekend I spent in SLA, he invited me to climb Mount Soputan with him and his friends. I told him that I was not capable of going such distances anymore. But he encouraged me. So I tried hard and reached the foot of Soputan. It was an all-night hike. Unfortunately that dawn, I could only make it halfway to the peak. Every step I took, would bring me down 3 steps because of the loose volcanic gravel.

Later, I found Timmy, as his friends call him, to be a bass singer. He'd be my right-hand man whenever we go out on Sabbaths to visit other churches. I'd usually assign him to lead a team that will take care of teaching the Sabbath School lessons, take part in the Divine Worship, and does an AY program in the afternoon. He was so capable of doing all those things.

After graduation from SLA, he joined his parents in the Philippines. I met him later on when my family had our vacation here. After that, I lost contact, only occasional hi through electronic means.

Sunday, May 31, 2009, I read from Facebook that he died. On the way home from the airport in Manado, on Saturday night, a Toyota vehicle bumped him from behind and dragged his body. He survived the night, but breathed his last at dawn at Manado Adventist Medical Center. I wish there was a way that they could have done to save him. But in the midst of everything, God has His will for Timmy.

I called up his father at 11.45 today. He immediately answered the phone. There was singing at the background, they were starting the funeral service. I just said hi, introduced myself, and he started to cry. I told him that we're all sad but "God will help us all to be strong, especially you, your wife and Terry. He'll help you go through this dark hour of life," and he replied, "Thank you, thank you, Bryan."

This makes me ponder in life. Life is fragile. One minute you're alive, the next minute you're dead. How frail is humanity! How short is life, and how full of trouble! Like a flower, we blossom for a moment and then wither. Like a shadow of a passing cloud, we quickly disappear. (Job in 14:1-2).