Our darling daughter who was the pride of our hearts

Perhaps you were too good for this life

So God called you back to heaven

That your life needed no further testament

Than the goodness, you’d already given

Our youngest daughter Dinusha was a gift from God on January 13, 1987 to both of us and to her elder sister Hirusha and brother Hirushke. She passed away on January 15, 2016 just one night after her 29th birthday.

Her life journey is a story of amazing faith, endurance and love. She had incurable SLE to begin with and later on her kidneys failed and then her main heart valve was damaged. Following the heart surgery, Dinu had a stroke. As if everything Dinu was bearing wasn’t enough, she contacted swine flu and then pneumonia. The last thing she needed was to find a lump in her breast, but that’s exactly what happened.

The days were very dark for our little Dinu. Every movement she made caused agonizing pain. She couldn’t lie, sit, or stand without pain. But she never uttered a cross word to any of us. She only let her love for her family show. It was as if she knew she would only be here a short time longer and she wanted her family to have no doubt that she loved them. Her love for God was always evident and shone through like a bright light on those dark days.

Just 22 months after Dinu was born, we as a family went through turmoil, however our faith in God was strengthened by the spiritual support of the Methodist church we attended regularly and the divine ministry of Dev Suwa Sevawa. She was a happy and loving baby who touched the hearts of everyone with joy and love. When Dinu walked into a room and smiled, it truly seemed as though the room lit up.

In 1991 she joined her sister at Ladies’ College. She took a great interest in her studies as she grew up. She successfully completed her Advanced Level exams and joined a leading travel company.

She loved her work and her work mates but had to face the crushing blow of losing her job.

In August 2009, Dinusha was diagnosed with incurable SLE…Lupus disease. Although she was incredibly sick, she was also a very brave young girl with a strong will. She began praying and was able to find another job which would help support the family and help pay for her medical expenses. Dinusha caught Chamara’s eye while working in this place. They married on December 17, 2012.

Things were looking good for the young couple until May 9, 2014. Dinu returned from work that day complaining of pain in her abdomen and spine. Tragedy struck the family when we learned that both her kidneys had failed. In March 2015, we were told she needed to have a kidney transplant.

Dinu had developed a theme for life. It was, “The circumstances of your life don’t and shouldn’t describe or dictate the quality of your personality.” Dinu didn’t let these new and trying circumstances change any aspect of her character or her life. Though she herself was sick and in pain, she still took time to visit if a friend or relative was sick. Though she was in need, she was always there to help others when needed. She always had time to talk to her friends. Dinu’s Bible theme verse was Col 4:2 “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.”

Through times of severe suffering, she still found ways to enjoy her life. Though she was a young girl of 28, she was able to show the way for both the young and the old.

Her beautiful life showed the example of how to live and glorify God…how to journey in faith amidst intense suffering. Though parents are supposed to be the teachers, we became the students. We learned a great deal from our daughter of how not to let the circumstances of our lives dictate the quality of our lives.

By January 9,2016, Dinu felt the Lord had sent her a message calling her home. When Rev Asiri Perera, President/Bishop of Methodist Church, visited Dinu that day, she told him clearly and with perfect sense that she wanted to go to God’s house…she had been called home.

The following morning, Dinu’s family was gathered around her bedside. We were all there: On the night of January 14, Dinu was surprised by being able to listen to her favourite artiste, Keerthi Pasquel singing to her by her bedside.

No one realised, except may be Dinu, that it was her last night on earth.

Dinu touched the lives and hearts of many souls across the world. Even through pain and suffering she united them in the word of the Lord. We believe she will be looking down eternally on all of her loved ones until the day comes when we too get a calling of our own. Then we will be reunited in the house of the Lord. Her bright loving smile will never dim in the memories of those lives she touched.

Premakumar Fernando & Roshani Fernando (Parents of Dinusha)