Apu with Emmaus a few years ago.
Apu Bas-il is one of the very first people I met when I went to Bugnay back in 2004. He was one of the oldest members of the community and also the most welcoming.
One of my favourite memories of Apu was back in 2005 when my fellow missionary Crystal and I were staying in Bugnay for a month. There had been a typhoon and the water source close to the village was cut off. Crystal and I had to hike down to the community bathing area for our baths. We chose a time of the day when all the men would be in the fields so that we could have privacy. So there we were taking our baths … and out of the trees pops Apu on his way to check on his tobacco. He didn’t even look twice at these two half-naked (okay pretty much totally naked) white girls. He just kept on his way saying “You are taking a bath, and I am going to the fields.” We stood there shocked for a few minutes and then burst into laughter.
When I married Apu Bas-il’s grandson in 2007 he couldn’t have been happier. He would often travel the 4-hour jeepney ride to visit us at our home in Tabuk and spend hours playing with my kids. He was an amazing, generous, gentle man.
Visiting Apu in Bugnay.
Well, a few weeks ago I got a text message from the Bugnay staff that Apu was getting very weak and his children weren’t sure if he would survive the night. As soon as we got the text, Achao and his dad (who had been staying with us) left for Bugnay to see if anything could be done.
The Bugnay clinic staff also let us know that Apu had symptoms of a urinary tract infection. No one in his family wanted to take him to the hospital because he was old already and they didn’t think he could make the trip. So, my staff started him on IV medications and pain reliever for his infection and Achao brought up a new mattress and some pillows with him when he went.
A few days later our whole family went up to see Apu and to say good-bye to him. I prepared the kids that Apu would be very weak and thin and that he may have a difficult time speaking. I explained that we were going to say good-bye because he was going to go and be with Jesus soon.
The boys hike into Bugnay to visit Apu for the last time.
Well, he was very thin and weak when we got there but he was comfortable. He knew all of us, which was so nice because a few days previously he wasn’t very lucid. We spent the day with Apu and fed him and talked to him. The kids all got to give him a kiss and say good-bye.
In his last few weeks Apu was not left alone for even a moment. One of his friends or relatives were always by his side until he passed on just last week.
Bugnay will not be the same without Apu Bas-il, but we are rejoicing with him that he is with Jesus and he has no more pain and has a strong body once again.
