The final resting place of the Late Shepherd
3 April 2023

The Holy scripture says, ‘the Spirit of God will not remain in man forever, for they are mortal’. This was fulfilled when He called into glory a giant in the faith – Shepherd Daniel Kwaku Aforo Oheneba – on December 13th 2022, who the Lord offered to the world for 96 years.

“Per our culture and traditions, my dear sister Victoria, you will be referred to as a widow. However, in Christ, you are not a widow, you are the bride of Christ. Your late husband was 96 years old, and he has done what he could do. Do not wail and cry as a hopeless wife. You have done what you could do; for a wife who stood beside her husband for all these years could be best described as a virtuous woman. Children, console one another! May God bless the family from which he hailed, for he brought honour to the family through Christ.” Those were some opening remarks of Lead Apostle Samuel Oppong-Brenya who conducted a burial service for the late Shepherd on 18th March 2023 at the Kumasi Central church.

The bible text was read from Mark 14:8a She has done what she could do”.

Be remembered for your services to the Lord
Dwelling on the bible text, the Lead Apostle explained the service rendered by the woman who anointed the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ in the house of Simon the leper.

“At the house of the leper, the woman was among the crowd. She was ridiculed as unfit. But she saw the glory of Christ. The lady poured expensive oil on the feet of Jesus. The people were angered but Jesus rebuked them saying “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her”. The Apostle said, “The lady has done what she could by pouring what was precious for her on the Lord. The people were not aware that the lady knew Christ was going to die, hence that was her parting gift as she might not have the chance to be at the burial. What Christ, the one who was there before all creations, desires for all New Apostolics and every Christian is that we should use the little we have to support His work”.

Serve the Lord with what you have
“A shepherd offered his manger to Mary to deliver Jesus Christ. They did what they could. To enable a large gathering to hear the sermon, Jesus borrowed a canoe from Peter and John. They did what they could to help the ministry. The owners of the donkey and inn did what they could to help the ministry of Jesus, especially in instituting the Holy Communion.

“Where He was buried, was offered by Joseph of Arimathea. Mary Magdalene and some other women took it upon themselves to preserve the body of Jesus from rot. And in their efforts, they were encouraged by angels. All these did what they could to help the Lord’s work”.

The Lead Apostle admonished the gathering not to belittle what they possess but should strive to use what they have to do the Lord’s work”.

“To the widow once again”, the Apostle encouraged, “My dear sister, your husband has done what he could. He was an honest person. He has raised responsible and committed children in the Lord. He has run his race, he will rest in peace.” concluded the Lead Apostle.

The late Shepherd did what he could!
The late Shepherd was adopted into the New Apostolic Church in 1988 and was later sealed by Apostle J.B Kankam of blessed memory. He was a pioneer member of the congregation that gathered at Ashanti New-Town before transitioning into the current location at Amakom. He will be remembered as one of the ministers in Kumasi who knew the  residence of every member of the large Central church where he served as a Shepherd until his retirement in 2005. Perhaps his greatest legacy was his role in the founding of the second largest congregation at Old Tafo in Kumasi which he started with his immediate family members.

He was ordained as a Priest in 1989, a Community Evangelist in 1990 and a Shepherd in 1994.

In attendance were Apostle Nortey and Bishop Kesse of Konongo Apostle area.