Celebrating Dan comes easily because Dan lived such a full and rich life. The bible says that a spacious life flourishes. That was Dan's life.
I was Dan and Dora's chauffeur at their wedding. A lot of people had issues with it. "How can a woman be the Chauffeur for the bagole?", they asked and protested. Dan and Dora stood their ground and let me drive. What a ride that was. We laughed so hard and they enjoyed my play list. It was a safe ride I must say.
We were in Ministry with Dan in the Joint Heirs. He had an amazing voice and the discipline and strictness of a seasoned musician. Sometimes at practice some of our younger selves would like to goof off a bit, he would have none of that. To let him relax a bit we would use his other rarely used name, Nelson. I can still hear Dan singing, 'NOELI' , ' THE LORD IS MY LIGHT PSALM 27' .' OMUSAAYI','WE ARE JOINT HEIRS'
Dan took his faith seriously and always asked you when you met, "okyalokoka owoluganda?" ( Are you still walking with the Lord and keeping the the faith?) Dan is one of those Christians who never struggled with sharing his faith. If you were in his presence and you were not saved you would be sure to hear the gospel before your time together was up.
My last memory of Dan was a visit i their home on my travels . The Semambos lived in Entebbe and so on some of my travels I would stop over, spend the night and proceed to Kampala the next day. My last vist was beautiful fellowship and I also got to connect with my god-daughter Nasejje. That would be our last time together.
I last connected with Dan in November 2021. He sent me a message asking when we should organise another mission to Malawi. We did one in 2002 and we had an amazing time. He sent me a family music video and challenged me to identify my God daughter Nasejje, since she had grown up and I had not seen her for a while. That would be our final connection.
Farewell Dan , you fought a good fight. You run a straight race. Now you can await your crown. Sad that I cannot be there to say Farewell. Till we meet in glory.
Dora, thinking of you and your precious daughters and my Goddaughter, Nasejje. May God hold you and hug you tight in this difficult season. Let us remember Dan as we knew him best. May the memories we made together and the lessons we learned from him, keep Dan forever alive in our hearts. Blessings,
Dr. Stella Kasirye. 🇲🇼 Malawi