HOLLAND, Mich.- Christianna Murphy, a seemingly healthy 10-year-old girl from Holland, collapsed and died while living as a missionary with her family in Africa May 23.
Saturday, hundreds of friends and family gathered at Central Wesleyan Church in Holland to celebrate her life. At just 10-years-old, those who knew her say she accomplished more than most would in a lifetime.
Christianna lived in Zambia with her mother, father and five brothers and sisters. She worked with sick orphans through the Holland ministry ‘Africa’s Child.’
Her grandfather, Mike Murphy, says he hopes everyone can learn a little something from the way Christianna lived her life.
“The way she would handle the kids at the orphanage where they worked, there was a compassion and a love and a concern in her eyes,” said Murphy. “Just how to handle the babies like that for a 10-year-old, you just don’t expect those things.”
“She was the kind of person you would want as an example,” Murphy added. “What do you mean by love? Well just look at my granddaughter you got a great example right there.”
Her family said an autopsy showed that Christianna had a thickened heart valve, but more tests are needed before they’ll know what caused her sudden death.
For more information: http://www.africaschild.info/
