Brittany's Eulogy by Ty Wells at the Qwanoes Memorial

I miss Britt. I want to mourn with you today. I want to share and remember her life. I loved her as a friend and she was in all our hearts. But most of all, like Britt, I want to glorify God. I met Brittany in Kaleo last year. She had just left her hospitable, loving Christian home in Winkler, Manitoba. Her ‘meet you where you are’ acceptance, her inclusive love, her humility and care for others, were a reflection of her family. Growing up she was like any other kid. She got caught up in teen fads like the Spice Girls. Sporty was apparently her favorite, and even at Kaleo Spice World remained one of her favorite movies. She played sports too, even on the provincial team for softball. She didn’t give a rip about the score, she was about encouraging everyone. She liked skateboarding and snowboarding especially. Every spring break her family would spend the week together in Banff on a ski trip. However, one of the most special places for Britt was Winkler Bible camp. She worked there this past summer as the counselor for the CIT preparation program called Impact. It was in Winkler Bible camp’s CIT program that she first made her faith her own. Although she accepted Christ at a young age, and was raised in the church, that’s when her reflection of Jesus really began to grow. She was active in her church too. She was on the youth executive and very involved in the youth group. She went on a mission trip to Urban Promise in Vancouver, and dreamed of someday teaching English in Mexico or China.

By the time we met her she was pretty incredible. I have so many memories of Britt that make me smile. How could you not around her? She smiled so much herself. I used to call her ‘skim milk’. Can’t you just see Britt in the dining hall in her hoody and sweats, wandering with a glass of milk, or kind of nervously chewing her fingernails, or talking with her mouth full. I can’t not smile when I think of that. I can hear myself asking her 'how are ya doing?’ and seeing her respond with a big smile and a phrase like 'just fantastic' even though everything was ‘just terrible’ at the moment. She didn’t burden anyone, including herself, in her struggles; instead Britt chose to meet you where you were. And she was so kind with her words; she rarely shared her frustrations, that is such an admirable quality. Britt was a goof too. Take a moment and imagine Brittany in high heels and a skirt, dancing in a Mennonite church to a routine from the movie ‘A Night At The Roxbury’, that’s what she did for the Christmas banquet one year. Anyone who saw her rock out at our Christmas banquet knows she didn’t hold back. She did everything with her heart! She was game for crazy stuff too, like having a bath in her bathing suit with some of the other Kaleo girls, and she knew how to take a fun gesture as well, like when I got down on one knee on the skytrain and sang Justin Timberlake’s ‘Cry Me A River’ to her. She just laughed in that hooting kind of embarrassed laugh she had, all the while muttering ‘oh my goodness’.

We were at Union Gospel Mission when that happened, and it reminds me of her enormous heart for people, and how I was able to witness that in the time and care she gave to others. ‘Love is best kept by giving it away’, is something she wrote in her journal. Brittany lived it by tirelessly reaching out and listening to people. When I had listened for hours, and was seeking a change like serving in the kitchen or playing a game of ping pong with some kids in the center, Britt was still listening. She would come over after about three hours and say something like, ‘Boy, he sure had a lot to say’, but she didn’t mean it. Her heart was continually broken for others. Even as we were ending a long day she did not consider herself. Despite at least a twelve hour day, despite still needing to pray and plan for tomorrow, despite a no one-on-one conversation rule, you would turn around and she would be outside listening to three guys, pouring into their lives. Her care for others was not constrained by anything. She lived a purposeful life; loving God and loving other people. That’s why I do not understand why someone so intelligent, so Christ-centered, so passionate for others, so valuable in storming the gates of hell and sharing Christ could be taken now. Did you know she was going to return to Union Gospel Mission? Can you see her back in the inner city pouring herself out? Can you imagine her in China as a missionary? We can see these things because it is not hard to imagine her as an instrument of Christ. But if you perceive clearly, you can see that even in her death God is using Britt to draw people to Himself. Brittany emptied herself into her friend Dana and because of her passing Dana’s walls have begun to fall. There is a young man in Winkler named Kevin who has been searching hard and her death has caused a deep re-evaluation of his life. One of her co-workers, Jon, came to Winkler for the funeral and her family has been working on his heart. ‘Oh, you’re the Jon we have been praying for’, and they have fearlessly shared the gospel, speaking into his life. Through her death God is working on lost hearts. Another example is Brittany’s high school boyfriend Tyler, who says that he wouldn’t even be a Christian if she hadn’t challenged him in his faith. He’s now in YWAM and organizing prayer meetings in Winkler where he prays over Aaron her boyfriend in Kaleo. There is evidence in our fellowships, how much closer are we because she has been called home. God is unifying his people in this. Besides all this, there are the countless ways God is using us to speak to classmates and co-workers, and think about the worship we are giving him for the blessing of having known her.

The glory of God is being revealed as Brittany continues to serve Him in death. She wouldn’t have wanted today to be about her, she would have directed the glory to God. So thank God for His good plan, and thank God for the chance to know Brittany Fehr.