“Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful” is how the President of the Methodist Church in Ireland described his visit with Joan Wilson last Friday – a meeting he had hoped for, for many years, due to how inspired he has been throughout his life and ministry by her and her family’s “forgiving and gracious spirit” during the darkest times.

Rev. Dr. Sahr Yambasu, who was installed as President of the Methodist Church in Ireland in June, 2021, visited Mrs. Wilson in her Enniskillen home on Friday, January 21. Also in attendance were Joan’s daughter-in-law, Ingrid Logan, and her husband, Hamish.

“Mrs. Wilson and her family, I have been thinking about them since that bomb happened in 1987,” he said, referring to the Enniskillen Bomb which seriously injured Mrs. Wilson’s husband, the late Gordon Wilson, and tragically took the life of their beloved daughter, Marie.

Rev. Yambasu was a student in Northern Ireland at this time, having come from Sierra Leone as an ordained Methodist Minister to do post-ordinational studies at Edgehill Theological College, Queen’s University.

“I still can recall the shock of that incident, but what maybe shocked me most was the response of Joan’s husband, Gordon, to what had happened to him and his family and his community.

“And the way he was, not just forgiving, but so generously forgiving, and with no bitterness at all,” he said, reflecting on Mr. Wilson’s words following his daughter’s death: “I bear no ill will. I bear no grudge. Dirty sort of talk is not going to bring her back to life.”

“Even in my own home society I had never come across somebody who would forgive in such awful, awful situations and hold no grudge against those who inflicted pain and suffering on him and his family, and his community,” said Rev. Yambasu, noting that this “strongly impacted” his own life.

“I never, ever forgot Gordon and the family, and especially what Gordon said on that day.”

He went on to explain that during his installation as President of the Methodist Church in Ireland last June, he spoke of Gordon and the Wilson family in his address.

‘A strong pillar’

“I have since been wanting to meet Joan, his wife, to visit their home. One of the reasons for that was because there was really not much said about Joan during that incident, and even after, well, not that I knew,” he said, believing that Mrs. Wilson must have been a “strong pillar” of support for her husband and family during that difficult period and beyond.

“I grew up in a home in Africa where women were the backbone of every family, so that had always played on my mind.

“I had always thought about it, and wanted to take the opportunity to go and visit Joan.

“Firstly to say thank-you to her for their witness as a family in that awful period, but I also wanted to see her, to see who Joan is,” he added.

Talking about his meeting with Mrs. Wilson in her home, he said: “It was wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. The calmness I saw in that lady. The honesty, but also the forgiving, gracious spirit.

“As I sat there, as she told me the story, I found it so difficult to hold back my tears,” said Rev. Yambasu, remarking that despite it being such a horrific story to tell, of her husband’s injuries and her daughter’s death, Joan told it without any anger.

“In my experience, people who have suffered like Joan and her family, even in the retelling of their stories you could still hear anger, and yet here is this lady telling this story as it happened, and there was no hint of anger.

‘No anger’

“How people could go through that and still be smiling and still be telling with no anger, no sense of frustration.

“I’m just sitting there and I’m saying to myself, ‘Only one thing can make this possible, their faith in God’.

“For somebody to heal from that, without bitterness or anger, it’s just amazing,” he said.

During the visit, Rev. Yambasu and Mrs. Wilson exchanged anecdotes and enjoyed a time of fellowship together.

Talented pianist

On discovering that Mrs. Wilson is a talented organist and pianist, and had played the organ in Darling Street Methodist Church in Enniskillen for many years, before his departure, Rev. Yambasu asked if she would play for him.

She obliged, playing a number of Wesleyan hymns on piano, which he joyfully sang along with.

“It was absolutely wonderful,” he told this newspaper, adding: “What a blessing to be able to see Joan and talk to her, and have such a warm fellowship.”

Mrs. Wilson was absolutely delighted by Rev. Yambasu’s visit, describing it as a really special occasion.

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter, Hamish said: “Mrs. Wilson said that it had done her heart and her spirit a great deal of good having the visit.

“She was given such a boost, and she thought it was a tremendous privilege for [Rev. Yambasu] to come along. She got so much out of it.”