Farewell dear Joel Edwards, we'll meet again one day (Yom Yahweh)

I was, and still am, so sad to hear about Joel's death yesterday. We were undergraduates together. His room was next to mine in Aldis Hall, Northwood, when we were studying Theology, sitting at the feet of great scholars, great Evangelical scholars, men who wrote commentaries, learned journal articles, worthy tomes and best selling books, which were found on church bookstalls. Although we both grew up on the streets of North London, our backgrounds were so completely different. Joel had lived with his mother and sister in one room in a rented flat. I lived in the wealthy suburbs where N2 meets N10. My grandparents were very wealthy, owning property that would be worth loads of money today. My paternal grandfather had three music shops, the flagship was in Highgate, N6. My maternal grandmother owned a whole street in south London, coastal bungalows in Essex, some coastline near Barnstable that Billy Butlin wanted to buy, and acres of land in Northamptonshire with a small thatched cottage. Joel grew up in abject poverty, as his mother worked at cleaning jobs, which were badly paid, to feed the family. His local Pentecostal church fellowship provided financial support, so Joel could go to church in his Sunday best and was well dressed at school. Coming from Jamaica the Edwards family faced lots of racial abuse. It was not easy to be black, poor and living in a single parent family with little means of financial support for education etc. Getting into college would have been a considerable struggle for Joel. I praise God for what Joel achieved. He was a great Pentecostal preacher, anointed, gifted, humble of heart with a tremendous sense of humour. He was unique. It was a privilege to have known him.