‘Everything burned’: Eduán van der Merwe recalls the call that shattered his world

Eduan van der Merwe recalls the moment he heard the news of the accident that claimed the lives of both his parents – Christian missionaries Eddie and Linda van der Merwe (both 63) – between Karibib and Okahandja last Thursday.

“I received a call from a friend at around 18h00. He asked me if I had heard any news. I said no,” Eduan (34) says.

“He gave me the number of a police officer and wished me strength. My first thought, funny enough, was that my parents were arrested or given a traffic fine. I called and asked the police officer about 10 times what the problem was, the network was bad.

He mentioned my parents’ car’s registration number and later broke the news to me. After a while I asked about their belongings and heard that everything burned. The word ‘burned’ shocked me,” he says.

Eduan’s parents travelled on a business trip from Usakos to Windhoek, with plans to return.

Their return trip ended with their deaths, with news reports on the collision that claimed their lives sending shockwaves through Namibia.

According to a police report, the accident took place at around 14h00 on Thursday about 50km from Karibib on the B2 road between Karibib and Okahandja.

It happened when the car in which the Van der Merwes were travelling collided with a sedan travelling in the direction of Okahandja.
The couple’s car caught fire and burned, with three occupants inside, while the other vehicle, with five occupants, overturned and landed on its roof.

One adult from the other car died at the scene, while one minor died at a Karibib clinic.
The three survivors, including the driver, were admitted to Usakos State Hospital.

The Van der Merwe family are Namibians who lived in South Africa doing mission work for 11 years.

They returned to Namibia in 2006, and stayed in different towns before settling at Okahandja for the last two years.
They moved to Usakos three months ago.

The last conversation that Eduan, the middle of three sons, had with his parents was on Wednesday, he recalls.

“I was at Walvis Bay that week. My mother called to convince me to go home and join them on their business trip to Windhoek. She even sent a picture of my dog saying that my dog misses me, but I could not go.

“My parents had plans to take a Namibian tour to harvest souls for the Lord, before the last coming of the Lord. My father said he would rest after that last trip. He always put everything on hold to save that one more soul,” Eduan says.

“We grew up around music. We grew up with the gospel and mostly at the back of our bakkie for years. Our mission is to bring the Word to the nations.”

Raised with a deep foundation in Christ, Eduan says his family cannot question God’s will.
He, therefore, chooses to forgive the other driver.

“I forgive him, so I can be free. We have to keep our heads high and forgive. We need to hand the matter into God’s hands. The fight is against dark principalities, not against the driver,” he says.

“We give all the glory to God. It hurts, but I hope speaking about it in the media will also add to continuing my parents’ evangelism.

I hope it teaches all people that everything is in the hands of God. We cannot decide about our future or make plans. God decides.”
He adds: “I always think about how the apostles died in the Old Testament.

It was horrible, but they all kept the faith. There is a glorious world awaiting us after all this. I am sure that they died proud. They would give all the honour to God … It is all about God.”

A close friend of the family, Twana Bergh, describes the couple as carriers of love.

“The couple were like parents to me, and mostly busy with love and care missions. They were really good people that will be missed by everybody. I do not have words to describe their amount of love for the Lord. They always had an open hand for everybody, and always poured out songs of gratitude to God through their music,” Bergh says.

Many remember the couple as they watch videos on social media of them singing songs, especially one in Otjihereo, titled ‘Indjo ku Jesu’, meaning ‘Come to Jesus’.
The two were also presenters at the Channel 7 radio station.

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