A letter from Marta Carriker in Brazil
May 2012
Dear friends,
A TIME TO MOURN
One of the difficult things about being a missionary is that you do not get to spend all the time you would like to spend with your loved ones. One is either far from friends and family in the country of origin or far from friends and sometimes family in the country of ministry. That seems to make it harder when someone in your family passes away. In our case, we were privileged to see our sister-in-law a few times after we arrived in the U.S. on April 2. But the day before Easter she was gone. She had had an aneurism several months previously and was not able to recover. After a long battle with infections her body finally gave out.
Sandy and Marta Carriker, Christmas 2009
Sandy Carriker worked in education for many years, she was a loving mother and grandmother, and she was only 62 when she died. As I reflect on her life, I am thankful for her friendship, happy that whenever we were Stateside we did spend time together sharing our joys and sorrows. How important it is to seize the day and tell our family they are loved and to build the memories of good times together that help us to hold on when they are no longer with us! God in his grace took her right before Easter and we were reminded that death is not the end, that we will see her again in heaven and enjoy the fellowship of all believers there. We praise God for the resurrection that gives us this hope. Sandy was active at Sardis Presbyterian Church in Charlotte and we are grateful for all of our friends there who were very supportive of Tim’s brother John during her illness. Thank you for all the special meals, the caring words, and the encouragement of your presence. Thank you for being the arms and hands of Jesus Christ in our lives.
It is interesting that we did not have many commitments to see you all at the churches right away. Again, God in his wisdom prepared the time for us to spend with our family in simple meals and visitation at the nursing home where Tim’s mother has been for the last two years.
We will be visiting many of you in the coming months, however, and we are looking forward to that time. Meanwhile, let me affirm once more how important you are to us and how much you bless us whenever you send us letters or when you welcome us and support us through the church.
Last, I would like to ask you to pray for Tim as he takes a short trip to Brazil to help promote the Missionary Bible. He will be speaking at a conference and will also be back in Florianópolis to officiate a wedding. May God bless you and keep you until we see you again.
Marta
The 2012 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 27
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