July 2006

Just after the worship service last night, Jorge made a point to speak with me: “Good to see ya, Pastor? How ya doin?” “I’m doing just fine, Jorge,” I replied, “It’s so good to see you too, and know you’re doing so well.” Sounds like a pretty routine conversation, doesn’t it? Well, there is a lot more behind the conversation than you image. Last February, in our last letter to you, we mentioned Jorge’s family, including his wife, Alinária, who had recently given her life to Christ and given up the role she was to inherit as chief Spiritist advisor in Florianópolis. This was a position her mother held until just prior to her death, when she made a profession of faith in Christ and asked the local pastor to speak at her funeral, rather than the leading Spiritist leaders in this state.

Alinária has been actively involved in the life of the local church now for a year or so, but Jorge was sort of in and out, more out than in. After all he too has a key role in the black community, especially as leader one of the best Samba bands, which we hope and pray he will continue along with his new-found faith. As it happens Jorge attended a worship service several weeks ago when a powerful message of faith and service in Christ was preached. Jorge wept through most of the worship service, went home, locked himself in his room for several days where he continued to weep and pour out his heart in prayer to Christ. I know that was just a few weeks ago, and there is always the chance that Jorge simply reacted with profuse emotion. I strongly suspect, however, that a wonderful transformation occurred in Jorge’s life. Will you pray with us the God will confirm His work in Jorge’s life?

Just a few minutes ago, Ricardo was telling us about his childhood. Ricardo is one of four students in the final stage of their missionary preparation who are at our home for two weeks of intensive study of Paul’s Letter to the Romans and the Gospel of Mark. Three weeks from now they all will graduate, just prior to our return to the United States for another interpretation assignment—more about that shortly. During lunch we all learned that Ricardo grew up in a violent and impoverished home. He would often show up at school bruised from beatings he received at home. His uncle spent 13 years in jail for drug trafficking and then one day a breakthrough occurred through the bold preaching of a Pentecostal pastor. His uncle became a missionary and was sent to Argentina where he founded a number of churches before his death from tuberculosis nine years after his release from prison. Ricardo has his own stories to tell, but today he is part of a ministry to the chemically dependent on the streets of Florianópolis. That just is not enough for him and he is praying that God will send him to be a missionary “full-time.”

These are a just a few short stories of lives touched by God that we have witnessed in the last 24 hours. There is more to tell and we hope to do so personally while we are in the United States. We’ll be based in Charlotte, North Carolina from August 2006 through February 2007. We would love to have the opportunity to share with you. The best way to contact us is through our emails: Tim Carriker and Marta Carriker, or through my parents’ home telephone: John and Bernie Carriker, (704) 364-7954.

Tim Carriker

The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 45