Our dear friend Carol Lyons passed away on July 22nd in northeastern Oklahoma.

We were really only just getting to know Carol these past few years as her health declined. The first time our family met her personally was late in 2011, when we had pizza together in southern Arizona on our way to a conference in San Diego. From that time on we kept in touch via Facebook, and she often commented on our posts, especially those relating to our missionary work in China. 

For instance, on March 13, 2015, she made the following plea on a post about revival in China:

“Awesome! Please pray for [my] missionary friend[s] in China.”

It was obvious that we had a faithful prayer warrior in Carol!

So when she moved to Tahlequah, it opened the door for us to spend more time with her in person, even though we were still primarily residing on the mission field. Over the last couple of years, I’ve lost track of how many times we were able to drop by for a chat when passing through eastern Oklahoma.

I’m not sure who enjoyed those visits more. She seemed delighted to have guests, especially when our children came along (although they spent most of their time enthralled with Carol’s beloved cat, Angel). And we were always blessed to spend time with a faithful friend (co-laborer, really) who “held the rope” in prayer for us as we served on the other side of the world.

One thing I had in common with Carol was a love for reading and listening to powerful preaching. Although her health kept her from consistently being able to ‘attend’ church, she was hungry for the Word of God. She often asked me for recommendations on what to read or listen to. 

In fact, one year ago this week, we visited Carol for what turned out to be the last time. We must’ve discussed what books we were reading, because just an hour after we left, I messaged her with the names of two books by the Romanian Pastor Richard Wurmbrand (‘In God’s Underground’ and ‘Tortured for Christ’) along with the link to a sermon by John Piper (Holy Ambition: Paul’s and Yours), in which he uses a portion of a missions article I wrote back in 2009 to bring home his final point. 

I don’t know if Carol managed to read those books by Richard Wurmbrand, but I do know she listened to the John Piper sermon. Four days later, on August 3, she wrote back with what ended up being the last words between us:

“This is a powerful message. It's fantastic that he used your [article] to help make his point. Good job.

I'm so thankful you and your family stopped by to see me. You have a precious family.”

If this tribute of mine seems a bit too short, you would not be mistaken. My brief words are sadly representative of the relatively few years we as a family had to get to know Carol. We will miss her dearly. But because of our shared delight in Jesus Christ, we know we will all meet again, and time won’t be an issue on that Eternal Day.

This was the last time we got to see Carol, at a rehab center near here home in Tahlequah in early August (Above)

My girls adored Carol's beloved cat Angel (Below)