(The following was written by my wife Cindy, about the recent passing of her beloved Grandmother. It is a bit long, but I think well worth the read. Also, please watch this short video that my father put together in memory of Grandma!)
My grandmother, Tarcila, passed away on April 3rd at the age of 70. She was like a mother to me because she raised me and took care of me since I was a small child. When my parents divorced, it was my father who took us kids, and his mother (my grandmother) became our primary caregiver.
The last time I saw my grandma was in November of last year. My daughter Ariel was 7 months old at the time and it was the first (and last) time that my grandma got to see her and spend time with her. I remember that even though the years had left their mark on her, she still had enough energy to do many things in regards to upkeep in the home. She was very happy taking care of us while we were in Peru. She cooked for us almost everyday and I saw that she was happy with all that she was able to do. She always loved to take care of us and she was always an excellent mother!
During my last visit to Peru I was happy to find that my grandmother had begun attending a local evangelical church because she wanted to learn more about the things of God. This was a huge step for her because she had always considered herself to be Catholic. She wasn’t very dedicated as a Catholic, she always considered it to be the one true religion. She told me that she had been worrying about where she would spend eternity. I was really excited to hear this news and I prayed that God would give me an opportunity to to share the message of salvation with her.
I remember that I tried to be very careful in the way that I shared my message because I wanted to make sure that my grandmother truly understood it, so that she would come to believe in the Message. One night she was reading her Bible, but she had a hard time understanding what she was reading because she only had an elementary school education. So I began to share the Gospel with her and I made sure that she understood every point of my message and that she was in agreement with me. But before I was able to finish I saw that she was very tired and kept almost falling asleep. So I decided to continue our conversation at another time. The days went by and I don’t remember being able to return and pick up our converstation from where we had left off, although we were able to study many other parts of the Bible during those days.
When I found out that she was sick and I talked to her on the telephone on March 20th, I told her that I would call her back. At that time she was a little bit out of it (dizzy) from the medicines and antibiotics that she was being given. That was the last time we spoke to each other, because right about that time I had to leave home to meet my husband (who was travelling at the time) and a large visiting team in a nearby city. We ended up being on the road for nearly a month as a result of certain riots (think: Buddhist Monks) that were happening in our region at the time.
A few days after leaving home I was able to chat with my cousin online and he said that grandma was getting better. While we were with the team we were living in hotels and moving around almost constantly, so I was never able to call Peru again. When the team had moved on and we finally returned home again, three weeks had gone by. I opened my e-mail box that I hadn’t checked in weeks and I saw that I had a message from my brother that said “urgent”. I read it and couldn’t believe the news. My grandmother had passed away on April 3rd and I was just finding out weeks later! I simply couldn’t believe that this had happened, that all that time had gone by without me knowing about it. I couldn’t comprehend that I would never be able to speak to my grandma again and that she was really gone.
However, I thank God that at least I was able to find out that she had been sick, because it would have been easy for me to not even know about this because my family and I aren’t able to communicate very often using the internet. And even my family was suprised by my grandma’s sudden illness and death. It took us all by surprise.
I also thank God for the time that he gave me with my grandma during my last visit to Peru, even though I feel a little bit guilty for not having shared with her more aggressively to make sure that she was truly saved. I am sure that many of you understand what I am saying! I bet that there is someone in your life for whom you would give an arm or a leg to see that person saved. But salvation is of the Lord. It would have served me nothing to have kneeled down before my grandmother and implored her to believe the Gospel if I had not already prayed and lifted her up before the Lord… and that I had done many, many times!
All I can do is confess that God is a sovereign God and believe that my grandma did give her life to the Lord. She was always a very strong-willed person and I saw in our last visit that she was submitting to the Lord in this aspect of her life and that she did believe in Jesus. Maybe she never got really deep into doctrine and all of that, but in her heart she believed all that the Bible said.
Thank you God. I trust in your justice and your mercy, and I hope to have a great surprise on that day when we all stand in Your presence!
