In memory of Carl Brown

Once upon a time three American girls and three American boys crossed the ocean to study abroad and met by "accident" in a park in Bucharest Romania.
At least that is what our story was for anyone who would ask.
In reality, we met in Germany and were a part of a covert campus ministry back when the iron curtain was still solid iron, email was a thing of the future, phone calls home were limited to two or three a year and Romanian grocery stores were filled with 3 items...ketchup, jam and bread.

There are many stories to be told.
But in the light of this week's news, I will focus on one.

We three girls were teamed with possibly three of the most radical boys to ever answer the call for mission work in Eastern Europe. They were from Colorado. Mountain men. With faith, dreams and commitment as high as the mountains they came from. High country livin' they called it.
All three were equally exceptional in their vision, pioneering spirit and zeal for the unreached of the uttermost parts of the world. On the flip side, they were equally able to frustrate we three girls to no end. Or maybe that was just the stress of living in close quarters in a country that appeared as first world, but really was more third world.

Among these three guys,
was Carl Brown.And my post today is simple.
I want to say thank you.

Two weeks ago, while on vacation, I opened an email from an old friend only to be stunned at it's content.
Carl, who was presently living in Germany, had died from a heart attack at the age of 43, leaving his wife, Angi and four children.

On Thursday night there was a memorial service for Carl at his home church in Eaton Colorado. And thanks to today's amazing technology, I was able to watch the service via a live feed on the internet.

I listened as person after person gave testimony of how Carl and his family had touched their lives. His family and people from every corner of the world, spoke of his love for God and for people. They mentioned his vision, his passionate heart, his dry sense of humor, his antics, his faith, his humility.

I had not seen Carl for more than 15+ years.
One would think that I would have a different memory of the 23 year old boy than the those who were describing the 43 year old man, but not so.
Every story, every characteristic, every word that honored him, did not surprise me in the least bit, for even tho we were all so very young and had so very much to learn about life and relationships, I knew even then that Carl had a heart that was pure and his vision was incredibly large and his commitment was tenacious. It did not surprise me to hear that he had not only finished seminary, but went on to grad school and also completed his doctorate. It did not surprise me to hear of his teaching, preaching, language learning, mentoring, church planting and evangelism. It didn't even surprise me to hear of his incredible adoration of his wife and his love and pride for and of his children. I may not have kept up with all the details of their comings and goings...but it did not surprise me to hear that wherever he went he continued to "be all there." It didn't surprise me at all, because I had watched the way he lived that first year overseas. If he changed at all, it seemed, it was only to grow deeper and firmer in his convictions.
The only thing that did surprise me, of course, was the news itself.
That someone so totally alive could be gone so sudden.

If I could have been present at the memorial, I would have said what a privilege it was to live that year and watch him prepare for a lifetime of ministry.

And that if I could have one last conversation with Carl...
it would have been one of telling him thank you.

Before I left for Romania, Carl, whom I had never met, was one of the two who helped top off my financial support that made me able to meet the deadline and get on the plane. He supported me all thru the year, helping me stay and he gave at the end of the year to help me get back home.

While in Romania, it was Carl and his willingness to serve our team that made our year bearable.
For Carl was not just with Campus Crusade, but was also on a Fulbright scholarship.
Because of this, he had connections that were not available to the rest of us and certainly not available to the Romanians.
If you remember getting a letter from me or writing to me while I was in Romania, it was because Carl carried the mail to and back from the diplomatic pouch at the American Embassy.
If we ate meat, cheese or eggs, it was because Carl got us groceries from the American dollar stores.

If we were to use everyday essentials, like toilet paper, we did so because Carl carried it to us, every week, roll after roll. And when I say carried, I mean carried. For it was all public transportation. He was a pro at delivering uncracked eggs to us, despite the overcrowded trams and subway.

If I drank Coke, it was because of Carl being able to order from an international food company two times a year.
We had Bibles in the Romanian language because of Carl being able to ship them in the country using his scholarship to get "research" shipped in thru the embassy (Dud, i just figured this out...after hearing you speak, good job keeping it from us so as not implicate us!).
The stress of being away from family, friends and living in a communist country was very much alleviated because of Carl's connections and most of all his willingness to use them to make our lives easier.

And can you believe?
I can't recall if I ever even once said thank you.

So, Carl.
That is what I would say.
Thank you.
Thank you for being the mailman...and our lifeline to our families.
Thank you for carrying all that food back to us every single week and never even asking for one red cent.
Thank you for letting us put God's word in the Romanian language into Romanian hands.
Thank you for your vision,
your passion,
your high country livin'
and for living a life that even after 20 years, I am not surprised in the least to hear that hundreds and I'm sure even thousands have been changed because of your life.

Thank you, Carl.