Two Countries, Two Families, One God

By Sue Worthington Carter

This memoir tells the story of two families from two different countries who work together in the interior of Brazil doing Gods work.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 31, 2013
• ISBN: 9781490801735

Sue Worthington Carter

Sue Worthington Carter was born in the small West Texas town of Winters, where she grew up on a farm. She and her oldest brother and sister studied in a one-room country school. She then transferred to the Winters School system and stayed until graduating from high school. She spent a year at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, and then transferred to the University of Texas–Austin, never dreaming that one day she would get on a ship in New Orleans, Louisiana, and sail to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with her husband, Dale, as a missionary. Arriving on August 17, 1957, she and Dale began another life time in the big country of Brazil. It would not be in the beautiful city of Rio de Janeiro, but in the interior of the country where Dale’s agricultural experience would come in handy. It was in the town of Corrente, in the state of Piaui in northeastern Brazil where she met the Paranaguá family, who to this day are her dear friends.

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Copyright © 2013 Sue Worthington Carter.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-0173-5 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-0172-8 (sc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013912571

WestBow Press rev. date: 7/30/2013

CONTENTS

Preface By Ceres Paranaguá

History And Those Who Have Helped Me

Introduction

The Carters

New Missionaries

Visiting The Field

The Story Of The Paranaguás

Benjamim And Joaquim

Believers In Corrente

The Baptist Industrial Institute

The War With The Bandits

The Paranaguá Family Carries On

The Carters

Move To Corrente

Furlough, 1961-1962

Back To Brazil

The Airplane Ministry

Samuel

Technical Agriculture Course

Missionary Kids And School

Sister Churches—Corrente And Abilene

Life Goes On In Corrente

Retirement

Coming To The End

Words That Encourage

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PREFACE

by Ceres Paranaguá

Before you enjoy this book, I would like to say how thankful I am for the privilege of writing the preface, and thus be able to read it first hand, and then be whisked back so many years removed from the present.

In this book, Sue returns to the past, relating her life experiences up to retirement as a missionary in Corrente, in the sertão of the state of Piaui (Brasil).

In reading this book, at times I was taken by emotion by the fact that I know the history of the two families very well – Carter and Paranaguá – as I am a Paranaguá myself.

Returning to the past, Sue speaks of her childhood and teenage years in a small community in Texas, where, in the quiet of a farmhouse where her family lived, she met God, having been shown the way by her parents, faithful followers of Jesus.

In speaking of her memories, Sue shows us a childhood without tricycles, bicycles or other toys, so common these days to any child; on the other hand, her family made sure she was never lacking in education and security.

In reading, I realized that growing up without toys and other innumerable objects that make life easier today, actually turned out to be God preparing you, Sue, and your family, for the difficulties that you would encounter in the missionary field in Corrente, a city with difficult access, with only the very basic needs available.

I realized also that in these 35 years of service in my country, in my hometown, with my people, there was something special in your lives – the call of God to missions.

This call made the difference, and brought the Carter and Paranaguá families together. This difference makes me thankful for the Carter family, having lived with them, learning to speak with people in this great country, the USA, while attending classes at Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, Texas as an observer.

In the 35 years of dedication to this noble cause of spreading the Word, Sue and Dale were able to integrate so profoundly into life in Corrente that even today, 20 years after retiring, your memory is still very much alive in the hearts of Christ’s Church in Corrente and in the memory of the people in general.

Bringing these brief comments to a close, I just ask God that this book be able to contribute so that today, other young people, such as Sue and Dale, can dedicate their lives and talents to the noble cause of spreading the Word of God where necessary.

Concluding, I say as Paul wrote to Timothy: "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Translated by Joel Carter

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HISTORY AND THOSE WHO HAVE HELPED ME

This book should have been finished at least thirty years ago. I started on an old Royal Typewriter in the eighties. My idea was to write about the history of Corrente, the little town where we were living and working. Corrente was to me and still is a fascinating place located in a fascinating area of Brazil. It was hard to get to since there were no roads at that time.

I marveled at how God began work in Corrente around the turn of the century. Why did He choose that isolated place? And, why did he choose us, Dale and me, in the 1950’s to help continue the work.

From the very beginning the Brazilian family, the Paranaguás, helped us along. Unlike most places in Brazil God’s work began among the upperclass families of Corrente.

We had the privilege of working with Helio Nogueira Paranaguá and his wife, Sonia. I also had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Augusto Paranaguá, and others involved in the story.

Others helped me along the way: Ceres Paranaguá, the daughter of Augusto and Isabel Paranaguá, became my close friend.

In the United States, Carlene Spicer, a friend and retired English teacher at Hardin Simmons University helped with editing, as did Ruth Anna Driggers, retired missionary to Chile. Roy Jones, friend and journalist was a big help.

Our niece, Janis Thompson helped in a lot of ways, as when I got stuck with a computer problem.

Walter Macedo our very talented son-in-law, designed the cover.

The person who has helped me the most is my wonderful husband, Dale Carter, who through the years, encouraged me and gave me suggestions. He also helped me remember facts.

Thank you to those whom I have mentioned and to those whom I may have forgotten.

So here I am, l a long way from that old Royal typewriter, finishing this tale.

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INTRODUCTION

This is an account of the lives of two families, the Carters and the Paranaguás. One is from the state of Texas in the United States and the other from the state of Piaui in Brazil.

So many people are involved in our stories. By no means do I think our family, the Carters, had more to do with this story than others. However, it is ours and I have the privilege of writing it, so here goes.

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THE CARTERS

I’ll not go too far back into our history. How about going back to where our lives began in West Texas?

SUE

My life began on October 17, 1929, in my Grandmother Wood’s house in a community called Hatchel just outside of Winters, Texas. I was the third child of Birdie Wood Worthington and Thomas Howard Worthington. Thomas Howard Worthington, Jr., or T.H., as he is always called was their first child, with Doris Fay coming next. When I was thirteen years old, our little brother, Gary David was born.

Birdie, my mother, was the oldest child of James Robert Wood and Lela Anna Long Wood. Her parents had lost three children during the 1919 flu epidemic. Mother was the oldest of the surviving children and she had three sisters, Myrtle, Bernice, and Evelyn, plus a little brother, Leslie David.

Howard, my daddy, was the middle of twelve children born to Julia Ann Mabry Worthington and William Jehu Worthington. One child died when he was a baby leaving Daddy and these brothers and sisters: Ambrose, Bernard, William (Bill), Joel, Charlie, Lizzie (Elizabeth), Katy, Molina, Rosa and Alice.

From the time I was four years old until I turned seventeen, if you had asked me where I lived my answer would have been ready; Four miles from town; you go two miles west, then two miles south, and when you come to the first house on the right side of the road, that’s where I live. I didn’t go into a long explanation—that it was an old weather-beaten house, long since stripped of paint, if it had seen paint at all. If you were asking me that question, you probably knew that town was a small, West Texas farming community.

That’s hardly the description of a place where a person might meet God, is it? One generally thinks of coming in contact with God in a great cathedral, in a small white country church, or in some beautiful spot in God’s outdoors. But one hardly thinks of meeting the Lord in a four-room farmhouse. No, I didn’t have a vision. I wasn’t startled by a voice in the night. I met God quietly, almost unconsciously, within a home that housed a family and family is the secret—the key to the whole thing. Oh, we were not an unusual family. We consisted of a mother, a daddy, a brother, a sister, and several years later a baby brother.

I was a depression baby, growing up when spending money was unheard