In the loving memory of two WCCN supporters
Lois Rockwell (left), on a study tour to Nicaragua in 2005. WCCN archive photo.
Recently we learned the sad news that Lois Rockwell and Frances Smith, two of our dedicated and long-term supporters, passed away. A few years ago I had the privilege to travel to Nicaragua with Lois and Frances through two WCCN study tours and the opportunity to get to know them. Lois Rockwell’s husband, Ray, was a Baptist pastor, and their lives were connected to Nicaragua in an interesting way. Lois wrote, “When my husband was a seminary student and I was a young seminary wife, we were approached about serving American Baptist missions in Nicaragua in an educational capacity.” Her husband’s health, however, disqualified him from travel to Nicaragua. Many years later, the then retired couple moved to Plains, Georgia, where Ray began to tape President Carter’s Bible lessons at the Maranatha Baptist Church. According to Lois, “Mr. Carter teaches here about 30 to 35 times each year, and no one was recording his lessons, which we found to be uniquely helpful for spiritual growth. We do this as volunteers, and all proceeds beyond the cost of producing and mailing the tapes go to support the Council of Protestant Churches of Nicaragua’s loan program, PRESTANIC, and to local mission needs.”
For almost 20 years, WCCN has been receiving and channeling these donations to PRESTANIC in Nicaragua. In 2005, Lois wrote to me, “My husband died two years ago and I have continued this work that he started.” That June, Lois traveled to Nicaragua with WCCN. When she passed away last fall, President Carter and several other members of her church sent a donation to PRESTANIC in her memory. Her church has continued the work that Ray and Lois started many years ago. Frances Smith traveled to Nicaragua with WCCN in January 2006. “I belong to a group in Claremont, California, that for several years, has loaned money to Nicaragua through WCCN’s NICA Fund [now the Capital for Communities Fund],” Frances wrote in our spring 2006 newsletter. Before retiring, she specialized in church news and worked for United Methodist News Service, the Communications Department of the World Council of Churches, and several national church magazines.
When we asked Frances what interested her in WCCN’s study tour, she wrote, “It seems like a chance for hands-on experience of Nicaragua and to meet the people receiving loans from WCCN.” Once she returned, she reported in our newsletter, “I went on this tour because I wanted to see how our money was being used. I came away fully satisfied that my money was going to ‘a good cause.’” Since the trip to Nicaragua, she continued supporting and publicizing the Capital for Communities Fund until her recent death. Thanks to Lois and Frances for allowing WCCN to play a role in your lives. Your loving memories will stay with us forever, and your dedication and generosity will continue serving the poor throughout Latin America.
By Carlos Arenas
WCCN Executive Director