Darlene Coy

When I was a young mother of four, God was calling my husband Venture to the mission field. Our family would be relocating to Ecuador.

I was beside myself. I did not want to go. It immediately caused conflict in our marriage. The arguing went on for weeks. The difficulties of having a special-needs son, living in a third-world country, vaccinations, disease, and, of course, the language barrier loomed. My mind was reeling; I was scared.

On January 20, 1987, our beautiful firstborn daughter died in a freak accident.

Lori Jean was only 26 years old. It was so sudden and unexpected. We were devastated as a family. She was so young…Why, God? 

I was newly married, had recently given birth to our first child, and lived far from home. I missed my family terribly. We were living in Montana at the time. My big brother was soon to be married in my hometown of Boise, and I desperately wanted to attend the wedding.