A Vapor That Counted

James 4;14 says life is like a vapor  and a few days ago a Godly   vapor (Toni Stuart)  left this earthly whelm and soured to the heavens, now face to face with her Savior.  

Toni and Jason Stuart serve in Papua New Guinea with New Tribes Mission, they were married 11 years with two children.  

Below is an update written a few days ago from Jason.  If there was ever a vapor that counted for the Lord it was Toni.  

Dear Friends,

Things have gone so fast it is almost hard to process. Three weeks ago we returned to Australia thinking that Toni had a tropical disease. A week and a half ago we received the news that she had an inoperable brain tumor. Tonight at 7:30 she went to be with Jesus. All we can do is take things from the Lord's hand as He gives them to us and trust Him thru it.

Yesterday we had our family picture done (will share that with you at a later date) and Toni was in good spirits. She was tired and her voice was weak but she was joking with the nurses as usual. This morning I went to see her and could tell that she was having a downward turn. She didn't want to have a conversation, but could still talk. The doctors felt that she probably had too many painkillers, but by the afternoon she was showing some worrying signs and had stopped talking. I went and got the kids from school and they were with Toni for a bit and then I took them home to get dinner for them and a friend from church came to sit with Toni. I knew Toni wasn't going well, but neither the doctors nor I realized how quickly she would go. When dinner was finished we got a call that we needed to go to the hospital and by the time we got there, Toni had already passed on.

The kids and I have talked thru this a fair bit and they are accepting it, though they are very sad. Their reactions are a study in male/female emotional responses. Ella Jo is feeling this deeply and is thinking thru all aspects of it and was having a hard time falling asleep because her little mind was turning so fast. Jedidiah accepted it more simply and was easily distracted by cars/trucks/rainbows/anything at all, but then later felt guilty about not being sad enough for Mummy. They will both have emotions to work thru and I would appreciate your prayers for them at this time, and also as I seek to parent them in the long run. I have never had good parenting ideas; those always came from Toni and raising the children in the right way in the future is weighing on me at the moment.

We don't have plans yet beyond tomorrow. Tomorrow I will start working on funeral plans, etc. I had started the process of getting permanent residency in Australia, but Toni would have been my sponsor into the country and I will have to investigate what to do about that. The kids very much want to return to what is "normal" for them in Papua New Guinea and we will need to figure out what is best in that respect.

Thanks to all of you who have been praying for healing. God has answered that prayer and given Toni a perfect eternal healing.

I Corinthians 15:53-55, "For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: 'Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?'"

In Christ,   Jason and Jedidiah and Ella Jo 

I decided to do a post on Toni because she was a friend, a fellow missionary.  Also so you could pray for Jason and the children who must live without Toni now.  She had a tattoo of a sunbeam on her wrist.  She was exactly that to so many, a sunbeam that drew  all into her life.  Many friends sent pictures with sunbeams drawn on their wrist to honor Toni.  

None of know when our vapor will take flight but we can be a vapor that counts for the Lord.  We can chose to allow the "son" light of God's love to shine through so men and women will be drawn to us.  Will you pray for this dear family?