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Meet our missionaries ...
Les & Betty Carter
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If you would have told me that I would be preaching, visiting homes,
and teaching the Bible, I'd have laughed and said, 'Not this guy.'"
That's how Les Carter responds when asked about "surprises" in
life. Another surprise for Les was that becoming a missionary would mean
going home. Les grew up in Big River, Saskatchewan. His parents were saved
through the ministry of Big River Bible Camp a few years prior to his
birth -- Les being the seventh of eight children. There were several
years of spiritual struggle in his life before he finally understood at
age 14, through the counsel of his pastor, that his salvation wasn't
based on feelings or actions, but by faith alone.
Les later attended Bible college, went on a short-term missions trip
with SIM, and felt God possibly leading him into full-time aviation
ministry. He had already discovered that the pursuit of money brought
only emptiness.
Betty also grew up in a Christian home and at age eight gave her
heart to the Lord. "I wanted to live my life to please God," says
Betty. That helped spare her from many potential troubles, she says, and
it was during her teen years that she made a commitment to serve the
Lord "doing whatever ... wherever ... and with whomever."
Betty grew up with much exposure to missions -- in fact, her parents
served with NCEM early in their marriage. She became familiar with the
names of many missionaries, and they often had missionaries staying in
their home. That, along with the fact that her mom and dad were foster
parents to Native children, sparked a love and appreciation for
Aboriginal people.
During one of her summers during Bible college, Betty was a
counsellor at Big River Bible Camp. There she met Les and three years
later they were married. After a few years of secular work, and seeing
the doors to aviation ministry close, they both became burdened for
ministry at Big River.
Les's dad, by then in his 70's, was very involved with the Camp,
and Les and Betty began praying about moving to the Camp to help out.
They joined NCEM in 1986 for that purpose but, within a year or so, Les's
dad passed away from cancer. Les found himself telling the Lord, "I
came to help, not take over!" As they got involved with the Camp
they realized the need for more follow-up ministry in campers' homes.
That prompted a move closer to an area First Nations reserve, where they
now live with their three teenage children. Big River Bible Camp has
played a big part in Les and Betty's lives. They want to see it
continuing to reach First Nations families, and they request prayer for
the Camp's present need of an on-site missionary. Click here to
meet
more of our missionaries
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