Carlin’s eulogy

Carlin Eugene Weinhauer was born October 31, 1939 to Frank and Thelma Weinhauer of Wellsville, New York. He graduated high school in 1957 at which time he attended a conference and gave his life to Christ, with the commitment to anywhere, at any time, at any cost. He attended Buffalo Bible Institute for one year, going on to Briercrest Bible Institute the fall of 1959 where he graduated from the pastor’s course, April 15, 1962. Carlin met Marcia Watne during one of the summers between college years where she was teaching in rural Montana under the American Sunday school union. She joined him to study at Briercrest. They married on August 11, 1962.

In the fall of that year, Carlin and Marcia travelled to South Carolina where he attended Columbia Bible College (now Columbia International University) where he received his bachelor of arts degree in Biblical education, June 1, 1964. While studying in South Carolina, Carlin and Marcia were asked to pastor Mt. Olivet Baptist church. He was ordained to pastoral ministry there on May 31, 1964. In August 1966 they were called back to Montana to pastor three rural American Sunday school union churches.

In February 1968 they moved to Chicago where Carlin began his studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and where Carlin and Marcia served as associate pastor couple at Bethel Community Evangelical Free Church. He received his master of arts degree in Christian Education, completed through summer studies, in June 14, 1974.

In august 1969 Carlin was invited to teach at Briercrest Bible Institute, where he continued to serve for fifteen years. During the early years at Briercrest, he completed a master of arts degree in pastoral theology at the Chicago graduate school of theology, August 21, 1971 doing summer studies. While studying at Trinity, one of his profs challenged him to have his PhD by the time he was 40. He received his PhD in Educational Administration from the university of Alberta in 1979, just months before his 40^th birthday.

Carlin served at Briercrest Bible College for 15 years, teaching Bible and pastoral theology and serving in various administrative duties at the school. He also travelled extensively raising funds and students for the school, as well as doing pulpit and conference ministries across Canada.

In 1983 the family travelled to West Germany, Switzerland and Hungary for 2 ½ months ministry with Word of Life Mission. That was the first of many travels in ministry outside North America.

God moved Carlin and Marcia once again to congregational ministry upon invitation to serve on the pastoral team at Willingdon church in august 1984, where they served with joy for just over twenty years. During the years at Willingdon they visited a number of countries in Asia, Africa, eastern Europe on short term mission trips. The church planted a church among the Chechen people in 1997.

As a young person, Carlin spent time pouring over the pages of the national geographic magazine having, early on, a deep interest in geography and travel. God prepared and blessed his life with opportunities to minister far and wide in many countries, even to brief teaching opportunities in China.

Carlin has had a great love for the church and a deep desire to see young pastors preach through the Word. In December 2004 Carlin retired from pastoral ministry at Willingdon and was invited to join the lead team of MBmission, January 2005, serving in mobilization and media. Since then, Carlin has led teams of people to MB mission fields, primarily Thailand, along with Brazil, Burkino Faso, and India. He has served with joy, deeply loving God’s work far and wide.

Carlin is survived by the love of his life, Marcia, his wife of 51 years, and his daughters, Cheri (Howard and children, Jodie, Camden and Brenna), Lynda (Allan and children, AJ, Joey and Trevor) and Rebekah (Brian and children Alex and Stuart). He also leaves behind his sister Carolyn of Lincoln, Nebraska.

In Light of Eternity

God is so good, giving us gems and reminders of His tender love!   

Two nights ago we finished the little book, In Light of Eternity by Randy Alcorn.  In those last pages he tells a story about a painting he has hanging in his office.  With his permission, I am passing the blessing on to our blog friends.

“On my office wall hangs a beautiful painting by Ron DiCianni.  It’s entitled Safely Home. . .The painting portrays a man on his knees.  His clothing is worn and tattered.  He’s walked down a long strip of blood-red entry-carpet that has led him to the foot of a throne.

           The man’s arms dangle at his side.  He appears both exhausted and relieved, overcome with emotion.  His head rests on the chest of one kneeling down to him, holding him tight in a loving embrace.  The one hugging him has stepped down off the throne.  It’s the King, the Creator of the universe, who is also, incredibly, a man.  King Jesus.

            A few feet to the right are open shackles lying on the palace floor.  The man had been a prisoner on earth.  He’d suffered terribly at the hands of those who despised him because they despised His King.  In his right hand, hanging limply to the ground, is a beautiful gold crown.

            The man is a martyr.  He has lived out Revelation 2:10 — He’s been faithful unto death and his Lord has given him the crown of life.  To many, the single most important thing is the preservation of their life on earth.  To this man, obeying his Lord was more important than prolonging his earthly life.  He’s one of those who ‘did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death’ (Revelation 12:11).

            In the background of Safely Home stands an angel, reverently watching, holding out in his arms a white robe.  The angel is the man’s guardian.  In the stonework on both sides of the carpet walkway you can see the continents of earth below. 

            Several things strike me in this painting.  One is heaven’s view of earth below.  Another is the look on the man’s face, at long last freed from pain and persecution.  But what really strikes me is the look on the face of King Jesus.  He, too, is full of emotion.  His face radiates compassion and approval.  His nail-scarred hands drawing the martyr to himself, are silent testimony to the extent of his love.

            Ron could have named the painting Well Done or Overcomer or No Longer a Stranger or something else.   But he named it Safely Home.  This man who has endured great suffering is safely home at last.  The evil that pursued him in the Shadowlands can no longer touch him.  He’s forever beyond its reach, for between evil and the man stands the Lord of the Cosmos, the one who embraces him and says, ‘Never again will I let you suffer..’

            At the moment this is going on in heaven, I imagine down on earth a wife and children, perhaps a mother and father, a church of faithful believers.  They’re agonizing, understandably, over what has happened to their beloved one.  At the very moment they’re overwhelmed with grief, the one they mourn is overcome with joy.  For he is home at last .  Home for the very first time.

            To many people in the Shadowlands, this man has passed from life to death.  In fact, it is the opposite.  He has passed from death to life.  And one day his believing family will join him there.  Then the King will wipe away their tears too.

            Regarding heaven, Scripture doesn’t just say, ‘there will be no more tears.’  It says God ‘will wipe every tear from their eyes’ (Revelation 21:4).  This isn’t God snapping his fingers and drying all tears from a distance.  It’s a very intimate picture—it means God’s hands will touch the face of each individual child, to remove every tear.”

I am so moved by this story,  not because I view Carlin as a martyr, but because the same Jesus, King Jesus, will embrace him, and will wipe away all the tears.  Perhaps tears from the suffering of growing up in a broken family with a father that rejected him, perhaps tears where he wished he had done more, any tears.  What comfort to know Carlin will fall into the arms of a Heavenly Father, what comfort that Carlin will experience complete love, and full joy. 

It won’t be long now, our long time doctor friend, George says.

Thank you to all of you who have sent such fabulous, comforting letters.  Thank you to all of you who have stormed the gates of Heaven on Carlin’s behalf.

He sleeps a lot now—morphine and medications.

Love to you,

Marcia, for Carlin

Today's update

Carlin continues on, somewhat weaker every day. But he is thinking constantly about all the stuff he wants to have done here at the cottage.

He reaches down somewhere (or up There) for the extra oomph he needs for certain things. Yesterday, Saturday, was another work day, as two friends, JP and Gerry came to clean the chimney for our wood stove, and so the in-living room part, is ready to take to the company where we
bought the stove 22 years ago. The company will then put together a new chimney and install it someday in the near future. Phew.

The lawn was mowed and edged, and other projects around the yard were tended to. Thank you, JP and Gerry!

Mind you, a dear neighbor had a wheelchair we could borrow so Carlin could be out there supervising the job. Cheri and Lyndi, our two oldest daughters came from Abbotsford and Duncan yesterday, too, to be of help, doing things around the house, and doing some much needed weeding in the back garden. Oh, what a blessing it is just to have family here for a while every now and then.

Last weekend, the 5th and 6th, was when all our children (except Brenna, Cheri's youngest, who was in Washington, DC for a music festival --
where they won five top prizes) were here with us. It was a precious and special time. Carlin then shared the things he wished to pass on the children/grandchildren, and his story about how he chose Colossians as a life book to go to whenever he needed encouragement, wisdom, direction for life.

It is interesting how people have responded to that. JP shared yesterday that the day, the 12th of April, 2013, exactly a year ago to the day, was when we had loaned the use of the cottage to him as a prayer retreat regarding his future, and on that very day he had focused on Colossians 3:1-11 and it had been so meaningful to him. What a blessing to Carlin to hear these stories of how God has used Colossians in other people's lives as well.

There are all kinds of blessings, like having two binders with growing numbers of photocopied email letters, just as a tangible thing to go back to and reread whenever we desire. I read them to Carlin at times.

Every night, when it's time for bed, I give Carlin a foot, lower leg rub, and then read a few pages from a book about Heaven, called In Light of Eternity by Randy Alcorn. We're almost finished, and perhaps will go on to Joni Erickson's Heaven.

He is now content that I pray over him, whereas up until three days ago he also wanted to pray. Carlin's spirit is still strong. I think if he voiced it, the hardest thing about what he's going through is the loss of body strength, having to be tended to, having to have a morphine pump and another med to quiet his stomach. He is so grateful, though, that he can swallow a few sips of water as a result of that med.

Carlin is most grateful to friends who have come to offer help with the yard, and his "projects." (He wants things to be easier for me, I know, when he is gone. It does put extra stress on us, when sometimes it would be nice to just have quiet rest.)

We have planned the graveside service and the Memorial Service, to be held on a Friday and a Saturday. Some folks have had problems with our having set the days of the services, misreading it to mean a specific Friday and Saturday. Of course, we can't know which Friday and Saturday these services will be. But we are grateful to have these planned in advance.

Praise the Lord for dear friends, helpers. Praise the Lord for His sustaining grace. Praise the Lord He has gone to prepare a place for us. Praise the Lord for our Glorious Hope!

Love to everyone,

Marcia and Carlin

Here is the latest news

As of today we have decided to be off chemo and have signed up for home hospice care. 

We are continuing to trust God for His intervention.   We know we are in His hands, and to know we have 24 hour home care available to us is a major relief. 

No more running in to Bellingham for different medical procedures. 

We love all of you and are most grateful for the great host of prayer warriors standing with us, holding us up before the throne of Grace!

Blessings on you all.  Love, Carlin and Marcia

Slide Show

Florida 09-02-23





Daytona International Speedway

Cruise Dec 22 2007