A tribute to Stephanie
St Andrew’s Hall staff member Isabel Dale writes a final tribute to CMS worker Stephanie, who passed away on 22 March 2018, age 35, from bowel cancer.
Stephanie Ruth
26 January 1983–22 March 2018
Central Asia: 2012–2016
We’ve farewelled Stephanie. I’m thankful that after over a year of the debilitating impact of cancer, she’s at rest at last in God, in eternal joy. But the thankfulness doesn’t yet dull the numb coldness, the pervading sense of loss that we all walk in various ways, as of a limb gone: the company of a dear companion.
It’s just two years since I visited her in Central Asia. Enjoying time together as she showed me something of her life and the country she loved, neither of us knew that within a year we would both be diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Steph had adopted all the shades of red, as Tamie, her twin, took up blue. So when her kitchen was done in Central Asia, she asked if it could include a feature surface of bright pink. The builders took up the idea enthusiastically, and almost every bench space and cupboard facing out was brilliant pink. Steph was initially taken aback, then embraced the space with enthusiasm. It was a place which reflected her exuberance, and the joy she took in baking and hospitality for colleagues and neighbours.
Steph was undaunted by the challenges of life in Central Asia. Although living with constant tension, bomb blasts and the death of colleagues all took its toll on her, she didn’t often talk of it, nor of the restrictions on her social interaction and being able to move around. Rather, she found ways to pursue the strenuous daily exercise routine she enjoyed, and to turn that, and her love of routine, into ways of coping with the stress.
Steph was passionate. Passionate in her love for Central Asia and the women and men where she served. Passionate about her work as a psychologist, training others in a nation where so many were damaged mentally as well as physically by the impact of long years of conflict. And passionate about sharing her faith in the Lord who loved her, as she sought to introduce others to his love also. She was one of the most talented evangelists I knew, someone who didn’t pull back from challenging others with the claims of Christ. She argued to have a workload which would also give her time to spend with the women who lived around her, to share her life and the love of Christ with them. And she thought deeply and creatively about how to share the good news with women, using Bible storytelling, drawing Bible stories with henna, seeking appropriate ways of understanding what God has done for us in Christ that would speak into the heart of their worldviews and longings.
Brought up in an atmosphere of robust enquiry, Steph enjoyed the challenge of ongoing study and research in theology, psychology and missiology. Her blog was full of reflections and questions about the cultural implications of what she was encountering in daily life. She published in psychological journals from her work in Central Asia, contributed to When Women Speak…, and took the chance to do online courses in Bible and missiological studies. She was deeply loyal to and championed those she loved. Yet her loyalty didn’t prevent her from seeing people’s weaknesses and areas for growth. Her strong opinions exposed her at times to bruising personal attack, however she didn’t let its impact deter her from her commitment to serving the people of Central Asia.
We are thankful for Stephanie, for all we learned from her and for her rest now. And her death spurs us on to pray more for the country she loved, and the women and men there who don’t yet have her hope in Christ and eternal rest in him.
