Darrel and "Lee" Carver (née Leola Merriwether) married way back in 1968, when he was fresh out of college and she had a semester of graduate biochemistry down. Darrel was a Navy pilot from 1968 to 1976. Then he resigned his commission, got a Masters of International Management at Thunderbird, and joined an international bank. With wife, son, and daughter in tow, he worked in the United States, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Indonesia, Spain, and Brazil, during which time he saw the Lord's work combined with the miracle of flight. Darrel retired after a very successful 24 year career, in order to respond to God's call that he serve as a missionary pilot in the Amazon. For 6 1/2 years, Lee and Darrel made their home in Manaus, Brazil, from which he flew missions with the organization Asas de Socorro (Wings of Help). In November, 2006, they moved to Fort Worth, TX, to care for Darrel's parents who have since passed. They continue to work with local missions and their church. Darrel serves on the Board of Mission Safety International.
Left: Wilson Kannenberg and Darrel Carver, on the front walk of our home in Manaus, Brazil. July, 2001
Favorite Links (Clicking these links will take you directly to their site, and away from Amazon Currents):
http://www.asasdesocorro.org.br Get an overview of the organization: history, the aviation and mechanics school, statement of faith, and photos. This site is in Portuguese.
http://maf.org A very professional site which tells of the work of Mission Aviation Fellowship around the world. There is a page dedicated to the specific types of airplanes they fly and the advantages of each. A free magazine subscription can be ordered to keep you informed of MAF activities.
Left: Darrel and Lee, 11 April, 2002, at home in Manaus.
Wilson Kannenberg, a native Brazilian of German descent, founded the Manaus sector. He, Darrel, and Paul Bachmann were pilots of the Cessna Caravan. Although the Caravan requires only one pilot, they felt that, with the intricacies of landing on a river with boat traffic and river current, two pilots were safer than one. Wilson is married to a Wisconsin native, Lori, and they have three young adult children: Joshua, Julie, and Jessica.
Paul and Beth Bachmann and children Kaitlin, Hannah, Josias and Will are now church-planting missionaries in Italy.
Our son Quinn, his lovely wife Susan, and their children Benjamin, Nate, and Naomi. Quinn is a software engineer. He can't explain to us what he does, which prevents us from pretending to understand it.
Our daughter Kelly Strohkirch, husband Scott, and daughters Jordyn, 9, and Piper, 6. Jordyn has just finished third grade, and Piper has finished kindergarten. In a massive redirection, the family has just moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where Scott is beginning to study at Concordia Lutheran Seminary, a four year course straight to the Masters of Divinity degree. Kelly has accepted a position with Lincoln Financial Group. They've bought a house, got the girls enrolled in a school for next fall, and are excited about wherever the Lord is leading them. It might be a pastorate here in the United States, or it might be foreign missionary work. They'll know by the time they need to know.
Arquives from Previous Years.
Darrel and Lee, Christmas 2005, at the home of our son Quinn in Virginia.
Benjamin, 11 in Jan '11
Nate, 8 in April '11
Jordyn, 14 in Jan. '11
Piper, 11 in Jan. '11
Naomi, 5 in Jan '11
Kelly and her daughters, Jordyn and Piper. Kelly is a copy editor for a fiction publisher, and also does many other functions related to publishing for them. She has taken a break from authoring her own series while she settles in a new state.
