“Someday you will read in the papers that Mindy Tarleton is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now. I was born of the flesh in 1969, I was born of the spirit in 1977. That which is born of the flesh may die. That which is born of the Spirit shall live forever.“*

Sin, pain, guilt, pride, envy, cancer—the cares and affairs of the world—no, these will no longer provide any allurement from seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness!  My own eyes will be capturing what John struggled to recount in the book of Revelation.  And all my enduring hopes and dreams will be captured in finally embracing my Bridegroom eternally!  Oh, no!  I won’t be dead!  I’ll be so thoroughly alive, enraptured by His Holiness and Majesty, that my earthly heart and human senses couldn’t begin to contain the love beyond degree, peace that passes understanding, joy abundant.

Though my earthly body appeared 28 April 1969 in the arms of Dennis and Glenda Tweet of Leota, Minnesota, now I have gained a new body. My previous body provided transport to earthly addresses in Iowa City, Iowa; Columbia, South Carolina; Prague, the Czech Republic; and Budapest, Hungary.  My heart, head, and hands were blessed to serve God through various roles in the education field, teaching children from grades one through eight in various capacities as well as working with home schooling families in South Carolina, and missionaries throughout Europe, Russia, Central Asia, and the Middle East.  “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. (Mark 10:14b)”; “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. (Proverbs 22:6)”  May education never serve to merely make more clever criminals of us; rather, may it all be founded on the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ Who sovereignly guides us through this life in preparation for the next.

March 22, 2014, I was joined in marriage to a very loving, smart, wise man—Edward Dee Tarleton, Jr.—in Brandon, SD.  We returned to Prague, Czech Republic, a few days later, to continue life and ministry there.  March 2018 God moved us to Budapest, Hungary, where Ed became the pastor of the International Baptist Church of Budapest, and I continued ministry through ReachGlobal and SHARE Education Services.

In this world I leave behind my dear family…

• My husband, Edward Dee Tarleton, Jr.; our wonderful four children with their spouses and children:  Adam and Sarah Tarleton (Luc, Virginia, James, Emily) of East Camden, AR; Anna and Sam Birks (Nicolas, Chloe, Olivia) of Hacienda Heights, CA; Rachel and Jason Cavenee (Kathrine and Elizabeth) of Norman, OK; and Rebecca and Rico McKay of Memphis, TN.
• father and mother, Dennis and Glenda Tweet of Leota, Minnesota.
• My brother Don, and his wife Danica, with children Kaci and Tyler, of Madison, Minnesota.
• My sister, Stacie, and her husband, Bob Bosse, and their four children:  Michael, Zachary, Brooklyn, and Breanna, of Madison Lake, MN.
• My sister, Kristi, and her husband, Ryan Lewellen, and their two children, Maddox and Grace, of Kasson, Minnesota;
• Many brothers and sisters in Christ.

Beyond this, its only what moth can eat and rust corrupt.  My true citizenship was secured before the foundation of the world.  Now I go to see the fullness of God’s gift of grace, granted to me because of Jesus’ blood and righteousness, paying the debt I couldn’t pay because of the magnitude of my sin and trespasses in the face of a perfect God who sees all, hears all, knows all.  I deserve hell.  God the Father gave His perfect son, Jesus, so that He took on the punishment I deserved so that now I can see Jesus, receive a new name, be clothed in the white of purity, dine at the banquet of my King, and be a part of His Bride, the Church Triumphant, as it consummates her marriage to the Bridegroom for all eternity in heaven.

Thank you for being a part of God’s plan for my life this side of heaven.  Please be sure that you will join me—and 10,000 times 10,000 times more importantly—join Jesus in the next!  To find out more, read the Bible.  You can also visit www.ibcbudapest.org.  My life verse has been Jeremiah 29:11.  My favorite scriptures are Isaiah, Philippians, Deuteronomy, II Timothy, and Romans 8.

*Words adapted from the original writings of Dwight L. Moody