Gus Lambrides: A Man Full of Faith and Love by Elaine Eriksen

In the early 1900’s, there was a young Greek couple living in Turkey.  Receiving word that war was imminent between the Turks and the Greeks, they packed up their family and all they could carry and left for freedom in that distant land filled with promise called America.

Before leaving they received the greatest gift that a family could receive.  An American missionary told them about Jesus and they received the gift of eternal life.  They left a life of material wealth and arrived in the United States with little of this world’s goods, but as victorious children of the King of Kings!

Shortly after settling in New York City their fifth child was born and they named him Constantine George Lambrides, called Gus for short.  Gus was raised in a family that loved Jesus, but he decided he wanted to be different.  He was determined to spell success, M-O-N-E-Y!  He graduated from college, became a CPA, and then made partner in his accounting firm.  He married a beautiful girl named Martha and they soon started a family.   One day a successful friend of his invited him to go to a Christian Business Man’s luncheon.  It was there that God grabbed him by the heart.  Gus surrendered his life to the Lord and forever after spelled success J-E-S-U-S.

In the Lambrides household it was a treasured, consistent occurrence for us to wake up to the sound of dad’s voice saying, “Rise and shine.  This is the day that the Lord has made!  Let us rejoice and be glad!”  Then we would hear him singing, “Heavenly Sunshine."  Singing praises to the Lord around our household was a common thing.

Growing up, I was always hearing about my dad from people who did business with him.  The one thing I heard most often was that Gus was a man of integrity.  He was always the same, regardless of the company he kept.  You could count on him.  When you were with him, his focus was always on you and never on himself.

My uncle was dad’s partner in their accounting firm of Lambrides and Lambrides.  Nick was 14 years older than dad and was his mentor.  They had an agreement that if anything were to happen to either of them that the other would take care of their widow for the rest of her life.  Uncle Nick died suddenly at the age of 64 and unknown to the rest of the family dad sent a check to my aunt every month until her death at more than ninety years old.

His life was marked by joy, praise, consistency and total trust in his Savior.  It was a good life with many good gifts but not lacking in life’s challenges and struggles.  Trials came in many forms: challenges in parenting, difficult business decisions, his wife's ailing health, and he even endured the kidnapping of his grandchildren, but he weathered every storm as God's faithful servant.  Through every situation he always said that God was sovereign and chose to trust in him and his faithfulness.

My mom was diagnosed with MS when she was in her fifties.  Soon after, we found out she also had cancer!  Dad used every opportunity to share his faith with her doctors, always standing firm and trusting that his God was the Great Physician and capable of healing even when medical science could not.  To the shock of the medical community, God did heal my mom of the multiple sclerosis.

But in January of 1984, the Lord called Martha home to heaven.  Four months later, my dad came to visit us in Indianapolis.  I introduced my dad to Marty Berns, who was the teaching leader of Bible Study Fellowship, and a widow.  Within a week they were engaged and were married that July.  When asked, “Why so quickly?”, he responded, “When you are our age and you know it is God’s will, why wait?”  After that, he was often heard saying: “Jesus loves Martha and so do I”.

They became and team and the Lambrides and Berns became a family.  Gus was now Dad, Pop, Grandpa or Popu to many who loved him and he loved all of them!  With Martha, Gus brought Athena Lambrides Siddiqui, then me, Elaine Lambrides Eriksen, and a younger brother George Harry Lambrides.  When Marty joined our family, we gained Don Berns, Kathy Berns Albrechtson, Sally Berns John, and Peggy Berns Mindrebo.  Dad always referred to Marty's kids as "our" Peggy, Sally, Kathy or Don.  There are seven of us who call ourselves Gus's children, who now range in age from 53 to 70.  There are 21 grandchildren and at least 21 great grandchildren!

Gus and Marty came to  College Park and quickly gave of their time, talents and treasures to their beloved church.  People jokingly referred to Gus as the Mayor of College Park Church because he loved to greet people and call everyone by name.  He genuinely believed that you cannot show someone that you love them if you don’t remember their name.

After nearly twenty years of marriage, God chose to call Marty home to heaven.  Gus lived for another four years.  The morning of Gus’s homegoing, when Pete and I met with the nurse where he lived at Zionsville Meadows, we were told that she had never met a more gracious and gentle man in her whole nursing career.  Every night at bedtime he would pray with her and thank her and remind her of God’s goodness.

Gus often told his children, “In everything you do, do it all to the glory of God” and that is the way he lived his life.

He lived 93 years.  I am proud to call Gus Lambrides my daddy.”

Elaine Eriksen

My Momma's Faith, by Abigail Perdue

Nothing ever seemed so simple to me as my mother's faith. She loved Jesus, and that was it. Everything she did came from that one desire. She had a passion for following hard after her Savior. My mom was influential, involved, and beloved. I can say that confidently. However, I didn't see her chasing after that type of attention or gratitude. I saw a woman who loved her family, her church body with a fervor I can only aspire to.

She was unbelievably organized, so much so that I remember going with her to friend's houses so that she could help the other mom organize her pantry, or whatever it may have been. She loved helping people with whatever she had, even if it was just an uncanny understanding of order. This came in handy when she worked on numerous VBS camps and in the church nursery.

What amazed me was how much my mom really loved being involved behind the scenes of College Park. She didn't mind the work that came with such a heady task or the time it took to complete it. Cathy was dedicated. Faithful. Her faith defined her, and love was her signature.

My Mama followed God's will, even though it was rarely easy and typically trying in many different ways. In 2002, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, an affliction I wasn't able to comprehend at seven. I may not even understand it now. This is a disease that comes without warning, without a clear weakness, and without compassion. Mama was the bravest woman I have ever known. Cancer is a terrible thing, but she met it with faith. That's it: faith that God had a plan bigger than hers, that Jesus was Emmanuel. I marvel at her strength.

Throughout her treatment, my mom stayed positive. Not to say that there were no "down" days or that she never felt discouraged and lonely. She did. But her overarching attitude was almost always constant, believing that her Jesus had it taken care of. A visitor to our home would have seen "God is Good" scattered in various forms around the house, a reminder of the truth we were all holding on to. She was intentional about keeping God at the center of her struggle, keeping his purpose above her own.

This mantra of "God is good, even though ____" has been a bulwark for me and my family in our lives after my mom's death, and it is not an easy one to commit to. But Cathy was completely convinced that God was greater than her problems. That may sound simple or trite, especially after looking at all she was going through. But we forget that we serve a God who is much bigger than anything we come across. He can handle our disease, worry, displeasure, and even our sin. We can forget His power when our eyes are focused on what is going on in the moment.

In an email written a couple months before she passed away, my mom shared an update on her condition and treatment, describing a painful allergic reaction to a new medication. She closed with this: " God is just the same as he was before all this started. I can trust Him and all His ways." Can you believe that? She was firm, resolute in the way she believed that God was good, even when her circumstances were trying to tell her differently.

A friend of Cathy's, who has herself passed away, wrote, " You have shown me how I can love others, by how you have loved me." Love is so essential for a Christian life, and yet so often faked or forced. We can seriously under-love, to summarize a great many shortcomings. But my mom had a grasp of what Christ' s love was. I saw the effect of her life most tangibly the day of her her funeral.

I knew that Mama was really involved in church and that she knew a lot of people, but it astonished me how many people came to her viewing and funeral. They just kept flowing in the doors, filling the sanctuary with tears and encouragement. They remembered her because she touched their lives in a profound way. Actually, they remembered how she had shown them Jesus, which was more important than any task she had ever completed or pantry she had organized. She loved them with a pure, Christlike love.

I was young--only nine years old-- when my mother passed away, so the memories I have of her are few and foggy. But I know her character. Even more than that, I know what others say about her. They say that she was kind and empathetic and loyal and loving. I hear, even now, after nine years, memories of Mama, the little things that people have carried with them. I've found out some pretty cool stories, and yet I know that I will never hear them all. I love those stories, because they serve as a constant testimony to the way God used my mom to impact others. It is amazing how many people remember this woman, a normal, average person. But it is even more amazing how God used her to love others.

My mom, Cathy, was an especially wonderful person. She was forgiving and vigilant in prayer, and she could even cook. I love her very much. But she was not wonderful because of something she had ever done or ever could do. Mama was special because she trusted in her Savior, day by day. She gave Him control of her life and let Him do the driving. She had her faults, and even her own fears. Cathy was not some kind of superhero, but she had faith. Loving God even when the conditions are trying is hardly easy, but she made it simple. Cathy Perdue just loved Jesus, and that was how she defined her life and her death.