By Erik Tryggestad
The Christian Chronicle
Churches of Christ in Texas and around the globe are mourning the recent deaths of two longtime missionaries — Cyndi Chowning and Dan Hardin.
Chowning, pictured below with her husband, Richard, died June 14 during a church meeting in the West African nation of Benin. The Chownings have worked among the Aja people in Benin since 1997.
Cyndi Chowning was retrieving something from her vehicle during the meeting when she was hit by a motorcycle, according to a fellow missionary.
Her husband rushed her to the hospital in the nearby town of Azove, in hopes that she could be stabilized for the trip to a larger hospital in Cotonou. But Cyndi Chowning died in Azove from injuries sustained in the accident.
“Cyndi was loved by so many Aja Christians,” said Randy Vaughn, a missionary in Aplahoue, Benin. “She served them humbly, quietly, faithfully and always with great passion.”
Her funeral was scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday, June 24, at the Park Avenue Church of Christ in Denison, Texas, where the Chownings’ son-in-law, Wes Encalade, serves as youth and family minister.
Family members requested memorial contributions to assist in completion of a clinic and primary school in Benin.
Hardin, 73, died June 19 at a hospital in Austin, Texas, after a long illness.
Hardin and his wife, Joyce, pictured below, served as missionaries to Korea from the late 1950s until the mid-1970s. Dan Hardin served as president of Korea Christian University.
Sid Allen, a missionary with Texas-based Rapha International, described Dan Hardin as "a coworker, mentor and friend." The two met in 1958 at a retreat for church members serving in the military in South Korea, where Allen served in the Air Force.
Dan Hardin had multiple graduate degrees and was fluent in the Korean language. He developed rheumatoid arthritis in the early 1970s, "but did not let misshaped hands and feet keep him from getting on with life," Allen said.
After returning to the United States, Dan Hardin taught missions at Abilene Christian University in Texas. The couple later moved to Lubbock and served Lubbock Christian University for 24 years. Dan Hardin chaired the Bible department and Joyce Hardin served chaired the school's education department until she retired in 2000.
Dan and Joyce Hardin were active in the work of Missions Resource Network in Bedford, Texas, and were members of the Lake Travis Church of Christ in Lakeway, Texas. Dan Hardin served as a minister and elder of the congregation.
"He was an innovative educator and author," Allen said. "He excelled in hobbies — artist, master magician, scuba diver, locksmith, carpentry and computer programming, among others."
The Westover Hills Church of Christ in Austin hosted Dan Hardin’s funeral June 22.
MEMORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS
Memorial donations for Cyndi Chowning may be sent to the Chownings’ sponsoring congregation:
Homewood Church of Christ
265 W. Oxmoor Rd
Birmingham, AL 35209
Attn: Cyndi Chowning memorial
Memorial donations for Dan Hardin may be sent to the Samoa Missions Fund:
Lake Travis Church of Christ.
P.O. Box 340730
Austin, TX 78734
Attn: Samoa Missions Fund
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