“Quit serving? Not me!“ Most missionaries love serving the Lord so much that they find ways to continue long into their later years. 

For four decades, Marilyn Pitzer worked among the Warao people, an indigenous Venezuelan tribe. She lived with them, became part of their families, and shared their joys and sorrows. In 2005, when Marilyn left her Warao village because of Venezuela’s increasing political difficulties, it felt like she was leaving behind her own family members. Yet she was grateful she could continue helping them in a very important way: translating Scripture into the Warao language.  

It’s a work she has continued to do long after her 2018 retirement. From her home base in Florida, Marilyn spends hours at her computer painstakingly rendering the Scriptures into Warao. Translating Scripture is always a team effort, and she has shared the load with her Warao translation team members like Esteban, Levi, and Joel. 

Sadly, many of Marilyn’s original Warao translator coworkers have since passed away. Last year, Levi and Joel became the new lead translators, and they needed specialized training from Bibles International, BMM’s Bible society. Because neither Marilyn nor BI’s American translation consultants could enter Venezuela, they arranged to meet the Warao translators across the border in Boa Vista, Brazil, in November 2025. At age 82, Marilyn traveled with the BI team to be the translator.

The logistics were complicated. It was difficult for the Warao translators to leave the country because of governmental requirements. Once everyone arrived, they were treated to the wonderful hospitality of John and Joyce Larrabee (formerly with BMM) and their Boa Vista church that housed them and graciously cared for all their needs. Jim Carlton, Isaiah Peterson, and other BI team members carefully trained Joel and Levi in translation principles and in how to use their new computers and the complex Paratext translation software. Marilyn was kept on her toes juggling English, Spanish, and Warao as the bridge between BI and the Warao team. 

To Marilyn’s great delight, she found that many Warao people are now living in Boa Vista, including some of the children she taught years ago. Anticipating children’s ministry opportunities, Marilyn had brought along her mouse puppet, Squeaky. Her former students (now adults) loved seeing Squeaky again and introducing him to their children and grandchildren. On Sunday, the Larrabees’ church sent their bus to the Warao neighborhood for anyone interested in attending their service. The bus was filled! The church hopes to continue encouraging this Warao community. Pedro, who had been active in Marilyn’s church when he lived in Venezuela, anticipates starting a ministry to them. 

Marilyn and many others are praying the Lord will open Venezuela again to expatriate missionaries. She says, “It would be wonderful if the Lord would open a way for a younger missionary family to go down and work among the Warao again.” In the meantime, Marilyn plans to continue her translation work as long as the Lord gives her strength: “The Lord’s work does not stop; it’s still there to do. I might as well do it!”