Charlotte Vawter

“The Author of Miss Charlotte’s story is God the Father. He placed her name in the Lamb’s Book of Life and knit her together in her mother’s womb. Her children arise and call her blessed.” It is my privilege to summarize her lasting impact at Lakeside for generations to come. Because of her obedience,  her legacy is precisely as God intended. Along the road to her casa, God gave me the words to begin Charlotte’s story. I arrived late to find Miss Charlotte standing ready to serve me coffee.  With sweet humility, she quietly said, “A servant is not the flag I wanted.” She continued, “Years ago, at the end of a Women’s Aglow conference, I was given the flag which designated my spiritual gift. I wanted any flag but that one.” Many have since benefited from her service across the globe. Charlotte was born on September 25, 1938, in Grangeville, Idaho.  After World War II, her dad Dr Lloyd Wheelwright moved his family back to Milwaukie, Oregon. Charlotte married a Marine named Ray Moore. In May of 1966 her dad died and a few months later her husband Ray left for Viet Nam in September. These two great losses led Charlotte to seek God. Before Ray was deployed to Viet Nam, two sons were born. Their youngest son arrived in 1969.  As a military family, they moved frequently into the boring white walls that the government provided. When their youngest son entered college, Ray had decided that on his retirement income, they could afford to live in Mexico. Reluctantly, Charlotte agreed, and they moved to Ajijic in 1991. “My mother never worked, and as a child, I always wanted a home with a view of the water, with a maid and a gardener. ” In Mexico, this dream was eventually realized. Her first husband, Ray Moore, died in 1994 of cancer.  With God in her midst, Charlotte then returned to Virginia. Faithfully comforting her, He gave her hope for the future. God had big plans, and Charlotte stepped out in faith and went as a praying missionary to Istanbul. “It was so scary!” On a restricted income, God provided the courage and funds to fly to Turkey twice and to Israel. Our Father consistently exceeds our greatest EXPECTATIONS! Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you.” and they are marvelous!  

Charlotte is quick to point out that God had sent many to encourage her. Almost 20 years ago, Billie Boatright arrived with a team. God provided all that was needed to fulfill a vision of a bull ring being used for His purpose and glory. Raul and Anabel Frutos knew how to get the permit to use the bull ring in La Floresta for a Christian outreach. Pastor Gary Neighbor was the speaker, and his wife Lori provided the worship team. At the age of 54, as a widow, when her pastor asked her to go to Turkey, Charlotte confessed that she did not want to go. “I had heard stories of Turks chopping off the heads of Christians, and I was terrified!” One day while shopping at TJMax, Charlotte was drawn to buy a book about Turkey. “After reading that book, I knew that God had called me. My heavenly Father hid me from all potential harm. He remains my trusted shield that keeps me safe always. He has consistently shown me great favor.  I was teamed up with a black woman who had traveled with YWAM. We were the odd couple that paved a way through prayer for a visiting team from CBN in Istanbul. We were part of the Agean Commission. In 1995, God arranged for me to visit the 7 churches of Revelation.  Just after visiting the lukewarm church of Laodicea, I was given a vision of pure water being poured into a sink. Then blood belched out. Later, many of the missionaries in Turkey were brutally murdered.” Our Father has a heart for the lost and He is a God of reconciliation and restoration. The word denomination is rooted in division. Our Father unified us with His Spirit and His heart surely breaks when His bride divorces itself and splits. God will continue to pour out His Spirit as we forgive one another, unite with one another and come together in one accord. The body of Christ needs to lay aside silly arguments, and humbly ask God, the Father of all — to forgive us for our judgements. Charlotte continues to pray, “Father, reveal to me any wicked way in me.” I asked her to share one lesson learned. “A hard lesson learned is based on a regret. When God showed me a vision of turning the noise of a bull ring into a spirit refreshing celebration for Him, my flesh responded with an excuse. I hesitated and believed the Liar that I was not equipped. The truth is that our Father has fully equipped us all with the power of the Holy Spirit. Sweet Charlotte so willing to share the wonder filled ways of God. Back in the 60’s at Lake Chapala there was a small close-knit group of expats in Ajijic. When her mom visited Ajijic, an international group of adventure seekers all partied together. Connecting the historical and miraculous dots, way in advance, in 1970, her mom had met the family that Charlotte would later marry into. Read and Charlotte Vawter and two other couples established the first non-denominational prayer breakfast on the upper level of Danny’s Cafe.

That prayer breakfast changed locations several times and it lasted over 20+ years. Charlotte and Read met at a Super Bowl party and were married 8 months later. Read made Charlotte laugh, and with such joy bursting,  Charlotte fully renewed, she continues to rejoice, “Here I am, Lord, how can I serve You today." Even when we can’t see Him, our Father is always at work, and He only gives us one step at a time. Her first husband Ray had known Read Vawter as they golfed together at Vista Del Lago.  As a widow, Charlotte had met Read casually and was not particularly interested. Read recognized the value of Charlotte and pursued her.  After Read died, Charlotte found his written plan to capture her interest. She also discovered that Read’s parents had stayed in the guest house of Neil James, the founder of Lake Chapala Society. Read Vawter, and his sister had inherited a  parcel of land called “Los Arcos.” which dead ends at Septimbre.  In the late 50's the pueblo of Ajijic ended at Los Arcos, a small farm with a casa made of adobe.  Read retired from a career in the Far East and had lived in Taiwan, Japan, and Viet Nam. At age 58, Read returned to Ajijic to take care of his parents. At the age of 69, he met and married his one and only bride. The perfect woman who had been hand-picked by God. Charlotte became Mrs. Vawter on August 17, 1997.  God blessed them with a blissful 25 years of marriage! Together, they faithfully obeyed and served God. Read was born with a humble, light hearted, generous spirit. He anonymously supported his favorite sports teams and contributed to the building of JUCUM. His generous contributions also enabled La Ola, Love in Action, LCS, and the American Legion to further prosper lakeside communities. A group of walking prayer warriors impacted Ajijic as small business is now thriving.  Our faithful Father blessed her obedient heart with a lakefront view. She hosted a non-denominational Women's Prayer Breakfast for 20 years, which ended at the Sunrise Cafe. At age 84 she delights in hosting worship nights and has catered events with invitations to various Christian groups. Her heart longs for unity in the body of Christ. Charlotte and Read traveled to Israel with 23 people from all faith backgrounds. She has provided housing to traveling missionaries for years. In May of 2023, Read had contributed funds to have the American Legion cemetery in Chapala renovated. One month later, Read was laid to rest next to his parents. Read is well remembered for his quiet, humble spirit. This great man of few words chose to encourage me when I needed it greatly. Battling dark voices to just quit, with a gleaming smile Read said “I like how Behind the Curtain kept God’s main message of love, so simple.”  Take the time to give Charlotte a hug and thank her for her legacy of prayers for our area. The Spirit of God responded to this righteous woman's fervent prayers. The miraculous transformation of a Barrio known for drug trafficking has turned into a place of shops that are now prospering. 

A woman of great faith, Suzanne Eason helped Charlotte by giving her an interpretation of 2 curious blocks that oddly repeated. Twice recently, while traveling UP the one-way street to shop, a car coming down the wrong way caused her to turn on a side street. Both times, her detour choice met with an ambulance. The encouragement: When traveling on the highway of holiness, we will all face blocks. Wisely, we choose to stand our ground, trust in God, and the one traveling the wrong way must move aside. We have the authority, and we choose to resist the devil's attempts with a spoken word. We keep our eyes on Jesus, and go straight ahead without turning to the right or left. We boldly choose to trust that God will remove any attempts to keep us from fulfilling His plan for us. Numbers 22:26 “Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left.” Charlotte trusted, obeyed and with faith, went to Istanbul.  She did not shrink from death. Revelation 12:11 “They triumphed over him (whatever evil spirit or block) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”