An older sister suggested Colista Lewis attend a summer evangelism program when it stopped in town. It turned out to be a life-changing event for Colista, then 16.
The next year, she enrolled at the Toccoa Falls Institute of Georgia, now Toccoa Falls College in north Georgia, for biblical and theological training. There she met and eventually married Dean Lewis, an upperclassman. He was 21. She was 18.
Together, they embarked on a lifelong career of missionary work that first took them to San Jose, Costa Rica, followed by Nicaragua, Guatemala City and Puebla, Mexico. Theirs was a nearly 50-year journey to spread the gospel and plant churches.
Wherever assigned, Mrs. Lewis did her part. She played the accordion for her husband's services and ministered to the women and children. She was a veteran missionary by the time she reached her mid-20s.
"She loved the Lord and has influenced many for the cause of Christ," said a son, the Rev. Woody Lewis Jr. of McAllen, Texas. "Her heart was warm toward Hispanic outreach here in the United States as well."
In 2006, Colista Jean Lewis moved in with a daughter in Dunwoody after two minor heart attacks. She died Friday at home from complications of her heart condition. She was 86. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday in the Snellville chapel of Tom M. Wages Funeral Service.
Mrs. Lewis was the youngest of eight children who grew up in Warrior, Ala. She moved to Birmingham to live with Grace, a sister, because she sought the city life. It was the summer of 1941 when a group of teen evangelists came to town and changed her life.
"She'd been more inclined to go the way of the world," her son said, "but her older sister was a born-again believer."
In 1943, the Lewis' arrived as missionaries in Costa Rica knowing little Spanish. They learned the language from the people. Their three children, all born in Costa Rica, grew up bilingual.
Mrs. Lewis was a missionary from 1943 to 1975. She, and her husband were assigned to Costa Rica (1943 to 1953); Nicaragua (1954 to 1962); Guatemala (1962 to 1968); and Puebla, Mexico (1969 to 1975).
In 1975, the couple was tapped to represent CAM International, a Texas-based agency that spreads the gospel to Spanish-speaking people, in the Southeast. They settled in Buford and her husband died in 1989.
After his death, Mrs. Lewis continued her cause by making several church trips to Central America. She also played a role in the start-up of two Spanish congregations, Eglesia Biblica Gracia in Lawrenceville and Cumming's Eglesia Biblica Christiana Evangelica.
"She would visit and talk with the people," said the Rev. Mynor Martin, pastor of the Cumming church. "Today, we have about 30 to 50 members."
Additional survivors include two daughters, Janet Webb of Dunwoody and Carol Jean Lewis-Zavala of Austin, Texas; a sister, Edna Armour of Athens; six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
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