Spanish Translation Help - Condolence Note

Factual Questions
1

I work in a small office, and one of my co-workers is an adorable Venezuelan woman who’s just the sweetest person ever. She just got a phone call from home saying that her 19 year old sister was killed in a car accident last night, and she is understandably distraught. She’s also worried because she was supposed to take the lead on a big project this week, but of course, that should be the least of her concerns right now.

She’s leaving tomorrow for Venezuela, but we at the office would like to give her a sympathy card before she goes. Her spoken English is excellent, but she’s less confident about her writing and reading skills, and none of her family speaks English, so we’d like to write the note in Spanish. Can anyone help me translate a few lines elegantly?

Dear Ana,

We are so sorry to hear about the loss of your sister. You and your family are in our thoughts, and we all love you very much. Please take all the time you need to be with your family, and we will be here for you when you return.

With sympathy,
Your friends at the office

2

It’s going to be in Spanish from Spain and it’s not a direct translation. There’s some things I’d be likely to say differently to someone from Venezuela if they’re anything less than rabidly atheists, but since I don’t know her I’ve stayed away from religious references and so forth:
Querida Ana,

Lamentamos mucho la pérdida de tu hermana. Sabes que te queremos; te acompañamos en el sentimiento. Por favor tómate el tiempo que necesites para estar con tu familia: te esperamos con los brazos abiertos.

Con cariño,
tus compañeros de trabajo.
Back translation:

Dear Ana,

we’re very sorry for the loss of your sister. You know we love you; we share your feelings (i.e., your pain is our pain, your joy is our joy, your rage is our rage). Please take as long as you need to be with your family: we await your return with open arms.

With love,
your coworkers.

3

Thank you very much, Nava. That flows nicely and captures our sentiments exactly.

On a side note, is there much of a difference between Spanish from Spain and Spanish from Venezuela and other parts of the world? I’m assuming it’s like the global varieties of English, where most of it is the same but certain words and meanings are quite different.

4

The biggest difference I know of is that spaniards use vosotros* much more than south american countries do.

*Informal plural on the order of “you guys”.

5

You have the idea. It’s mostly the vocabulary and accent that is different. Having grown up learning Latin American Spanish, but also having lived in Spain, I can say that Nava’s translation would be easily understandable by any Spanish-speaker.