'Grieved'
by killings, but ministry
will go on, IMB president vows
RICHMOND,
Va. (BP)--Shaken by the killing of three Southern Baptist
medical workers in Yemen and the wounding of another,
International Mission Board President Jerry Rankin promised
that ministry in Yemen and other dangerous places will
continue.
In
a Dec. 30 press conference broadcast live on CNN
and other news outlets, Rankin told reporters that
the workers shot by a man who burst into a morning
staff meeting were serving "because of their
care and concern for the people of Yemen" --
and that others would continue to serve as long as
possible.
"We
were grieved to hear that a lone gunmen walked into
a meeting of staff at 8:15 this morning Yemen time
and killed surgeon Martha Myers, who had served the
hospital 25 years, administrator Bill Koehn, who
had served 28 years, and Kathy Gariety, a supply
manager, who had served 10 years," Rankin said
in a statement opening the press conference. "Don
Caswell, a pharmacist, who was wounded, is recovering
from surgery.
"For
35 years we have operated a hospital in Yemen in
the town of Jibla. Serving 40,000 patients a year,
the hospital has been an expression of love and concern
to the people of Yemen. Our personnel, as Americans
and Christians, are well aware of the risk of living
and serving in a place like Yemen. Yet their love
for the Yemeni people and obedience to the conviction
of God’s leadership has been expressed in a
willingness to take that risk and give of their lives.
"We
were moved to hear of crowds of local people lining
the road to the hospital in respect for those who
had served them so faithfully. Our hearts go out
in sympathy to the families, colleagues and local
friends who are grieving this tragic loss."
Responding
to questions, Rankin said he anticipates the Baptist
hospital -- one of the few full-service medical facilities
in Yemen -- will continue its work, and that Southern
Baptist workers will continue to serve there.
"Obviously,
the needs of the people continue, and the reason
our people are there is because of those needs and
our care and concern for the people," he said
of work in the impoverished Middle Eastern nation. "So
we certainly will continue to explore how we might
continue the ministry to which God has called us
there. We have been negotiating with another organization
to take responsibility for the hospital, but we're
committed to continuing whatever ministry we can
in the country."
The
hospital compound has been guarded for many years
by the Yemeni government, which owns and provides
security for the facility. The gunman reportedly
gained entrance to the hospital by cradling a semiautomatic
rifle under his coat as if it were a sick infant.
Once inside, he shot Myers, Koehn and Gariety, who
had just begun a morning meeting. All three died
at the scene. The gunman then shot and wounded Caswell
before surrendering to hospital guards.
"We
would not make any presumption of motives" of
the killer," Rankin said. "Being in a country
like Yemen, our personnel over the years have been
prohibited from presenting an overt Christian witness.
They've been very respectful of the authorities and
the policies under which we serve the people of Yemen."
Southern
Baptist personnel in Yemen and many other hotspots
around the world "most definitely" have
received threats, Rankin acknowledged -- particularly
after the Sept. 11 attacks. They take them seriously
and evaluate them in consultation with local authorities.
"I
think all of our personnel recognize there's some
risk involved," Rankin said. "Certainly
we do take security precautions. Our personnel are
trained to be sensitive to those issues. This will
heighten their awareness of the need for security
wherever they're serving. (But) we would not choose
to end our ministry and service because of risk and
danger to our personnel. If we did, we would probably
be ending our ministry in many countries throughout
the world."
In
Yemen, Southern Baptists work "with the permission
and cooperation of the Yemeni government," he
stressed. "They have the authority to close
down our presence and our work, but I would feel
that as long as we're meeting a need and working
with respect for them and their policies, that they
would allow us to serve there -- and we are committed
to that."
Coping
with increased threats worldwide, Rankin added, "just
goes with being not just a Christian missionary now,
but being an American."
The
International Mission Board is one of the largest
evangelical mission agencies in the world, with 5,487
personnel serving in 184 countries.
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