Four Southern Baptist representatives were killed and a fifth critically injured in a drive-by shooting March 15 in Iraq.
The International Mission Board (IMB) team was in a car in eastern Mosul in northern Iraq when they were attacked with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades. Their assailants remained unidentified as of press time.
“It was evidently a drive-by shooting on the streets of Mosul,” Bill Bangham, a spokesman for the Southern Baptist Convention’s IMB told Religion News Service. “They had just arrived in Mosul.”
The team was researching the needs for future humanitarian projects, specifically the need for water purification.
Three died at the scene: 60-year-old Larry Elliott and his wife, Jean, 58, of Cary, N.C., who had served with the IMB in Honduras since 1978 and transferred to the Middle East in February, and Karen Watson, 38, of Bakersfield, Calif., who had been with the board since March 2003.
A fourth worker, 29-year-old David McDonnall, died en route to a military support hospital in Baghdad. Four U.S. military surgeons had worked for six hours to save his life. His wife, Carrie, 26, arrived by airlift to the U.S. Army hospital in Landsthul, Germany, on March 17. Baptist Press reported she was in stable condition at press time. The Rowlett, Texas, couple began serving again with the IMB in November 2003 after a 1999–2001 stint in the board’s Journeyman program.
During IMB’s weekly chapel service on March 17 in Richmond, Va., the five workers were honored for their courage and commitment to God’s work. A video with footage of all of the workers was shown to the staff. IMB officials encouraged Christians to pray for the families, friends and churches of those who died or were injured. Jerry Rankin, IMB president, said the pain of this incident is deeply felt.
“In times like this, there are no words that will take away the pain of a loved one’s violent death,” Rankin said in an IMB release. “Everyone in the IMB family and everyone who loves Southern Baptists’ overseas workers are grieving with the family members and co-workers of these precious souls.”
According to the IMB, memorial services were held for the four missionaries and the families all requested that in lieu of flowers donations be made to further missions work among various organizations.
David McDonnall’s memorial service was held March 20 in Lamar, Colo., at First Baptist Church, Lamar.
Karen Watson’s memorial service was held March 24 in Bakersfield, Calif., at Valley Baptist Church.
Larry and Jean Elliott’s memorial service is March 25 in Cary, N.C., at First Baptist Church, Cary.
The Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC), which inaugurated a partnership with Iraq last year, said the initiative will continue despite the deadly attack.
A team of Missouri Baptists had been scheduled to depart for Iraq March 20, but that trip has now been canceled. Future MBC trips to Iraq have been postponed as convention leaders assess how best to proceed. The MBC is the only state convention with a partnership with Iraq through the IMB.
The Missouri convention purchased plane tickets for Carrie McDonnall’s parents, Jon and Margaret Taylor of Dallas, to fly to Germany to be with their daughter.
The attack is the most deadly tragedy in 157 years of Southern Baptist missions history. Eight IMB missionaries have been killed by terrorists in the past 14 months.
Three were murdered by a terrorist at the Baptist hospital in Jibla, Yemen. One year ago Bill Hyde was killed by a terrorist’s bomb at the airport in Davao City, Philippines.
For more about the individual missionaries’ stories and more on how the Baptist church in Iraq is growing, see stories, page 3.
(compiled from wire services)
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