An Alabama Baptist volunteer working overseas died Feb. 14 in Bangkok, Thailand, from injuries sustained in an accident.
Linda Lipscomb, 63, an International Mission Board worker known for her ability to bridge cultural divides, died from complications following a fall from a bus. The former nurse and her husband J.P. Lipscomb — both members of James Memorial Baptist Church, Gadsden — were spending their retirement years serving overseas.
Four weeks before her death, in another part of Asia, Linda stood just inside the door of a bus, preparing to step off and walk to a coffee shop. Without warning, the brakes released and the bus rolled forward, throwing the 115-pound, 4-foot-11-inch woman to the ground. The fall broke her left femur and wrist.
Hours later in a clinic, the Lipscombs made an impact on the anxious bus driver, whose supervisor said he should lose his job. The couple expressed their forgiveness and asked for his job not to be taken away. In tears, the driver could not believe they did not want revenge. The police report noted: “Victim forgave bus driver.”
Linda was medically evacuated to Bangkok the day after the accident. During the next four weeks complications set in and she took a turn for the worse.
The Lipscombs were retirement age when they responded to a call to serve overseas. They first did medical work in the Philippines, sharing food and water with people while telling them about Jesus. Over four years, they saw more than 300 Filipinos accept Christ, 39 churches planted and more than 40 pastors trained. Later they took an assignment doing evangelism in another Asian city considered unreached. Every weekday students poured into the Lipscomb home, crowding around their kitchen table as they studied English and had discussions that often led to eternal decisions.
Friends remember Linda swinging her short legs over the back of a friend’s motorbike, heading down the road to eat at a street-side noodle shop or taking a trip to the countryside to visit a student’s family. (BP)
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