A Southern Baptist missionary was killed and another missionary and her child were injured when a bomb exploded March 4 at the airport in Davao City, Philippines.
William P. “Bill” Hyde, 59 died in surgery from severe head and leg injuries. Barbara Wallis Stevens, 33, was slightly injured and her 10-month-old son, Nathan, also was wounded.
“We are deeply moved by the massive outpouring of support from Southern Baptist for our International Mission Board family as we grieve the death of Bill Hyde,” IMB President Jerry Ranking said. “Bill and his wife, Lyn, were personal friends whose vibrant faith was an inspiration and blessing to all who knew them.”
At least 19 people were killed and 144 injured in the attack, which occurred outside the arrival terminal of the Davao airport in the Philippines’ second largest city.
The blast ripped through a shelter outside the terminal in which scores of people were huddled to escape a downpour.
The Islamic terrorist group Abu Sayyaf claimed responsibility for the bomb the day after the blast. The same group held two American missionaries, Gracia and Martin Burnham, hostage for more than a year before Philippine troops attempted to rescue the missionaries by force in a joint operation with the U.S. military.
Martin Burnham was killed in the crossfire during the attempt, but Gracia was rescued and returned to the United States. According to the Associated Press, Hyde and his wife, Lyn, were close friends with the Burnhams.
Hyde was from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Immanuel Baptist Church has been the home for the Hydes, and they also maintained ties with Northbrook Baptist Church, a sister church of Immanuel.
A former music teacher, Hyde served in church and leadership development. The Hydes were appointed by the IMB in October 1978. The Hydes have two grown sons, Timothy and Steven.
Bill Hyde had met the Stevens family at the airport as they returned from a family trip. Mark and Barbara Stevens were appointed as missionaries in September 2000. He is a church planter, while she serves as a church and home outreach worker.
Barbara Stevens was injured by shrapnel in her left side and foot and was released from the hospital. Mark Stevens was uninjured in the blast. Nathan Stevens suffered a shrapnel wound to his liver and is in stable condition at Davao City hospital. Whether he will have surgery is still undecided. The couple’s daughter, Sarah Stevens, 4, was treated and released with minor injuries.
Ed Gregory, missions team leader for the Baptist Convention of Iowa, described Hyde as “the epitome of the missionary spirit.”
A mid periodic family needs and concerns, with some urging them to stay stateside by saying, “It’s safer, it’s better,” Gregory said Hyde and his wife “just kept on going back to the field where God had called them.” Gregory and Hyde first met during the early 1980s during Gregory’s 17 years as Immanuel’s pastor.
Over the years, Hyde “kept retraining … fulfilling different roles… teaching, church planting. He was constantly developing Filipino pastors, helping them get new work started and then mentoring them in their roles.”
His wife, meanwhile, likewise has been devoted to missions. “She was constantly preparing for and leading devotional life conferences for the women there,” Gregory said.
The IMB will post information as it develops at imb.org/urgent.
(BP, EP contributed)
Share with others: