Jordanian police arrest suspect in Christian teacher murder

Cheryll Harvey teaching. (Image courtesy of the
Southern Baptist International Mission Board)

Jordan (IMB/MNN) ―Jordanian authorities have arrested a suspect in the murder of 55-year-old Cheryll Harvey, a Southern Baptist representative in Irbid, Jordan.

A veteran teacher, Harvey's body was discovered in her apartment on September 4. Police reports indicate a 17-year-old Jordanian man confessed to stabbing her to death when she caught him stealing from her purse. Authorities say there had been some association between the two, as Harvey paid him for odd jobs on occasion. A trial date has yet to be set.

A Texas native, Harvey worked in Jordan for 24 years teaching English and other subjects. She founded the ESL language center a decade ago, where she taught in Irbid--Jordan's second-largest city and home to several universities. Her work was in connection with the Jordan Baptist Society. Harvey also had taught primary school-age children at the Jordan Baptist School.

According to a press release from the Baptist Press, teaching was a passion for Harvey. For her, it was a way to express the love of Christ to generations of Jordanian students.

"Cheryll was known throughout the village," recalled a co-worker. "She visited in the homes of all of her students. She even showed up at students' homes when they weren't expecting her.... Cheryll was all about the people. She spent a large portion of every year visiting her students, making sure that she went into the home of every single student."

A colleague asked Southern Baptists to pray for the many people touched by Harvey's life. "Cheryll was a gentle person who loved Jesus," he said. "She showed that love to Jordanians: first to the many children she taught in Ajloun and their families, and then to those in Irbid as she taught English... She connected with her people at the heart level. We pray that her witness continues to bear much fruit... Cheryll's life has crossed the finish line. She was faithful through the end of this life and to the beginning of her real life."

IMB President Tom Elliff also appealed for prayer.

"We pray for her immediate family members in Texas and for her family members and friends around the world, but especially in Jordan," Elliff said. "The impact of Cheryll's life will live on for eternity. For Cheryll's assailant and his family, we pray God's mercy and grace to invade the dark corners of his heart. For us, Cheryll's death brings us face to face with the urgent importance of our work. With every word, thought and action we must glorify the One who purchased our salvation."

Harvey is survived by two brothers who reside in Texas. Funeral arrangements are incomplete pending the ongoing police investigation of her death. It was not immediately clear if she would be buried in Jordan, or if her body will be repatriated to the United States.

Christian worker murdered in Jordan

Jordan (IMB) ― Jordanian authorities are investigating the death of Southern Baptist worker Cheryll Harvey whose body was discovered in her apartment in Irbid, Jordan, on Tuesday, Sept. 4. Foul play has been confirmed in the death of the 55-year-old single woman from Texas.

Harvey had served the Jordanian people for 24 years, demonstrating the love of Jesus Christ through teaching English and other subjects in connection with the Jordan Baptist Society.

"Cheryll was greatly loved by both our personnel in the Middle East and by her many students," IMB President Tom Elliff said. "We are faced once again with a sobering reminder of the brevity of life and the importance of faithfully serving the Lord to the very end of our time on earth. Cheryll has left for us a great example that we should follow.

"She...will always be remembered for her quiet and unassuming spirit, as well as her passion for sharing the Good News," Elliff said.

Harvey was a member of College Heights Baptist Church in Plainview, Texas, and grew up attending First Baptist Church in Sudan, Texas. Family and colleagues in the United States have been notified and await word about the circumstances surrounding her death. Harvey is survived by two brothers who reside in Texas.

"As with any event such as this, it is imperative that we remember Cheryll's surviving family members and friends," Elliff said, "and that we lift them up in prayer during these days. We best honor her by giving honor to the Lord Whom she so faithfully served."

Robert Roecker, pastor of First Baptist Sudan, said the church is in a "state of shock." Harvey had visited her childhood church several times since Roecker became pastor, offering slideshows of her work in the Middle East.

A friend of Harvey's relayed to him that "Cheryll talked about how when she retired she might just stay in Jordan. She just really loved it there and loved the people."

"The thing that always astounded us was when you heard her speak she was just a meek and mild person with just a soft voice," Roecker recalled. "It's not the picture you have in your mind of someone who is on the front lines in Jordan. To have that courage and faith was amazing to us. The folks who knew her here were always saying how surprised they were at what was God was able to do through her."

LaDelta Vernon, Harvey's third-grade teacher who would often talk to her when Harvey came home on occasional furloughs, said she always imagined that the quiet, well-behaved girl with the distinctive laugh would grow up and raise three daughters. As it turned out, she never married. She was a helper, Vernon said, so her teaching English wasn't a surprise. Her teaching it in the Middle East was, however.

"She was a good student. If she was your friend, she was your best friend. She didn't talk behind people's back. She was just a sweet, sweet girl," Vernon said. "She was doing what she wanted to do, what God called her to do."