Southern Baptist 32-year legacy lives on

Physician Martha Myers, hospital administrator Bill Koehn,
 and purchasing manager Kathy Gariety were killed Dec. 30, 2002
when a militant gunman burst into a room where they were holding an
early-morning meeting. He opened fire on them with a semiautomatic pistol,
 then moved to another room where he shot pharmacist Don Caswell twice.
 (Image courtesy of IMB)

Yemen (MNN/IMB) ― It's been just over decade since three Southern Baptist hospital workers were shot and killed in Yemen, and the Southern Baptist International Mission Board says one of the victim's passions is passing on to the next generation.

On December 30, 2002, a Muslim militant entered Jibla Baptist Hospital and shot Bill Koehn, Martha Myers, Kathy Gariety and Don Caswell. Myers died almost instantly, while hospital workers did their best to save Gariety and Koehn. Only Caswell survived.

Marty Koehn made it to the hospital before her husband passed away, and she was able to spend a few precious moments with Bill before he went to be with the Lord. After his passing, Marty realized there were many decisions to be made: would she stay in Yemen? Would she return to the United States?

Within 30 minutes of becoming a widow, she sensed an answer.

"Out of the blue, the Lord brought to mind Elisabeth Elliot's story," says Koehn. "I had never read the book, and of course the movie wasn't out at that point, but I had heard of [Elliot's] story, and the Lord reminded me of it.

"To me, it was His clear indication that I was supposed to go back to Yemen."

After going home to the United States to grieve and spend time with her two daughters, Koehn returned to Yemen -- a land where she and Bill had served for nearly 30 years. Upon her return, Koehn also found a role in which to serve: purchasing agent and warehouse manager for the hospital.

It had previously been filled by Kathy Gariety.

"To me, this was another indication God wanted me to go back," Koehn says. "That was the one job I could do because it required someone who knew both English and Arabic, and it was a nonmedical position.

"[The Lord] was preparing everything."
On December 31, 2002 -- the day after the shootings -- Jibla Baptist Hospital was transferred from Southern Baptist ownership to the Yemeni government. The government assumed responsibility of the medical facility in 2003 and continued to employ Southern Baptist workers until its closing in May 2007. Koehn chose this time to retire in Texas to be near family.

Bill and Marty's legacy is living on in a granddaughter who is considering the mission field. She had visited her grandparents in Yemen as a child and seen their ministry firsthand.

Pray that the Lord would guide her steps.

Yemen is in the Top 10 on the Open Doors USA World Watch List, a ranking of 50 countries where persecution of Christians for religious reasons is worst. Many Christians have been abducted, physically harmed and killed, and churches have been damaged or destroyed. Tens of thousands of Christians have fled Yemen.

As Egypt marks one year since revolution, Christians look past surface tension to real need

Photo by Ramy Raoof,
 Demonstrators heading to Tahrir
 Square in January 2011

Egypt (IMB/MNN) ― Egypt's new lower house of parliament just held its first session two days ago, after completing an historic election that put Islamic groups in the legislative lead.

A year ago, Cairo was in turmoil as thousands of angry protesters clashed with government soldiers and tanks.

While the square seems calm, there's an energy that leads Christian worker to note the region's volatility.

Lucy Hamilton (not her real name), with the Southern Baptist International Mission Board says the Arab Spring was the manifestation of the tension in the region. "In Egypt at least, there's a revolution attitude of ‘I can do what I want' because people are disillusioned and desperate, and the police force is unable to keep up with petty crime problems."

The changes in Egypt haven't been as deep as many expected, but they have still made a region-wide impact, says Nik Ripken (not his real name), who has served 25 years with the International Mission Board and is an expert on the persecuted church in Muslim contexts.

"I believe that the Arab Spring and what has happened in Egypt has begun to redefine the Arab if not the entire Muslim world," Ripken says. "What has happened to Mubarak has so terrified the leaders of countries like Yemen and Syria,  and of course we saw what played out in Libya -- that no dictator or leader is now willing to participate in a peaceful transition to a more democratic or less corrupt form of government."

The people seem to want something as different as possible from the leadership they've had, Ripken notes, adding that this may mean a more Islamic form of government.

Because Egyptian people don't feel like they have gotten the jobs, economic improvement, new opportunities or respect, not much has changed in their view. Proving Ripken's point, the winners of the elections came from the Muslim Brotherhood and the ultra-conservative Salafi al-Nour party.

But with this, much like Tahrir Square on its peaceful days, things may not be exactly as they appear, says Ripken. "This is not necessarily a bad thing from a believer's point of view, because having conversations concerning faith and religion are more important for us than conversations about government and corruption." Ripken continues, "Often it is in the most conservative of Muslim hearts that we are finding God appearing to them in dreams and visions and sending them on a spiritual pilgrimage that can last for years, where they secretly read the Bible many times and have quiet discussions with followers of Jesus Christ."

Hamilton says a sense of hopelessness in the government can bring them to Christ, too.

"We hear that many are turning to the One whose Kingdom is just and merciful and has no end," she says. "The church in Egypt also seems to be waking up as never before. It is great to watch Him use His church in the work of revolutionizing hearts."

In the light of this, Ripken says, "We want to pray that we will take every opportunity we can to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give that cold cup of water in Jesus' name. We must pray for the absence of fear for both believers in country and those from the West who are seeking to meet the needs of both the body and soul inside these countries." 

Pray that people will have access to the Gospel through any means possible. Ripken concludes with this thought: "Now we have time to prepare the next generation for going to people groups and countries that have experienced massive change."