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.

Syrian nightmare continues; believers deliver respite

(Photo courtesy Baptist Global Response)

Syria (BGR/MNN) ― Syria's government forces spent much of Thursday in a violent confrontation with rebels in parts of the capital city.

Pro- and anti-Assad gunmen, fueled by tensions in neighboring Syria, were also fighting over the border in Lebanon's city of Tripoli, nullifying a truce less than 24 hours old.

At the same time, the U.S. and Turkey held an "operational planning" meeting aimed at ending  Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's embattled regime.

In the 18-months since the first rebellion during the "Arab Spring," the United Nations estimates 2.5 million people are in need of humanitarian aid. The flow of refugees to neighboring countries continues its steady growth, although there are many thousands still trapped within Syria. Civilian deaths, according to observer reports topped 21,000 earlier this month. That number has climbed higher over the last two weeks.

Despite the growing desperation, there are some who bring hope and light with the gentle knock at the door. Baptist Global Responsesays there's a Syrian Christian couple living in a neighboring country who is delivering food and other basic necessities to internal refugees.

These Christians are going into Sunni Muslims neighborhoods near one of the Syrian cities hit hard by shelling and army-rebel combat. The nearby area, populated primarily by Syrian Christians, has been spared the worst of the violence.

"I don't know that there's any 'safe zone' in Syria, but because this area is largely Christian, it hasn't been a target of a lot of the fighting," a Christian worker says. "A lot of refugees who didn't leave the country went to this area and sought refuge. There's a great opportunity there. We're in the very beginning stages of that project.The severity of the need is greater inside the country than what we're seeing [among refugees leaving the country]."

Confused and frightened, thousands of Syrians are looking for something to cling to. They are disillusioned by the war around them and respond to Truth that appears on their doorstep in the form of physical aid, the compassion of Christ, and ultimately, the Word of God.

"In the midst of all the violence, you see these bright spots and know He really is at work and drawing the hearts of people to Himself," the aid worker says. Pray for as these workers share the hope of Christ.