4 American missionary aid workers killed, 1 critically wounded in northern Iraq

RICHMOND, Va. — Four Americans researching needs for humanitarian projects in northern Iraq were killed and one was critically wounded in a drive-by shooting March 15 in Mosul. The workers were in the area under the auspices of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board.

Southern Baptists struggling with the loss of four workers and the wounding of a fifth in Iraq know that many others are mourning too, an International Mission Board leader said March 16 in a press conference at the agency's Richmond, Va., headquarters.

"We are grieving the loss of four colleagues and are concerned for a fifth colleague," said Clyde Meador, the board's executive vice president. "We know we are not alone in our grief.

"Many Americans and Iraqis have lost their lives in recent months. Our hearts go out in sympathy to the families, their friends and our colleagues who are grieving this tragic loss."

According to the IMB, the five were in a car in eastern Mosul when they were attacked with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades. Their assailants remain unidentified.

Three died at the scene: Larry and Jean Elliott, who had served with the IMB in Honduras since 1978 and transferred to the Middle East in February, and Karen Watson, who had been with the board since March 2003.

A fourth person, David McDonnall, died en route to a military support hospital in Baghdad. Four U.S. military surgeons had worked for six hours to save his life. His wife, Carrie, was airlifted to a hospital in Germany on Tuesday in critical condition. The McDonnalls began serving again with the International Mission Board in November 2003 after a 1999-2001 stint in the board's Journeyman Program.

The McDonnalls, who had met as IMB workers in the Middle East, celebrated their first wedding anniversary during a volunteer trip to Iraq last June.

Carrie McDonnall, the sole survivor of the attack is recuperating better than doctors expected and sent a personal message to be read by her sister at graveside services for her husband.

According to the family spokesman, Anita Bowden, emotionally it has been difficult for Carrie as the full realization of her husbands death began to settle in.

McDonnall underwent surgery March 24 in a Dallas-area hospital for nerve and skin grafts on her left hand and will begin physical therapy for the hand next week, according to family spokesman Van Payne. She lost most of three fingers on that hand during the attack.

Both risk and reward
SBC President Jack Graham, in a statement to Baptist Press, said, “… while we deeply grieve for this loss of life, we also rejoice in the sure confidence that our brothers and sisters are in the presence of Christ.”

“Our IMB personnel around the world understand both the risk and the reward of the call of Christ upon their lives. Certainly many of them travel to dangerous places and distant places to fully carry the cross and the message of the Gospel. But they also understand the great reward. The great missionary martyr Jim Elliot once wrote in his diary, ‘He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.’

At the White House, press secretary Scott McClellan, when responding to a reporter’s question about the four workers, lamented the loss.
“Obviously, they were there to help the Iraqi people realize a better future,” McClellan said. “And our thoughts and prayers are certainly with their families. This was a terrible tragedy, and they remain in our thoughts and prayers. And we are certainly grateful for all the efforts that they made to help the Iraqi people move forward on a better future.”

McClellan also reminded the reporters that aid workers from around the globe face similar risks.

“There are many people, from many different countries, that are providing humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people and helping in Iraq. And security is a very high priority for the Iraqi people for the coalition. And we continue to work together to improve the security situation in Iraq.”

The Missouri Baptist Convention, which inaugurated a partnership with Iraq last year, said the initiative will continue despite the deadly attack.

A team of Missouri Baptists had been scheduled to depart for Iraq March 20, but that trip has now been canceled. Future MBC trips to Iraq have been postponed as convention leaders assess how best to proceed with the partnership.

IMB President Jerry Rankin, when informed about the loss of the four workers March 15, said all Southern Baptists share the sorrow and grief of the families and co-workers.

“In times like this, there are no words that will take away the pain of a loved one’s violent death,” Rankin said. “Everyone in the IMB family and everyone who loves Southern Baptists’ overseas workers are grieving with the family members and co-workers of these precious souls.

“We are grateful that God Himself comes alongside us in our deepest sorrow and comforts us in a way no one else can.”

The International Mission Board has mobilized its prayer network and is asking Christians everywhere to pray for the healing of the injured workers and the comforting of all the families involved.

The board is ministering to the families of the victims. A field representative has been dispatched to the injured workers, who are being treated at a U.S. military hospital.

The deaths of the Elliotts, Watson and McDonnall came barely a year after IMB missionary Bill Hyde was killed by a terrorist's bomb at the airport in Davao City, Philippines. Just 14 months ago, Southern Baptists also suffered through the deaths of three workers who were murdered by a terrorist at the Baptist hospital in Jibla, Yemen.

A memorial service for David McDonnall was held March 20 in his hometown of Lamar, Colo. A service for Karen Watson was held March 24 in Bakersfield, Calif., and for the Elliotts March 25 in Cary, N.C.

Baptist Press
Christian Examiner staff contributed to this story.
Published, April 2004

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