Matthew 5:44 "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"

Services were held recently for three Baptist missionaries to Yemen in Richmond, VA. These individuals were dedicated healers who  "gave of themselves freely." They were memorialized after being murdered by an alleged Islamic militant who may be connected to al-Qaida. Jibla Baptist Hospital administrator William E. Koehn, purchasing agent Kathleen A.  Gariety and physician Martha C. Meyers worked for International Mission Board in Richmond. Yemeni officials have since installed metal detectors in the hospital, and are urging American missionaries to be cautious.

Dr. Meyers originally had gone to Yemen on a short term mission trip in Medical School. She turned down a lucrative medical practice in Georgia to return and serve the people she had grown to love in Yemen. She chose to leave the relative comfort and safety of the capital of Yemen to travel to the areas of the greatest need. She chose the remote Ibb province where Baptist Hospital has operated for 35 years.

The local Yemeni people loved and mourned for the missionaries. An American missionary there after the horrendous episode shared a story of prayer while walking with the spouse of one of the slain missionaries through the streets of the village. Adults and children alike poured into their homes to apologize for what happened. As in the early church, God continues to use martyrs to break through spiritual walls and to spread the gospel in difficult lands. It is a witness that the most hardened heart cannot deny.

Pray for medical missionaries serving in difficult places in the Middle East and that God will call many more to step into the shoes of those slain.

The president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Jack Graham, called the murdered workers, "martyrs". Jerry Rankin, president of the International Mission Board, said missionaries would continue working in the hospital, despite increased warnings from U.S. officials, and share the life changing love of Christ.

Palms 116:15 "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints."

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