Highlights of Life

We went to church service this past Sunday, and heard for the very first time of how 3 missionaries in Turkey had been killed.  Being busy, and away from the news lately, I think I’ve been a little out of touch with world news.  Which actually was quite a restful and good reprieve after listening to the coverage on the Virginia shootings.

Anyways, tonight, with a little breathing space in my schedule, I googled the story.  What I read simply broke my heart.  It’s a story that is terrible, and gruesome, and rings of viciousness and rage.  Premeditated murders of 3 Christian missionary men by a group of young Muslim men who were supposedly “seeking” to learn more about the Bible.  The inhumanity of how they tortured and killed these men is awful.. awful… awful.

And yet, the grace, and forgiveness of the surviving family members of these missionaries (wives, children etc) towards the killers is redeeming and incredibly sweet.  Here is a link that outlines the story quite fully:

http://www.samshua.com/blog/2007/05/02/drunk-with-blood/#more-609

My heart just cries out for the 3 men that died.  I am sooo sad.  I am sad for the women who lost their husbands/fiances.  I am sad for the young children who lost their father.  I am sad for the churches that lost their leaders.  Horrific murders, and horrible losses… and yet such sweet forgiveness freely given by the victims’ families.