For the week of April 1, 2004 Missions worker update   The lone survivor of a March 15 attack on five Southern Baptist humanitarian aid workers in Iraq is back in the United States and recuperating better than doctors expected. Carrie Taylor McDonnall arrived March 20 at a Dallas-area hospital and underwent surgery there March 24. Doctors say they are "very pleased" with her progress. McDonnall received wounds in the chest, face and all four limbs in the attack, which killed her husband, David, and co-workers Karen Watson and Larry and Jean Elliott. The doctors reported that arm and leg bones shattered by small arms fire are aligned and healing - and McDonnall’s facial injuries do not appear to require reconstructive surgery. And while McDonnall lost most of three fingers on her left hand, her thumb and middle finger are intact, leaving her with a functional hand. McDonnall had recovered enough to send a message to be read at a graveside service for her husband.   Walk Like a Wildcat   Louisiana College has scheduled a "Walk Like a Wildcat" event to give high school students a chance to visit the Pineville campus and learn about the school. High school students will have the chance … [Read more...]

Given the opportunity, Southern Baptists demonstrate again and again a unified commitment to missions. A case in point is the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions. Given the opportunity, Southern Baptists demonstrate again and again a unified commitment to missions. A case in point is the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions.   While giving to the Cooperative Program has slowed in some state conventions, giving to the three major missions offerings - international, North American, state - has remained solid. Word came recently that last year’s giving to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions hit another record. In spite of what seems to be an economic downturn over the last couple of years, giving to the offering last year was 1 percent over the previous year’s. All told, the offering hit $49,560,279 in 2003.   That was last year. What will Southern Baptists and Louisiana Baptists do this year?   The need for missions and evangelism in our homeland has not been greater in recent decades than it is today. For instance, ecumenical ministerial alliances in many Louisiana cities and towns must now ask themselves, … [Read more...]

A handwritten letter from Karen Watson to her pastors is proof the Southern Baptist missions worker was resolved to obey God as he called her to follow him past the comforts of home and into a faraway land where millions need to know him. A handwritten letter from Karen Watson to her pastors is proof the Southern Baptist missions worker was resolved to obey God as he called her to follow him past the comforts of home and into a faraway land where millions need to know him.   The commitment eventually cost Watson, 38, her life. She was one of four humanitarian aid workers who died in Iraq after their vehicle was ambushed March 15.   Larry and Jean Elliott of Cary, N.C., and David McDonnall of Rowlett, Texas, also perished. McDonnall’s wife, Carrie, was severely injured in the attack and remains in stable condition at a hospital in Dallas.   "When God calls there are no regrets," Watson wrote in a letter to Phil Neighbors and Roger Spradlin, co-pastors of Valley Baptist Church in Bakersfield, Calif., where she was a member since 1997.   The letter is dated March 7, 2003. It was written just before Watson left for the Middle East and was meant to be opened only upon her … [Read more...]

David McDonnall was a master storyteller who was willing to die so that others could hear the story of Jesus, close friends said in a memorial service for the slain missions worker last week. David McDonnall was a master storyteller who was willing to die so that others could hear the story of Jesus, close friends said in a memorial service for the slain missions worker last week.   He was an "on-mission Christian all the time," friend Chris McKinney said.   McKinney drew laughter and nods of agreement from the crowd packed into the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary auditorium as he told about a time he and McDonnall were standing in line at Wendy’s.   "All of a sudden, I heard David speaking in Arabic back behind me," McKinney said. "All I could think was, ... ‘He’s found the only Arabic-speaking people in all of southwest Fort Worth and he’s talking to them.’ ...   "Within 30 seconds of being at Wendy’s, David was on mission for Jesus Christ, sharing the gospel with these people who had probably never heard it before."   McDonnall was one of four Southern Baptist missions workers killed in an attack near Mosul, Iraq, earlier this month. He was a … [Read more...]

These days, 83-year-old Carter Hall teaches a FAITH evangelism class at Fairview Baptist Church in Coushatta. But for the former pastor who has served Louisiana Baptist churches for more than 60 years, Hall’s life has mirrored the name of the class he teaches. These days, 83-year-old Carter Hall teaches a FAITH evangelism class at Fairview Baptist Church in Coushatta.   But for the former pastor who has served Louisiana Baptist churches for more than 60 years, Hall’s life has mirrored the name of the class he teaches.   "Faith is a big factor in my life," says Hall, who was presented a plaque last fall by Fairview Pastor Stephen McAbee for his 60 years in the ministry. "Faith in the Lord has been the theme of my life."   Hall says faith brought him through the Depression during his grammar school days.   "We were so poor we didn’t know there was a Depression," Hall recalls.   "We didn’t have to worry about how much money we’d spend because we didn’t have money to spend."   Raised in Walker, he was the fourth of seven children born to George and Addie Hall. His father held a job as a postal service mail carrier, but his paycheck provided little money … [Read more...]

As often happens in other fields, the find of Gabriel Barkay’s career as a biblical archaeologist rose at the intersection of careful calculation and happy accident - the latter provided in his case by a bored 12-year-old helper who whacked the stone floor of an Israelite burial vault with a heavy hammer. As often happens in other fields, the find of Gabriel Barkay’s career as a biblical archaeologist rose at the intersection of careful calculation and happy accident - the latter provided in his case by a bored 12-year-old helper who whacked the stone floor of an Israelite burial vault with a heavy hammer.   His name was Nathan. Too scattered and mischievous to be of much help, he had been dispatched to clean a worked-over corner of Barkay’s dig just outside the old city of Jerusalem, a largely overlooked archaeological site that Barkay thought might yield material for his dissertation.   But the stone floor turned out to be the ceiling of a concealed void beneath. And Nathan’s hammer blow punched through to a repository containing hundreds of vessels of pottery, personal jewelry and other effects untouched for 2,600 years.   Among them was the find of finds - two tiny, … [Read more...]