A Mission Interrupted

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On the morning of Roni's death, the Bowers were returning from an errand--applying for a visa for Charity. Jim Bowers was feeding Charity Cheerios when the Peruvian jet dived toward them. He handed the baby to Roni. Seconds later, bullets ripped through the cabin--one entering Roni's back and going into Charity's skull. Both died instantly. The plane was thrown into a steep spiral, and flames erupted all around them. Seriously wounded in both legs, pilot Kevin Donaldson somehow managed to land the plane. In the chaos, Bowers pulled the bodies of his wife and daughter from the burning wreckage. Bowers and his son perched atop the capsized plane's pontoons until natives arrived in a canoe half an hour later.

Despite the outrageousness of the killings, the missionaries have refused to place blame. Said Bowers at the memorial service for his wife and child: "Cory and I are experiencing inexplicable peace right now. God gets people's attention with a crisis." Since the deaths, the A.B.W.E. says interest in becoming a missionary has spiked. And Roni's smile and story have reached more people than she dreamed possible.