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Samuel Heim, an official in Peru for the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, said that the mission's work would continue, but he added: "We plan to sit down with Peruvian authorities to ensure that such a tragic accident never happens again." Both the Peruvian and the U.S. authorities had expressed a sincere desire to get to the bottom of the incident, he said. "The offer seems correct and cordial, and I hope that the investigation is as transparent as possible."

Heim said ABWE had about 50 people in Peru, including children. The vast majority were U.S. citizens, although some were Peruvians born to missionary parents. They worked in the jungle city of Iquitos, in the northern coastal area and in the southern city of Arequipa.

He said the work focused on "teaching the Bible and sharing with everyone the message that God has given us." The Bowers began working in Peru in 1994, travelling up and down the Amazon River in their houseboat, visiting isolated communities which had had little or no contact with Catholicism, the biggest church in Peru.

The Bowers' children were adopted, with Charity joining the family in December last year. Thirty-five-year-old Roni Bowers had dreamed of being a missionary since she was 13, and vowed to marry someone who was willing to follow the same path.

"The day we left [the U.S.] for Peru was such a joyous day for us," she wrote in a personal testimony.

"Now I choose to trust God fully. He is in control; he knows what is best. When we as believers get to heaven, we won't have to ask: 'Why?' It will be worth it all," she wrote.

Copyright © 2001 ENI.

"It was the unwillingness to assign moral culpability for our drug problems that, just as much as the Peruvian Air Force, killed 'Roni' Bower and her daughter," writes Roberto Rivera, a columnist for Charles Colson's Breakpoint radio program and Web site.

Other recent media coverage of the incident includes:

A mission interrupted | Before she became a casualty of the drug war, Veronica Bowers waged her own crusade from a houseboat on the Amazon River — Time (May 7, 2001)

'They are killing us!' | A Peruvian fighter jet mistakenly shoots down U.S. missionaries, raising new questions about the drug war. An inside story of one family's devastating loss — Newsweek (May 7, 2001)

A puff of smoke, and then chaos at 4,000 feet | Drug war over Peru — USA Today (Apr 30, 2001)

Missionary: Resume drug surveillance in Peru — Associated Press/USA Today (Apr. 30, 2001)

Divine intervention | In a flash, missionary Jim Bowers lost his wife and child. But not his faith. — The Washington Post (Apr. 30, 2001)

Mother, baby killed in Peru buried — AP (Apr 29, 2001)

Peru drug fight scrutinized — AP (Apr 28, 2001)

Forgiveness is theme at slain missionary's funeral — The Washington Post (Apr 28, 2001)

Remembering mother and child | Church mourns pair killed in Peru — Detroit Free Press (Apr 28, 2001)

Peruvians hold memorial service — AP (Apr 28, 2001)

U.S. missionary blames no one for Peru deaths — Reuters (Apr 28, 2001)

Missionary forgives Peruvian pilot for downing plane — Voice of America (Apr. 28, 2001)

Missionaries facing world of new perils | Hostage-takings, robberies among on-the-job risks — Chicago Tribune (Apr. 28, 2001)

Simple, devoted lives on the Amazon | Tragedy does not appear to have weakened the ardor of the five remaining American missionary families who troll the Amazon around Iquitos on their houseboats for weeks at a time, playing gospel music from loudspeakers like pied pipers playing for souls. — The New York Times (Apr. 28, 2001)

Missionaries are a daring, dauntless band inspired by faith | As a foreign correspondent in Peru, I was awed by the almost indescribable passion missionaries brought to their work. Georgie Anne Geyer, Universal Press Syndicate/Chicago Tribune (Apr. 27, 2001)

Peru missionaries face dangers | For the two dozen or so U.S. missionaries who work in northeastern Peru, it's a life of risks. — Associated Press (Apr. 27, 2001)

Pilots decry missionary downing | U.S. did not ratify U.N. provision protecting civilian aircraft — The Washington Post (Apr. 26, 2001)

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April (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45