[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 134 (Tuesday, October 9, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1834]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   IN MEMORIAM--CHARLES DAVID MANKINS, MARK VERNON RICH, RICHARD LEE 
                                TENENOFF

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOHN L. MICA

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 9, 2001

  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, October 6, 2001, the family and 
friends of Dave Mankins, Mark Rich and Rick Tenenoff, three New Tribes 
Missionaries, gathered in Central Florida to celebrate their lives, 
work and service to our Lord. On January 31, 1993 they were taken from 
their families in the Darien jungles of Panama by Colombian guerillas. 
These missionaries had come to Central America to minister with a 
message of peace and love of God. They were held captive in Colombia 
and died at the hands of their captors in 1996.
  Their heroic wives, Nancy Mankins, Tania Rich and Patti Tenenoff and 
New Tribes Mission officials made every possible effort to secure the 
release or learn the fate of their husbands and colleagues. Only recent 
accounts by guerilla defectors have validated reports that the men were 
killed in 1996.
  Over the past 8 years it has been my honor to work with the wives of 
these three missionaries. They were unrelenting in their quest to 
secure the return of their husbands to their families and freedom. They 
brought their message of hope for the release of their loved ones to 
presidents, ministers, heads of state, ambassadors and to international 
organizations. They mounted an unprecedented campaign to free their 
husbands based on determination and faith. Over the years and through 
most difficult times, Nancy, Tania and Patti demonstrated an 
unparalleled love for their husbands and trust in God. They are true 
heroes who are now left to raise their children and comfort their 
families. To each of these extraordinary wives, their children and 
their families, I extend my deepest sympathy.
  While we mourn the loss of these three devoted missionaries, we also 
celebrate their lives. Today with hate, distrust and anger in the 
world, it is a consolation to know that three men have sacrificed their 
lives in order to spread a message of faith in God, hope and love. 
Today in the United States Congress we remember and pay tribute to Dave 
Mankins, survived by his wife Nancy and their children Chad and Sarah; 
to Mark Rich, survived by his wife Tania and their daughters Tamra and 
Jessica; and to Rick Tenenoff, survived by his wife Patti and their 
children Dora, Connie and Lee.

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