[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 8, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E23]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO MARTHA C. MYERS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MIKE ROGERS

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 7, 2003

  Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, on December 30, 2002, Dr. Martha 
C. Myers died doing what she loved--helping and healing people as a 
missionary in Yemen.
  Her death last Monday was the result of an Islamic extremist who 
smuggled a gun into her hospital and opened fire. The gunman killed not 
only Dr. Myers but also two of her American colleagues and seriously 
wounded another. This act of senseless brutality against those devoted 
to goodness reminds us just how dangerous the world is even for those 
doing God's work.
  Dr. Myers, a Jefferson County native, grew up in Montgomery wanting 
nothing more in life than to be a missionary. The daughter of Dr. Ira 
and Dorothy Myers, Martha Myers graduated from Robert E. Lee High 
School in 1963, and after completing her medical degree at the 
University of Alabama at Birmingham, committed to missionary life and 
doing what she believed God wanted her to do.
  In 1977 she was assigned to Yemen as a missionary for the 
International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, working 
in the 80-bed hospital which treated more than 40,000 patients a year. 
Dr. Myers' medical career spanned 25 years as an obstetrician and 
surgeon, saving lives and giving hope.
  Her brother Stephen said Martha gave away most of her small medical 
salary to others she felt more in need. She even recently divested her 
savings account to help pay the cost of a kidney transplant for one of 
the hospital patients.
  Dr. Myers was a model citizen, a committed Christian, a shining 
example for us all.
  President Bush has promised to bring to justice those responsible for 
the slayings. I join the President and my fellow citizens in strongly 
condemning this brutal act of murder and will work to ensure the United 
States Government and Yemeni officials work together to investigate the 
causes of this attack. We can not and should not tolerate the merciless 
killings of innocent Americans working and living abroad.
  Let us send our condolences to the family of Dr. Martha Myers and our 
prayers that their grief may be soothed. But most importantly, let us 
keep the memory of Dr. Myers alive so her mission may not die in vain, 
but serve as a shining example for future American missionaries working 
to spread peace and hope throughout the world.

                          ____________________