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Missionaries' son narrowly escapes Madrid bomb blasts


From "NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>
Date Fri, 12 Mar 2004 13:17:02 -0600

March 12, 2004 News media contact: Linda Bloom7(646)369-37597New York7
E-mail: newsdesk@umcom.org 7 ALL-I{104}  

NOTE: A graphic and a head-and-shoulders photograph of the Rev. R. Randy Day
are available at http://umns.umc.org.

A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom*

The son of a United Methodist missionary couple based in Madrid, Spain,
narrowly escaped one of the terrorist bomb blasts there.

Four commuter trains were bombed in coordinated attacks during the March 11
morning rush, killing nearly 200 people and injuring more than 1,400, and
plunging Spain into three days of mourning. According to The New York Times,
it was the deadliest terrorist attack in Europe since World War II.

Officials at the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries received an
e-mail message from the Rev. Mark Abbott, who serves with his wife, Diane, in
Madrid, after they were able to talk with their son, Chris, about his
experience.

Chris Abbott did not feel or hear the bomb blast when his train pulled into
the Santa Eugenia station one or two minutes later, according to his father.
"However, his car pulled in right next to the affected train," Mark Abbott
reported. "He saw the demolished car, dead bodies, severely injured people."

A man who rides the same train every day gave Chris a cell phone to allow him
to call his parents. His sister, Caroline, usually rides with him and carries
a phone but was not on the train that day.

"While talking on the phone, a classmate came up to him and told him that her
parents were coming to pick them up and take them to school, which is what
happened," Mark Abbott said. "Diane could never have gotten there by car. The
area was totally inaccessible."

Mark Abbott, a member of the Northwest Texas Annual (regional) Conference,
serves as a professor of New Testament in the United Evangelical Theological
Seminary, the oldest Protestant theological school in Spain. Diane Abbott
does translation work for the seminary program. They also have another son,
Andrew.

The Rev. R. Randy Day, chief executive of the Board of Global Ministries,
sent a letter of condolence and concern to the Rev. Alfredo Abad Heras, chief
executive of the Spanish Protestant Church.

"Such a great tragedy reminds us not only of the fragility of life, but also
of God's everlasting love," Day said. "The loss of loved ones and friends
strengthens our faith and unites us in fellowship with Christ. It calls us
toward greater efforts in peacemaking and reconciliation."

The World Council of Churches also sent a message of solidarity to the
churches and people of Spain.

In his e-mail message, Mark Abbott asked for prayers for the victims, their
families and even those behind the terror. Investigators are considering both
Basque separatists, who have fought against the Spanish government for years,
and Islamic terrorists as possible instigators for the attacks.

"When God confronted such evil in the person of Jesus, God did not respond
with an air raid or land the marines or send a plague," he wrote. "God
confronted inhumane and demonic evil with the Cross and thus broke the cycle
of violence, hatred and revenge. May God give us the grace to walk the way of
the Cross rather than the road of the Crusades."
# # #
*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.

 
 

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org


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