Tanzania (MNN) ― Southern Baptist missionaries Carl and Kay Garvin are in stable condition following a robbery, February 23rd near Moshi, Tanzania.
Reports indicate that shortly after they checked into their hotel room in Spellwell, Tanzania, the robbers attacked. The men were using machetes to break down the door. When Carl tried to brace the door, the machete cut through the door and into his arm. Upon wrestling the sword away from the attacker, Kay, 56, picked it up, and a robber shot her in the chest.
According to the Baptist Press, the bullet entered close to her heart, missing the aorta by half an inch. It went through the lung and nestled against the skin on her back. Her husband Carl, 60, suffered a broken arm and lacerations. He also will have surgery to repair ligament damage to his knee.
A trained nurse, Carl's emergency medical training and swift response is credited with saving his wife's life shortly after the attack. The Garvin's wounds were severe enough that they had to be moved to Nairobi, Kenya, by air.
The Arkansas couple are first-term missionaries working in evangelism and church planting in Tanzania. They were helping three volunteers who were working on a short-term mission project. No one else was hurt in the attack, though one of those volunteers assisted in helping fight off the robbers. They got away with money and a backpack of digital cameras. It remains unknown as to whether the robbers have been captured.
The Garvins had resigned from the pastorate of Valley Springs First Baptist Church after they had served there for 17 years. They also helped in building the new Family Life Center at the church. Carl also served as school nurse at Valley Springs, while Kay was a teacher at Valley Springs and Green Forest.
Pray for the Garvins' continued work and for their healing.
