Story number 1 for 15 Mar 2002

(USA)–We begin today in the United States where negotiations continue between a mission agency and the United States government. The Association of Baptists for World Evangelism is asking for restitution after their missionary plane was mistakenly shot down in a U-S/Peru joint drug operation last April killing Roni and Charity Bowers. Congressman Peter Hoekstra is assisting ABWE. “Jim Bowers, Kevin Donaldson, they haven’t received a dime from either the Peruvian or the U-S governments for the costs that occurred in this wrongful shoot down almost a year ago now. We want to make sure the missionary organization is make whole. They lost a plane.” They also want an apology. ABWE’s Don Davis hopes for positive results. “Missionary aviation is a very important part of our ministry. We believe that our missionaries ought to be able to fly safely, even though we believe our government should do all it can to control the flow of drugs into our culture. If we can use this event as a means of assuring that, then we want to do that.”