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3/29/2004 |
Elliotts remembered for laughter, smiles, heart
By Manda Roten
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CARY, N.C. (BP) -- Larry Elliott had a laugh so hearty it could fill the streets of Honduras or the villages of Iraq. When his wife, Jean, smiled, she could light up an entire nation. So said friends and family at a memorial service for the Elliotts held March 25 at First Baptist Church in Cary, N.C.
The Elliotts were killed March 15 in a drive-by shooting in Mosul, Iraq. Their coworkers Karen Watson and David McDonnall also died. McDonnall's wife, Carrie, survived the attack and is recovering in Texas.
The five International Mission Board workers were researching locations for water purification projects in Iraq.
Before working in Iraq, the Elliotts served for 26 years in Honduras.
"They loved the gospel and the souls of lost men and women more than themselves," said Stephen Rummage, interim senior pastor at First Baptist Church. Co-workers, former volunteers, friends and family overflowed the church sanctuary into the gym as they celebrated the Elliotts' lives.
LIVES CHANGED
The Elliotts' oldest son, Scott, read a version of the song "Thank You" -- written and made popular by Christian recording artist Ray Boltz -- and changed some lyrics to honor his parents. He told of a young prisoner his parents led to the Lord and of a couple in a foreign land to whom they demonstrated Christ's love and abundant life. And then, as he touched his own chest and looked upward, he said, "Thank you for living for the Lord. I am a life that was changed."
Cesar Pena, pastor of Communion Baptist Church in Honduras, read Matt. 5:3-12 in Spanish. Last week Pena and John Durham, pastor of First Baptist Church in Irving, Texas, and a longtime friend of the Elliotts, attended a memorial service for the couple in Honduras.
"The Hondurans arrived in waves on buses from churches and mission points all around Honduras," Durham reported.
"There's a beautiful tapestry of people in Honduras that have been impacted by the lives of Larry and Jean Elliott," he said. "People wanted to follow them -- I wanted to follow them -- because they followed Jesus with a whole-hearted passion."
He spoke of 12 Baptist churches, 92 mission points and more than 80 water wells made possible through the Elliotts' ministry.
"There is fruit to a life that is wholly yielded to God," he said.
POWER OF PRAYER
Larry and Jean Elliott firmly believed in the "power of prayer and possibilities of prayer," said Durham. They read God's Word and prayed together every morning, and they modeled this lifestyle when volunteers visited.
When Durham took a busload of teens to Honduras and the bus broke down, Larry instructed them to pray; within minutes the bus was working. When Durham's father was volunteering in Honduras, he and Larry prayed for a cement truck; soon afterwards, someone called, volunteering the equipment. And when a Honduran girl needed surgery, Larry asked another group of students to pray with him. Just after they said "amen," the phone rang, and a doctor in the United States was eager to help.
CALLING CONFIRMED
Durham read from a recent e-mail Jean wrote from Iraq. "We are happy to be here in Iraq, and our calling has been confirmed," she said. "This is a very special time for us, and God is so REAL. No matter what happens, we are in His hands, and we know that we are where we should be."
Just days later, the Elliots were killed. They died the same way they lived, Durham said -- with the gospel of Jesus Christ on their hearts and lips.
"We will stand on the shoulders of people like Larry and Jean Elliott until the gospel of Jesus Christ is taken to every people group around this world."
Durham noted the verse on the back of the program -- "But the word of God grew and multiplied" (Acts 12:24, KJV).
"That's what the Elliotts were doing. They were preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to every nation," he said.
And he challenged
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