Soon after the missionaries entered Kenya, a beautiful little girl was born to Shawn and Linda.  The arrival of Melanie added to the missionaries’ joy in their new work.  A year later their joy turned into a grief unimaginable.  One afternoon, little Melanie toddled out into the drive just as another missionary couple was leaving.  They did not see her wander in front of their Jeep as they started out, and she was run over.  Her frantic parents rushed her by mission plane to a hospital in Nairobi, but it was too late.  Melanie died on the way.

Both missionary couples were devastated. They had given their lives to serve God in a foreign country. How could this happen?  Why did this happen?  Was this Satan’s way of trying to stop a good work even before it had begun?  The news traveled rapidly to the states and the supporting churches.  All were struck down by the news.  The elders at Quaker Avenue called the Tylers to discuss what they wanted to do:  Come home?  Bury their child in the states?  Change their plans for foreign mission work?  The elders assured them that they would support the Tylers in whatever decision they chose to make.  Shawn and Linda discussed it.  They were heart broken, but as tragic as Melanie’s death was, it did not change the fact that they had committed themselves to go to Kenya.  That commitment was not conditional on nothing bad happening.  Soon they informed the elders of their decision to stay and that they would bury Melanie in Africa.  Supporters were informed of the tragedy and urged to pray for the mission team.  What followed was an outpouring of sympathy and a bonding together of missionaries and supporters in a way that might never have happened if not for the tragedy. 

After a while in the States to be with family, the Tylers did return to Kenya.  The Kenyans took note and were surprised.  Later they would share with the Tylers that they never expected them to come back to Kenya after their little girl’s death.  Missionaries rarely stayed in their country more than a few years anyway.  When Shawn and Linda did return, the Kenyans knew the missionaries genuinely loved them, and they were profoundly moved by such sacrificial love.

This tragic loss opened hearts and doors to the gospel and strengthened the resolve and commitment of the Tylers.  Once again God took Satan’s evil and redeemed it for good. Twenty five years later, Shawn and Linda are now seasoned missionaries.  God has since given the Tylers two other children, Noah and Natalie, who have blessed them and the work immeasurably.  Through this bitter tragedy, God has worked out great blessings for them and for the work.  Melanie’s life, though tragically shortened, would have a profound impact on the future work in Kenya, and later in Uganda and the Sudan.

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SPIRITUAL TRUTH #4

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purpose.  Romans 8:28