I am glad to hear that both of them will make a full recovery. It is so unfortunate that something like that happen to missionaries around the world.
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KUTV) SOUTH AFRICA Two women serving Mormon missions in South Africa were attacked by four men and one of the women was shot and wounded, a church spokeswoman said. The women, who were serving in the South Africa Durban Mission, were assaulted Friday evening at Port Shepstone, said Kim Farah, a spokeswoman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The wounded missionary remained hospitalized, but was expected to make a full recovery, Farah said Monday night. The other missionary was treated and released. |
A terrible thing, Sisters or Elders who are attacked or harmed while serving a mission! Yes, it would make especially Sisters be more cautious. I wouldn't be surprised if the Church makes some kind of change in how Sisters are to travel.
An update on this case. If it is true, who knows the Church may stop sending Sister missionaries for good...This is so tragic.
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Two women serving Mormon missions in South Africa were attacked by four men and one of the women was shot and wounded, a church spokeswoman said. The women, who were serving in the South Africa Durban Mission, were assaulted Friday evening at Port Shepstone, said Kim Farah, a spokeswoman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. South African media have reported the women were raped. The wounded missionary, who is from Kenya, remained hospitalized, but was expected to make a full recovery. The other missionary, who is from California, was treated and released. Church spokesman Dale Bills said South African police have arrested four suspects in connection with the case. |
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Durban - Two young foreign missionaries who ran into a "four-person crime wave" were repeatedly raped and robbed next to a busy road on the South Coast. One of the Mormon missionaries, a 22-year-old woman from Kenya, was shot in the stomach when their attackers scratched around in the women's bags for valuables after the rapes. The bullet lodged in her rib cage. After she and her 21-year-old Californian colleague were raped in Port Shepstone about 17:00 on Friday, the attackers went on a rampage. In the space of 2½ hours they attacked and robbed three more groups of people within five kilometres of the rapes, said captain Vincent Pandarum on Monday. The two missionaries, who have worked for the past four months in Port Shepstone, were walking back to their rented garden flat. They had been speaking in a park at Oslo Beach to a group of deaf young people about the Mormon church (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Mormon missionary president in KwaZulu-Natal and Swaziland Danny Brock said on Monday: "They were walking alongside a busy road (the old Harding highway), which they knew well. "Moreover, it was one of the busiest times of the day with cars whizzing past. Safer than that, you would not get." He said a man with a pistol stopped the two women near a primary school and ordered them into the bushes where the other attackers waited. One was armed with a knife. Brock said: "The two 'sisters' voluntarily gave up 18 months of their lives to make a difference in this country. "Now, they're getting the best care money can buy. When this is over, they plan to remain in South Africa and complete their missionary work." |
I was hoping it did not go as far as rape, because this can lead to pregnancy, aids or worst. I am also surprised about the idea of even continuing in the mission. The Church will send these Sisters home as they need the kind of help that only loved ones can provide. They are most likely still in shock.
This is terrible and very sad news. It's fortunate that both missionaries escaped with their lives. I'm glad that all four men have been arrested and hope they are punished to the full extent of the law. It sounds as though the missionaries were taking precautions to be safe, but it did them little good.
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He said a man with a pistol stopped the two women near a primary school and ordered them into the bushes where the other attackers waited. |
Sometimes shock directs actions, but for me I am not following anyone to the bushes, car or otherwise, because that is like giving up your ability to act. The best thing they could of done was scream and run.
JB, I understand what you are saying but there are some people that just "freeze" in a situation like that and they are not themselves. Maybe these girls have thought like you before actually happened to them, but until a person is in that situation, you do not know really how you would react.