A Mission Interrupted

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How is it that a woman from Virginia with a glossy American smile ends up in a seaplane, carrying her infant daughter over the jungle canopy of Peru? There are an estimated 420,000 Christian missionaries worldwide, but most Americans cannot fathom the choices made by Veronica (Roni) Bowers--a woman who raised her children on a houseboat on the Amazon and preached the gospel to people who have never seen a light bulb. Behind the battery of urgent questions about the tragic downing of the missionary plane are quieter ones about the people who died.

Roni Bowers' life looked a lot like something out of The Mosquito Coast: she and her family lived on a 55-ft. houseboat with two bedrooms and a solar-powered refrigerator. They collected rainwater in tanks on the roof, which they filtered for drinking. From their home base in Iquitos, they motored back and forth along a lush 200-mile stretch of the Amazon, making regular stops at some 50 villages to set up volleyball nets, read Bible stories and show religious films off the boat's generator. For Roni, everyday worries included making sure her adopted son, Cory, 7, didn't fall into the sweeping undertow of the brown river and keeping her newly adopted baby, Charity, safe from cholera and malaria.

Ironically, the desperation of the jungle was what made the Bowers so eager to work there. In this "spiritually dark corner of the world," as Jim Bowers described it in a recruitment video, many people have never seen a church. "They go through life with no knowledge of the living God who created them." Asked Roni: "Can you imagine never having the chance to listen to a Bible story as a child?" Says Sherry Boykin, who worked upriver from Roni until last year: "You have no idea what a wonderful thing it is to do. The people, literally, physically tugged at us. Every ear held on every word we said."

It helped, of course, that the missionaries brought more than just Scripture to the villagers. They gave out food and medicine too. "Aspirin was like a gold nugget," Boykin says. As North Americans, they enjoyed celebrity status in rural Peru. They came from a richer, cleaner, shinier planet far, far away. "They would set up a hammock for you in their hut and bring out fish and fruit," says Boykin. "You could be there forever and not find out that every time you finish eating, they're in back eating your leftovers."

In between the humanitarian handouts, the Bowers spent most of their time trying to win converts. Jim, 37, ran Bible schools and played hymns on his guitar. Roni, 35, focused on the women and children. In her first year, she struggled with Spanish. But soon Roni was creating coloring books in the different local dialects and laminating them against the humidity. Warmth radiated from Roni, those who knew her say. She didn't need the spotlight. She preferred to please people with an encouraging word or a home-cooked meal. "She was a very down-to-earth person," says Boykin, "which was a good thing in the Amazon. High-strung people don't do well there."