A Scottish Christian missionary studying in Israel was killed this week by a Palestinian bomb. She was waiting at a bus stop. Mary Jean Gardner was a language specialist.
The Scotsman reported:
A “BRAVE and gentle” missionary from Scotland died in a bomb blast that ripped through a bus stop in Jerusalem.
Palestinian militants have been blamed for the explosion that killed Mary Jean Gardner and injured 50 people.
The former teacher was involved in Christian missionary work and had been studying at the Hebrew University in the city.Ms Gardner, 59, who was unmarried, worked in Orkney about 20 years ago as a travelling languages teacher and latterly was working for Wycliffe Bible Translators. She spent much of her life in Togo, where she was part of a team translating the New Testament into a language called Ife. Colleagues said she was in Israel for six months studying Hebrew in order to go back to Togo to translate the Old Testament.
Last night, Ms Gardner’s mother Jean, who lives in the Aberdeenshire village of Old Rayne, said: “We have nothing to say at the moment. It’s not been confirmed yet so we can’t say anything right now.”
James Stockan, vice convener of Orkney Islands Council and a family friend, was shocked and saddened by the news. He said: “Terrorism incidents across the world can seem so far removed from our life in Orkney, but this incident shows that sadly this is not always the case.
“When you see something on television from so far away you cannot believe it will have a personal effect on you in the way in which this has done.”
He added: “She was a brave, tenacious lady whose incredible achievements in translating and teaching the Bible and putting the local dialect into print for the people of Togo were immense.
