Student missionary dies in Peru bus accident

BP

IMB student missionary Greg Gomez died in a bus accident while serving in Peru July 5.

RICHMOND, Va. (BP) — Gregory Gomez IV, 22, a student missionary serving in Peru for the summer through the International Mission Board, was killed in a bus accident July 5. Gomez was traveling with Lydia Shivar, another IMB student missionary, and a woman named Claudia, a national translator, when the accident occurred near the town of Abancay. Shivar and Claudia received only minor injuries.

A member of Crawford Baptist Church and the University of Georgia’s Baptist Collegiate Ministries, Shivar said Gomez’s devotion to spreading the gospel was evident.

“Greg was an awesome friend, teammate, and brother in Christ,” Shivar wrote on her blog (http://lydiashivar.blogspot.com) July 7. “He was a quiet leader who loved to talk about his Savior. His decision to come and work here was such a testimony to me. He just graduated and had a great job waiting for him, but he knew God was calling him to serve the summer here, so he obeyed.”

Gomez arrived in Lima, Peru, in late May with 60 other student missionaries to serve on the REAP (Rapid Entry Advance Plan) South Team. He had been traveling around southern Peru researching unreached people groups.

“Our researchers do all the footwork to provide us with the information we need to know what areas to enter, how long it takes to get there, and what we’re going to find when we get there,” said missionary Kathy Weaver. “It’s been the crowning glory of our ministry to have these students here.”

Fulfilling a mission

Originally from Natchez, Miss., Gomez lived just outside St. Louis, Mo. A recent graduate of the University of Mississippi, Gomez received a mechanical engineering degree. He was campus chapter president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, vice president of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity, and a member of the Engineering Student Body Executive Council. He was an engineering intern at the Nestlé Purina PetCare Product Technology Center.

A member of Bethel Baptist Church in Troy, Ill., Gomez also attended North Oxford Baptist Church in Oxford, Miss. He served on the Baptist Student Union leadership team, organized small-group Bible studies, and was involved in discipleship.

“Greg was doing what he considered to be the will of God,” Mo Baker, BSU director at Ole Miss, said. “He knew God wanted the nations to hear the gospel and he was willing to forsake or delay a career – opportunities to make money – so that he could fulfill a mission to preach the gospel to all the nations.”

Gomez is survived by his parents, Elida and Gregory Gomez III, of Glen Carbon, Ill., and two sisters.