ON A WING AND A PRAYER

Have Hope, Will Travel.

The death of a missionary and her 7-month-old daughter, killed when their
plane was shot down in a joint Peruvian/American anti-drug mission over the
weekend, will not alter the travel plans of local residents wanting to
spread God's word and to bring hope to the hopeless.

"Every missionary that goes counts over and over the costs, but you have to
be able to come to terms," said Merrillville resident Lorella Rouster of
Every Child Ministries in Hebron.

If it comes to the end, though, said her husband, John Rouster, "I would
rather be in Africa in the will of God rather than in the United States out
of the will of God.

"We take the Gospel to the people of Africa. ... We give hope to those with
none."

As the Rousters prepared for Africa, the Bush administration and Peru
wrangled over who was responsible for the deaths of missionary Veronica
Bowers and her 7-month-old daughter, Charity.

Bush spokesmen suggested that Peru's military failed to follow established
rules of engagement in shooting down the American missionary plane.
Peruvian authorities insisted they acted properly.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the U.S. crew of a CIA-operated
surveillance aircraft tracking the missionary plane "did its best to make
certain that all the rules were followed."

Asked if they were, in fact, followed, he said "the information that we are
in receipt of indicates, no." Other officials said a Peruvian air force
officer aboard the anti-drug surveillance plane moved too quickly to
request authority to direct the use of force.

Peru's air force expressed regret Monday for the deaths of the Americans
but it denied that it cut corners.

"The only thing I can tell you is that the air force followed the
procedures," said spokesman Cmdr. Rommel Roca.

Sen. Bob Graham of Florida, the Senate Intelligence Committee's top
Democrat, said in an interview there were "big inconsistencies" in the
information the administration provided him on the incident, leading him to
believe it was too soon to draw conclusions about who was at fault.

Reports also indicated the Peruvian fighter pilot strafed the downed plane
as its survivors attempted to reach safety.

While the administration sorts out the details, the tragedy did not stop
the Rousters from their mission.

On May 28, the Rousters, together with the daughter they adopted in Africa
and her 4-year-old daughter, will fly to their mission in Ghana, Africa.

They will be joined in mid-June by seven other people from throughout the
United States.

None expressed any doubt about going in the aftermath of this weekend's
accident, John Rouster said.

Although they fly in a small plane similar to the one shot down in Peru,
the Rousters never have been afraid of overseas military operations.

In their 20 years of traveling to Ghana and the Republic of Congo, they
have always flown with the same company, which serves primarily missionaries.

But, Lorella said, there are times of fear for every missionary.

One night the Rousters were in the Congo on house arrest when they heard
rumors the neighborhood would be pillaged by warring soldiers.

"We knelt on the front porch ... and committed our lives again. And then we
went to bed," Lorella Rouster said.

When she heard gunshots early in the morning she got up and dressed, she
said, because she didn't want the soldiers to find her in her pajamas.

The morning passed without incident.

Lorella Rouster said accidents where a missionary is killed are rare. And,
she is sure Friday's military action was an accident.

"Accidents can happen wherever you are," she said.

"There's a risk involved whenever you get out of bed in the morning," John
Rouster said.

Meanwhile the pilot of the missionary plane said Monday he felt lucky to be
alive after landing in the Amazon River.

"It was scary and it's something that will haunt me for a long time," said
Kevin Donaldson, who suffered a shattered right leg. He was in fair
condition a day after surgery. "I'm glad to be alive. But I'm also deeply
hurting for the loss of my friend and colleague."