Student Missionary with Local Ties Dies in Peru

By Alex Fees

KSDK -- A 22-year-old missionary serving in Peru for the summer was killed July 5 in a bus accident.

Gregory Gomez IV was originally from Natchez, Mississippi, but his family had moved to Glen Carbon, Illinois, prior to his service in Peru.

Gomez's sister, Jennifer Lewis, said Greg was killed when the driver of a public transportation minivan he was riding in fell asleep and crashed into a hillside.

Gomez was a member of the Bethel Baptist Church in Troy, Illinois, and recently graduated from the University of Mississippi with a degree in mechanical engineering. He graduated from Edwardsville High School in 2004.

Pastor Tim Lewis said Gomez was part of the Internation Mission Board with the Southern Baptist Convention.

"Greg was on what they call an Extreme Team, and they were going to some of the most rural, rugged areas of Peru, finding what they call micro people groups," Lewis said. "They were finding out where those communities are, the kinds of language they speak, and then preparing the way for other missionaries who try to come in and try to plant churches.

"It's part of the Baptist family, and Greg was real involved. He was a student at Oxford, at University of Mississippi. And he was real involved in the Baptist collegiate ministry called BSU, or Baptist Student Union. He just had a great smile, and he had a passion and contagious personality, and a real love for Christ and for living."

Gomez had been employed by the Nestle-Purina Petcare Product Technology Center as an engineering intern.

"Well I think he lived his life with purpose; I think he felt like he was here for a reason, and that he had a purpose for living. And he wanted to get the very most out of it," Lewis said. "He believed God was a big part of that, in his life, but also he wanted to live life to its fullest."

In lieu of flowers, family members are asking that donations be made to an Ole Miss BSU Scholarship Fund established in Greg's name. Proceeds will go to other college students who want to work in the mission field.

Donations should be maild to:

Greg Gomez Memorial Fund Ole Miss BSU (Baptist Student Union) P.O. Box 292 University, MS 38677

Checks should be payable to "Ole Miss BSU."

Gomez's remains are being returned to the United States. Family members say funeral arrangements are pending. Gregory Gomez is survived by his parents and two sisters.