There is a remote possibility that some of the kidnapped missionaries are my remote cousins. Why? Because (in the TV news) I saw a picture of the Dunkard Brethren Church. I checked the Internet and found this story. My extended family can be found in churches with various “Brethren” names. My heart was burdened when I first heard the news. Now, I have an extra burden.

“Among the kidnapped are members of a family from the congregation of Dunkard Brethren Church in Hart, Michigan, according to the church’s minister, Ron Marks.”

Another article located on the Internet.

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CONFIRMED: As I was preparing this blog message, I received the following email message (obviously, a forwarded message).

To: Dunkard-Brethren@groups.io <Dunkard-Brethren@groups.io>

Sent: Saturday, October 16, 2021, 05:06:32 PM EDT

Subject: [Dunkard-Brethren] Prayer request

I think that many of you have already heard that 6 of  my son, Ray Noecker’s family were part of a group of 17 that were kidnapped as they went to visit at an orphanage in Haiti this morning. Please keep these people and their families in your prayers.

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CONFIRMED: An hour later and I have not (yet) developed the “Noecker” family in my Ancestry.com database. However, I found a “Noecker” young woman married to one of my fifth cousins–and they live in Michigan.