Zenas Loftis (1881 to )
Protestant
Voluntary Martyr.
Zenas Loftis was born. Inspired by the story of Dr. Susie Carson Rijnhart whose husband and child were murdered as the three traveled to bring the gospel to Tibet, he left Nashville Tennessee for the same difficult mission field. Beside the grave of a martyred missionary, he wrote, "...if it be Thy will that I, too, should find a grave in this dark land, may it be one that will be a landmark and an inspiration to others..." A smallpox epidemic broke out and he treated the victims. On the second day, he contracted both smallpox and typhus and died. News of his death inspired still other volunteers, and the Tibetan church grew as a result of their efforts.
