The widow of murdered missionary Colin Lee has given birth to a baby girl ? almost exactly six months after he was killed in Africa.

Shekhina Coline Lee was born on Wednesday, May 3, at 5.05 p.m, weighing 6.5lbs and measuring 17 inches long. Her father died on November 5 last year aged 57 after he was shot in the heart and throat by members of a rebel paramilitary group.

Mr Lee?s sister Gaylhia Le May, from Devonshire, told : ?We had death; now we have life. God has given us beauty from ashes.?

Mr. Lee?s widow, Hedwig, who is from Paraguay, is still in hospital with her daughter but is expected to go home soon. She had a difficult pregnancy, including a long period of bed rest, but was feeling much better as the birth grew nearer.

Her sister Marilyn has come to the Island to help her with the baby.

Ms Le May said Shekhina meant ?the glory of the Lord? and Coline stood for ?victorious conqueror?. ?Hedwig and the baby are doing very well,? she said. ?They are resting in the hospital and they should be home in a few days. Hedwig is very grateful to God for all the support and strength she is able to draw from her family and friends who have been there for her throughout this difficult yet happy time.?

She said Mrs. Lee was especially thankful to her Better Covenant Christian Fellowship family and Pastor Terence and Jeananne Stovell.

Midwife Rita Stevens said: ?All went well. Hedwig was brilliant and is happy beyond words.?

Mr. Lee and his wife were travelling through Sudan last November on their way to help war victims for the charity International Aid Services when they were ambushed and robbed by members of the Lord?s Resistance Army (LRA).

The aid worker was not instantly killed and his wife, then three months pregnant, had to drag him away from their car to get medical help. She told earlier this year how he died six hours later ?peaceful to the last breath?.

Mrs. Lee believes his killers were children abducted by the LRA from villages in Uganda.