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[h=4]Kayla Mueller's brother: 'You changed the world'[/h]PRESCOTT, Ariz. — Shortly before the start of the memorial for Kayla Jean Mueller, the aid worker killed in Syria, her parents were escorted by a sheriff's deputy to the front row of seats set up in the
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Memorial for Kayla Mueller
A band prepares to play at the start of the Kayla Mueller memorial in Prescott Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2016.(Photo: 12 News)
PRESCOTT, Ariz. — The brother of slain aid worker Kayla Jean Mueller told a crowd gathered for a memorial service in her hometown to continue her acts of kindness.
"If you see someone struggling, see somebody upset, go give them a hug," Eric Mueller said. "It will make the community stronger. That's all it's going to do."
In the first public comments the immediate family has made since Mueller's death was confirmed, Eric Mueller addressed his sister. "May God keep you from any more harm, any more hurt," he said. "Only now will you be able to see how much you truly did for this world by looking down on it.
"You can rest in peace knowing you have changed the world."
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As Eric Mueller walked offstage after eulogizing his sister, he was met by Carl Mueller, his father, who gave him a long hug.
It was the first public appearance of the Muellers since news broke nearly two weeks ago that their daughter had reportedly been killed.
The event drew a crowd to Courthouse Square, but organizers had said they put the event together with three particular guests in mind: Carl, Marsha and Eric Mueller, Kayla's father, mother and brother.
Ron Merrell, a pastor at the Heights Church, said that he hoped the gathering would help bring strength to the family, that Kayla Mueller's abduction, which they held as a secret for months, was now a shared agony.
"I would hope you feel loud and clear tonight that you are not alone anymore," Merrell said. "Now you've got an entire community here that just declares (that) we love you. And all of our love and our resources are here at your disposal."
The family, through a liaison at the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office, had a hand in setting the tenor of the event, as well as several details, Merrill said before the memorial.
USA TODAY
Details of Kayla Mueller's final months emerge
Courthouse Square, just off this city's historic Whiskey Row, was the site of a public memorial marking the one-year anniversary of the deaths of 19 Prescott firefighters who died in the Yarnell Hill Fire in June 2013.
The square now contains a public memorial to Mueller, who was kidnapped roughly 18 months ago by extremists in Syria.
Before the 26-year-old's death was confirmed last week, someone had placed a sign urging, "Pray for Kayla," in a corner of the square. The ground below the sign has since filled with flowers, stuffed animals, balloons and cards.
"It's just not fair," a blonde woman said to no one as she stopped by the ever-growing memorial at the square's northwest corner.
A sign on an iron gate on another corner of the square asked people Wednesday to "share a thought for Kayla." Paper hearts were attached with long white ribbons, offering space to leave a few words.
Some 250 white candles were poked through upturned paper cups, making a temporary candleholder. TinaMarie Harris of Chino Valley was handing out the candles with the hope that the memorial service will help the city's residents heal.
"It's OK not to be OK," she said. "But it's not OK to stay that way."
The candlelit gathering was a collaboration of several local churches and community organizations.
Molly Hock, 26, who was a roommate with Kayla Mueller at Northern Arizona University, talks about her friend and how much she will miss her. Hock's boyfriend, Kyle NIxon, 31, lends support as the two sit outside the Campus Ministry Center in Flagstaff, reminiscing about Mueller, Wednesday, February 11, 2015.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Tom Tingle/The Arizona Republic)
In this April 28, 2007, photo, high school senior Kayla Mueller marches in a walk in Prescott, Ariz., promoting aid to the Darfur region of Sudan. A statement that appeared on a militant website commonly used by the Islamic State group claimed that Mueller was killed in a Jordanian airstrike on Friday, Feb. 6, 2015, on the outskirts of the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, the militant group's main stronghold. The IS statement could not be independently verified. Prescott Daily Courier, Nathaniel Kastelic)<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Nathaniel Kastelic/AP)
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A table held several clipboards with paper where the public could write notes to Mueller's family.
People were asked to bring donations of non-perishable food to the memorial. A bin was already filled with donations an hour before the scheduled start time.
The service began with the hymn He Who Began a Good Work In You, a song Marsha Mueller used to sing to her daughter, said Clovis Barnett, a pastor at Cornerstone church in Prescott.
The choir from Tri-City College Prep High School, where Mueller attended, sang In His Time, a song that also was special to the family.
Then candles were lit and raised into the evening air.
Contributing: Amy B Wang, Karina Bland and Dianna M. Nañez, The Arizona Republic
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