Missions Newsletter - September 2021

Katherine Broussard

When I think about Kenya, I think of the voices of the patients in the hospital boldly declaring the praises of Jesus amidst great suffering and need. I think of the Webber kids singing “This is my Father’s World,” the sweet smell of guava, the kinship with neighbors, and the slow pace of life. How Kenyan natives would walk 45 minutes to church to worship in a cinder block building with other believers. I think about how their worship cost them something.

It was the greatest gift to witness firsthand what life on the mission field is like, with Lauren homeschooling their 4 kids and Derek serving as a PA in the local hospital. I learned about the humility of life overseas in how Lauren faithfully shares the gospel with her children each day, discipling them while teaching them how to look for God’s fingerprints all around them.

I shadowed Derek in the casualty unit of the hospital and quickly realized how faithfulness for him is taking the path of greater resistance--supporting the chaplains and local doctors, who are often better equipped to share the gospel with their native people better than any foreigner ever could.

This journey allowed me to witness how God is moving across the world, unbound by geographic location and unceasingly present in every moment.

I am still processing my time in Chogoria, but am challenged to reflect on what true worship is--sacrificial, behind closed doors, for the approval of God rather than man. I am learning to seek deep friendship with Jesus in this transition back to Birmingham and am growing in dependence upon him to guide my steps.

Recently in Chogoria, the hospital got a grant to set up an oxygen concentrator, but with the grant comes the need for guidance in managing funds, which can be difficult to navigate. You can pray for the Webbers as rising, higher acuity Covid cases flood the hospital and they have limited resources, bringing great pressure among their immediate community on the compound.

Thank you for your support in sending me to Chogoria and your prayers for me to know the Lord more deeply from my time with the Webbers.

In Christ,

Katherine