A family friend who was a nurse missionary to Africa inspired a very young Cheryl Boodt to want to be a medical missionary. When Cheryl reaches heaven, she is looking forward to catching up with her as I doubt she had any idea that an elementary school girl was being called to missions by her example and would finally follow in her footsteps 60 years later. The journey to Africa for Cheryl was long but the Good Shepherd led her and Tom to Litein Kenya. Cheryl met Tom, fell in love and they were married. Cheryl’s first career was dental hygiene but to meet the need of the local pregnancy care center, she went back to school at age 40 to study diagnostic medical sonography. In 2018 to fulfill her Dad’s final wishes, she became involved with Samaritan’s Purse World Medical Mission. So, they retired and headed to Kenya! The past five years they have served as short termers in Litein and call it our African hometown. Tom loves construction and handyman projects. He became “Dad” or “Grandpa” to the thirty employees at the Litein industrial department. Cheryl witnessed the need for more comprehensive sonography education in Kenya and told Litein if they started a sonography school, she would move to Litein to teach until the Kenyans could take it over. Litein surprised Cheryl this year with building and planning a sonography school so here they go! Tom and Cheryl are thrilled to have this opportunity to share the love and care of Jesus Christ by helping improve medical care in Africa and do some building.
