Upton June 2023

First, a note from Rafiki Executive Director, Karen Elliott:

Dear Friends,

As you read in Catherine’s most recent newsletter, she will be retiring from the mission field and returning to the United States in September. While we are going to miss Catherine so much, we are also so grateful for her service with Rafiki and are praying for her health and for a smooth transition for her.

Though Catherine was not able to stay on the field as long as she had planned, she did wonderful work while she was there. Catherine assisted in the RICE (teacher’s college) Program and also in the school. She poured herself into her students and they knew how much she loved them. Her fellow missionaries in Liberia will miss her greatly as well.

Catherine’s support will remain in place through November to help her transition back to the U.S. If you would like to continue to support the work in Liberia, or another Rafiki Village, you may by changing your pledge to another missionary or to support an orphan or the education fund. Or perhaps you would like to serve as long-term missionary yourself! Please contact the Home Office at 352-483-9131 or at Rafiki@RafikiFoundation.org. Please join us in praying for God’s blessing and for health for Catherine in the days and months ahead.

Rafiki continues to commit itself to helping Africans know God and raise their standard of living through schools, classical Christian curriculum, orphan care, the Rafiki Bible Study, and teacher training.

Grace and Peace,

Karen J. Elliott

A lovely sunset in Liberia

Thank you all for your faithful prayers for me while I have been back in the States for medical leave. Knowing that I have the prayer support of an army of people is so encouraging! The Lord is answering those prayers in His good will.

I was recently able to get in to see a specialist who has diagnosed me with a chronic disorder related to the nervous system and mainly affected by stress. Although I will probably be managing it for the rest of my life, I am on medication that will help regulate things, and I am already starting to feel better. It may not be the answer I was hoping for, but I am relieved and grateful to finally know what is going on and have a path forward for dealing with it.

Me with fellow missionary Christie VanKuiken and RICE students

Through this diagnosis, the Lord has made it clear that my time serving with Rafiki is coming to an end. It was a difficult decision to make because this has been a wonderful opportunity in so many ways, but I know that it is the best decision for my health long-term. Although things did not exactly go as I had planned, I am learning to trust the Lord’s loving and sovereign goodness in HIS plan for my life even when I do not understand what He is doing.

I will have some follow-up appointments with my doctors over the next couple months, and then I plan to go back to Liberia for the month of August to wrap things up. After that I will be coming back to live in Chattanooga while I figure out what is next. I would love to serve in missions or another vocational ministry opportunity again someday, but I am waiting for the Lord’s direction on how, when, and where.

I am so very grateful for all the support I have received from each of you through finances, prayer, and much more! It has been such an incredible blessing to me. My service with Rafiki will be finished in September, and I will no longer need financial support after that. But I do ask that you would continue to keep me in your prayers.

Please pray with me

• that my final month in Liberia will be sweet and fruitful even though it will be hard to say goodbye to everyone.
• that the Lord will continue to bless the ministry of Rafiki in Liberia so that many Liberians will come to truly know the Lord and be impactful for His kingdom there.
• that I will learn how best to manage my health conditions.
• for the Lord to guide me as I make decisions about what to do next and that if it be His will, He would open the door to missions again when the time is right.

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