Farewell to a Friend

By Jeff Slaughter

This week we said farewell to friend and supporter Leah Tooke Fleming.

After several years of battling cancer, Leah passed peacefully into the arms of the Lord last Sunday afternoon.

I wish you could have known her…

I met Leah at East Texas Baptist College in the early 1980’s. We didn’t know each other well but reconnected many years later through a Facebook group for ETBC alumni.

Leah and her husband Alan have served as missionaries in Lowangila, Kenya for the past 23 years.

In the words of a mutual friend, Marla Blanke, “They lived sacrificial lives, building a mud home and living without the convenience of power or running water so that they could minister to the people of that village.”

After sharing about and following each other’s ministries for a few years, I got a note from Alan and Leah that they felt called to support our ministry.

Touched by their generosity

Here they were, living in the Kenyan bush, sweeping dirt out of their mud house every day, harvesting energy through solar, and enduring hardships such as heat, tribal skirmishes, and frequent illnesses … and they felt called to support our ministry in Europe!

I was humbled and honored every month I saw their names on the contribution printout. One time, after thanking them for their faithfulness, they sent this message:

“We are very blessed to be a part of your ministry. Yes, we serve in a hard place, but you teach others to teach others to worship our Savior. It is a VITAL part of ministry, and we are blessed to support you in it. Worship is THE most important thing of any Christian life. If we are not worshipping our Savior, what is the point of calling ourselves Christian? Blessings, Alan and Leah.”

Please join us in prayer

Please join us in prayer for Leah’s husband, Alan, their children, and grandchildren as the family releases Leah to the Father.

Our hearts go out to the men, women, and children whom Leah touched in the Lowangilan bush. May God continue to bless the fruit of her ministry on earth as Leah enjoys her new heavenly home.