Kansas Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists (KNCSB)

Prayers sustain missionary in time of loss

Missionary Alpha Goombi recently lost three family members in a flood in Oklahoma. Goombi was the featured speaker at a girls’ retreat Oct. 5-6 in Salina, Kan. She told how prayer is sustaining her as she grieves. Goombi began the retreat by showing a traditional Kiowa dress and telling about the events in her life that eventually her to become a Christian.

On Sunday, Aug. 19, Alpha Goombi received a phone call that changed her life.

Flooding caused by Tropical Storm Erin hit southwest Oklahoma, home of the Kiowa tribe. Several members of her family were returning home from a powwow. The minivan carrying Goombi’s mother, sister and a 16-year-old cousin was swept off the road.

“Your prayers helped me walk that week,” Goombi said. She was the featured missionary for the KNCSB Girls in Action retreats held Oct. 5-6 at Webster Conference Center, Salina, Kan.

Girls in Action is the Southern Baptist missions organization for girls in grades 1-6. The retreats were a combined event for girls in grades 1-3 and their mothers along with girls in grades 4-6.

Goombi and her husband, Ron, are North American Mission Board missionaries who work with Native Americans. They live in Omaha, Neb.

In the midst of dealing with crushing grief and planning the funeral, Goombi marked her birthday on Aug. 21. As a Southern Baptist missionary, her name appears on the denomination’s missionary prayer calendar on her birthday.

Despite the overwhelming circumstances that week, Goombi’s heart “soared like an eagle” as prayer sustained her.

Hundreds of Kiowa rescuers searched for hours before finding the missing minivan. They found the three women in the back, wrapped in an embrace. “It was like looking into heaven,” the rescuers said.

Goombi was comforted by the assurance that her loved ones are in heaven. But “we miss them every day,” she admitted.

The missionary told how much she loves to receive cards in the mail. “But what we really value is your prayers.”