Bishop Nathan Kortu, like many members of his congregation in Euless, came to North Texas from Liberia. He says the more severe the Ebola outbreak gets there, the more grief he sees at his Sunday services.
"Every Sunday morning we come here and somebody has lost their family member [in Liberia]," said Kortu, who is the senior pastor at New Life Fellowship Church and president of the Liberian Community Association in North Texas. "Sometimes their entire family has been wiped out by the disease. It touches us deeply."
So when they learned that someone was suffering from Ebola just a few miles away, they were shaken to the core.
"It breaks everybody's hearts, including mine," said Kortu.
Kortu said he doesn’t know this new patient or his family — and it does not appear that any of them attend one of the Liberian churches in the area.
He's received many phone calls in the past 24 hours from people asking if the patient was in one of their churches and if it's safe for them to attend services. He told them it's perfectly safe — and that coming to church will do some good.
“God has always been there for us," said Kortu. "And the Lord will take us through this."
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Arlington Christian Bible Fellowship church, which also has a large contingent of Liberian members, is echoing those sentiments. Their pastor, Dr. Theo Bessman, said they will say a special prayer for the new patient during a service Wednesday night.
In the meantime, church and community members continue to collect supplies to send to Liberia. A trailer in the parking lot at New Life Fellowship Church will ship out to Liberia on Friday.
"It is very important for us to meet the needs of those who are losing their members," said Kortu.
Kortu has faith things will get better both here and abroad — and he said he looks forward to the day when Sunday services are a bit brighter.
