Williston couple to travel to East Africa for 3-year mission

WILLISTON, N.D. - To help those in need halfway around the world — that’s why a Williston couple is making a big decision to spend the next three years in East Africa as part of the Diocese of Bismarck’s African Mission.

Fifty-nine-year-old Kathy Pepple and her husband, 62-year-old Wes, have visited Kisii, East Africa, every year since 2018. They’ve been heavily involved in the “Water with Blessings” program, giving special water filters capable of providing families with up to a million gallons of clean water. They said the people call it magical and gives them hope.

“I still remember the first time an elderly lady came up to me and she gave me a hug. We don’t know the language but you didn’t need to. She just spoke with tears in her eyes and this embrace that she gave me and she just said, ‘Tell people who give filters, “Thank you,”'” said Kathy.

The Pepple’s will make the trip to Kisii on December 6. They said it was an emotional decision, but the chance to make a big difference was something they could not pass up.

“Sometimes I almost feel guilty because we get to see the people — the smiles, the hugs, the tears — that the people in the Bismarck Diocese [don’t],” said Wes.

Besides providing the means for clean water, the Diocese also pays tuition for more than 400 orphans in that area and gives families a bred heifer.

A spokesperson for the Diocese tells Your News Leader that their travel plans have not been affected by the new omicron variant.