Stan Westrom had been on life support after vicious attack
By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries
NAIROBI, KENYA (ANS) -- Stan Westrom, a former US Marine who became a missionary in East Africa, has died in a Nairobi hospital where he had been taken after being ambushed by bandits last Sunday (January 4).
Stan Westrom had been on life-support in the hospital after the attack took place while he was on his way to teach students at Faith College of the Bible in Nairobi. After a valiant battle, he finally died on Saturday (January 10).
His sister, Sylvia Baron, said, “Stan was hurt while giving full service to the furthering of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Three of my brothers are missionaries to Kenya and Uganda. Stan was ambushed on the road Sunday night between Nakuru and Nairobi. Something was obviously set out in the road with spikes to cause three tires punctured instantly, and he could not control the vehicle.
“He rolled, and lay upside down, unable to move, and watched rather horrified, a mob of people coming out of the bushes. They were taking his things until another vehicle came along. Three men stopped and the mob disappeared again. The three Kenyans took Stan to the nearest hospital - and not a very good one, but they did the best they could do.
“When Howard and Bonnie [two missionary colleagues] finally located him the next day he was in excruciating pain, and unable to move his arms and legs. Stan was worried about the students arriving for the first day of classes at the little college. They are a very important group of 26 men from Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Stan had just helped plant a new church in Uganda, and was also running exhausted.
“He gave instructions for us to get the next newsletter off his laptop. He said his urgent prayer request was to teach his class. There was no choice but to move him. The conditions in this facility were very bad. Howard, the other missionary, who is almost 70 years old, and his wife found an ambulance to take Stan into Nairobi.
“He was in very bad condition, paralyzed, but still able to speak and pray with Howard and Bonnie. But now he can't.”
Then came the news that he had finally passed away.
Sylvia said her brother once told a niece, "I have given this so much prayer and thought and have decided if the Lord calls me to go to Africa, I will go with a sense of purpose. If my life should end there, I will know that what the Lord called me to do on this earth is finished."
Stan Westrom worked with Go! International and a spokesperson said in a message, “Our prayers go out to his wife Susan, his daughter Heidi, and his son Erik.”
For further information contact Sylvia Baron at: Seapraiser2@saferoam.com.
Note: Faith College of the Bible is the graduate theological school of The East Faith College is located in Nairobi, Kenya.