Oklahoma Missionary Concerned For Friends Near Ebola Outbreak

A virus that kills more than half the people it infects is sweeping across four countries in Africa.

Friday, August 1st 2014, 10:41 pm

By: News On 6


A virus that kills more than half the people it infects is sweeping across four countries in Africa.

While corralling the Ebola virus is a top priority for health officials, keeping in touch with loved one's has become an Oklahoma man's new mission.

Kevan Mueller and his wife Jody spent seven years as missionaries overseas. Now, the family is home, talking and texting with friends in Sierra Leone, hopeful the deadly virus won't spread to loved ones.

When asked how much of Sierra Leone is a part of his life, Mueller said, “A big chunk.”

Mountains of photo albums only scratch the surface of the family's commitment to God and missionary work. For seven years the Mueller family served in Sierra Leone; they raised their family there but had to leave in 1995 after several overthrows of the government.

"To watch them suffer again is not easy," he said.

Thousands of miles away, Mueller is watching as his friends are trying to escape the deadly Ebola virus.

People who live in Sierra Leone are in the epicenter of the virus' spread. The World Health Organization reports more than 700 deaths as of this week.

"The survival rate isn't very high, and so just pray that they'll be safe and stay away from infected areas, you know. You just pray for them every day that it won't affect them," Mueller said.

He has been texting and calling back and forth with his friends in the country.

One friend wrote, “We are in a state of public health emergency. The Ebola situation is getting very serious,” and, “Our problem is food. Do help us sir.”

Mueller, said, "They are very frightened, and so it really hits home when it's your friends. I've had three of them today who have contacted me,"

He hopes Americans will pay attention to the crisis, but admits it's hard to grasp until you actually live in that situation.

Mueller's friends told him the entire country of Sierra Leone is going on lockdown Monday so health workers can go door-to-door to check on people. 

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