Her book, "A God Story," was published in 2009. Two years ago, she went on a 40-day fast, read devotional materials and wrote. She felt she was instructed by God to tell the world about her faith.
"That was the birth of 'A God Story,'" she said.
In each chapter of her book, Kennedy talks about what she believes God has done for her and other people throughout her time in Africa, often offering space for readers to reflect on what they have read and their personal lives.
It also offers prayers to repeat and a photo gallery showing places and people in western Africa. "The questions I pose at the end of each chapter encourage you to look at your personal life," she said. Her book is for people who believe in miracles and those who have yet to have a relationship with Christ, she said.
BOOK SIGNING
Kennedy will be at Books on Broadway, 12 W. Broadway, in Williston from 1-3 p.m. Saturday to sign copies of her book. She is also visiting churches in Williston and Sidney, Mont., before she travels throughout the nation and eventually heads back to Burkina Fosa, Africa, in November.
A LITTLE HISTORY OF THE AUTHOR
Kennedy was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pa. and spent 20 years in central Florida. When Kennedy was 29 years old, she accepted Jesus Christ into her heart. She got married when she was 30, and she and her husband planned to travel, sharing their faith throughout the nation.
"We'd planned on selling the house, and buying a Winnebago and traveling America just going door to door speaking at churches or youth groups," she said. But then he got cancer and eventually succumbed to it.
Kennedy felt a pull to be a missionary outside of the U.S. and eventually traveled to the Bahamas, then to Indonesia. She earned a bachelor's degree in religious education, then went to seminary and got a master's of divinity. Later she traveled to Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Fosa, for missions work.
LIFE IN WEST AFRICA
She moved to the capital in the fall of 1996 and was miserable.
"There was no need for me there," she said.
She prayed about it: "Send me to a place that one life can make a difference."
She eventually moved south of Ouagadougou in August of 1998 and started learning the language of that region, Dagara.
With the help of some of the region's residents, Kennedy was able to do some successful missions work and train residents there to be missionaries as well as lead some to Christ.
She also founded Shattering Darkness Ministries, an organization that has established churches in various African villages, trained people to become ministers and started a radio ministry broadcast in four countries: Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Burkina Faso.
Burkina Fosa is the second poorest country in the world, hundreds of miles from the sea coast. The land is very old and there's not enough crops to feed the people there, she said. The health system is tragic. Malaria is the number one killer from birth to 5 years old.
"We have a heartbreaking issue of malnutrition, with children virtually starving to death," Kennedy said.
Burkina Fosa has a population of 12.3 million, with 49 percent under the age of 18. There's a lot of infant deaths and people normally live until they're between the ages of 52 and 53, she said.
HER CONNECTIONS TO WILLISTON
Kennedy is connected to Williston through local physicians who have come to west Africa to provide medical assistance. Dr. Beverly Tong, who is an OBGYN at Great Plains Women's Health Center in Williston and a member of the Christian Medical Dental Association, heard about Kennedy's Shattering Darkness Ministries, contacted Kennedy and has been traveling to Burkina Fosa each year with a team of physicians to treat people.
For more information about Kennedy's work, visit www.shatteringdarkness.org.
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