SPRING VALLEY, CA (March 12, 2007) \u2013 A memorial service for retired Evangelical Covenant Church missionary Kathryn \u201cKay\u201d Sundstrand, 89, will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Mount Miguel Covenant Village. She died Saturday.
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\nSundstrand was born Sept. 20, 1917, in Rockford, Illinois. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Wheaton College in 1939 and attended North Park Bible Institute from 1948 to 1949.<\/p>\n
Prior to entering the mission field, Sundstrand taught primary classes in the Rockford public schools. She also led release-time Bible classes for several years for 1,000 students at nine locations in the Rockford School District.<\/p>\n
In an unpublished autobiography, Sundstrand recalled being a senior at Wheaton College and praying, \u201cGod, if you call me to be a missionary, I\u2019ll go, but I hope you don\u2019t.\u201d The days and months went by, and he didn\u2019t call me, and I was happy. I relaxed and decided I could go on with my plans for my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
But in 1946, during a church service, she sensed God\u2019s call to Africa. This time, she writes, \u201cAs I walked home, I felt I was walking on clouds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sundstrand was commissioned to be a Covenant missionary to Congo in 1949 and served in the country until 1974. She returned to Congo and served from 1986 to 1989.<\/p>\n
Sundstrand influenced education in the Congo by teaching in several schools and often serving as principal. While in Congo and after returning home in 1974, she developed a Course of Religious Education that was written in Lingala and French for children in first grade through high school.<\/p>\n
In addition to the Covenant, the lessons have been used by numerous denominations working in Congo, including Mennonites, Baptists and Pentecostals.<\/p>\n