Wilma Kats was a Reformed Church in America (RCA) missionary to Sudan. Born in Holland, Nebraska, and educated at Central College in Pella, Iowa, Kats was the first RCA missionary to be sent to Sudan, arriving there in 1948. She was joined by Robert and Morrell Swart to work among the Anuak in Akobo, in the Upper Nile region. In 1956 the congregations established there were organized as the Church of Christ in the Upper Nile. In 1964, when missionaries were expelled from Sudan, Kats went to Ethiopia to continue work there. She contracted malaria with complications and returned to the United States in poor health, where she remained until her death.

Charles E. Van Engen

Bibliography

Arie R. Brouwer, Reformed Church Roots (1977); Eugene Heideman, A People in Mission: The Surprising Harvest (1980).

This article is reproduced, with permission, from Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, copyright © 1998, by Gerald H. Anderson, W. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan. All rights reserved.