His Work Among the Luo People Of Kenya Go ... and make disciples of all nations Matthew 28:19
August 6, 1990

Fraley's Chapel Church of Christ
c/o Jeff Young
Rt. #2 Box 421
Corinth, Mississippi  38834

Dear friends,

    Hi from Kisii town!  My momma said it's time for me to write
you another letter, soooooo here goes.   I am Kit Bartholomew in
case you didn't already know that and I'm two years and seven
months old now.   Momma keeps tellin me that I have lots of
friends in Merica, and I don't even know what Merica is, but I
believe Momma cause she's my momma.  Momma says to tell you that
we are all fine.  No one is sick.  Cept  me.  Two months ago,  I
got a thorn in my foot and Momma still has to kiss it every time
she takes my shoes off.  I'm tryin not to let her forget bout it.
It's really all better, but shhhhhhhh!  Don't tell Momma that.
Momma also says to tell you that we are in our short dry season
here.  There's lots of dust.  You should see me after we've been
out in the villages.  I turn black with dust.  Actually, I roll
in the dust so I will look just like my friends.  I have so many
friends here and they all like to play with me.  Sometimes they
want to play so bad that they gather all around me and I can't
even walk.  But I have lots of fun with them and one day, when I
get bigger and can talk better, I'm gonna teach them Jesus
stories.
    Momma says I should tell you what I am learning.  Well let's
see. . . I know how to ride my bike and I can run real fast now.
Oh yea, I can count. . . 9 9 9  4 7 8.  See.  I know lots of  the
ABC's.   Like B is for Boodle (that's my nickname), C is for
Coyote (that's my dog), P is for Poppa, and E is for Evans
(that's my friend).  I know how to run away from Momma when she
wants to give me a bath, and I know that Jesus is my best friend.
He's my Savior and my shepherd.  I know that He told the storm to
SHHHH, be still.   And I know that He helped to fix a man with
broken eyes.  I know that John baptized Him.  And I'm goin to be
baptized some day too.   Momma says I have to be bigger.  I can
pray now.  Everyday I pray for the boats and animals and I thank
Jesus for my bicycle.  One day last week when I was in the
village at the Soko church and I was playing with the kids, I got
real sad.  Some of them were sick, and they were all dirty, and
they didn't have any toys like I do, or any shoes either, so I
ran to Momma and said, "Momma, let's pray."
     "For what?", she asked me.
     "For the children", I  said.  So she stopped right in the
middle of her cup of chai (that's tea with milk and sugar) and we
prayed for Jesus to protect the children.  They need lots of
tection here from Jesus.  Last month, two of the children at the
Soko church died while we were having a weekend meeting there.
Momma and Grandpop drove them to the hospital while Poppa was
teaching, but when they got to the hospital, it was closed.  They
told us that the doctor went to search for medicine and they had
to close the hospital.  I was so sad and now I pray every day for
Jesus to protect these children so they can grow up and learn
bout Him.
    We sure did have fun this month with my friend Sherry.    She
came all the way from Texas (where ever that is) just to visit me
and learn bout the Luo's.  She taught lots of Bible classes to the
deaf people cause she can talk with her hands like the deaf
people and she taught me to talk with my hands too.  Sherry
didn't like kuon (corn meal mush) so I had to teach her how to
eat it.  I wanted to teach her how to eat Omena (little whole,
dried fishes) too but she didn't want to learn that.  I just love
those little Omenas.  I put a whole lot of them in my mouth at
once and then after I'm all done chewing the good stuff, I spit
the eyes into Grandma's hand.  I taught Sherry some Luo words so
that she could talk to my friends but she wasn't much interested
in my friends.  All she wanted to do was hold the little babies.
Ugh!  I tried to tell her that they would probably wet or mess on
her cause they don't have diapers but she said that didn't
matter.  Last week we took Sherry to Eldoret town so she could
see what some of the other missionaries are doin.  She's goin to
go all the way to Texas (where ever that is) on one of those big
airplanes.  I'm going to miss her.
    Momma says to tell you that Sherry is bringing home a
videotape of our work here in Luo.  I'm on it too.  She is going
to make copies of it and send it to some of our churches.  I hope
you get to see it.   Specially me, cause I've grown.  I'm a big
boy now, but not big nough to drive yet.  Maybe next month.
    Momma says that you are our good co-workers among the Luo
people and I'm happy about that.  I am remembering to pray for
you as you work in Merica (where ever that is).  Oh!  Please
remember to pray for the children.  Thanks.  I love you.

Kit Bartholomew