His Work Among the Luo People Of Kenya Go ... and make disciples of all nations Matthew 28:19
November 6, 1993

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

Greetings from Kenya,

    We trust that this letter finds that you are doing well.  We are all well, and
involved in the work in South Nyanza after our trip to Namibia.  Our trip was very
informative and interesting.  We learned many things that were not written in books
about Namibia, and found that some things were not the way that they were presented in
the materials that we read.
    One big misnomer, was that some books lead you to believe that large homogeneous
groups of people lived together.  We found that this was not to be true in some cases.
For instance, one group of people were called the "Caprivi people", and were to number
about twenty thousand.  However, upon surveying the Caprivi area we found five
different tribal groups, none of them being any larger that five thousand people.
     We did however, find a large homogeneous group of people in the very north of
Namibia in an area called Ovambo land.  This group of people speak the Oshindonga
language, and number between six hundred and seven hundred thousand.  The Ovambo
peoples make up over fifty percent of the population of Namibia.
    One of the greatest pluses is the lack of denominational influence in this area.
The Lutherans have been present for about one hundred and fifty years.  Their teaching
only went as far as the necessity to be sprinkled to be in the Lutheran church.  The
other noteworthy denomination being the Baptist church.  This is not a major concern,
since their are only two churches with about three hundred members at present.  The
Baptist church has only one missionary in the area, they are supporting local
evangelists instead.  Other denominations are not worth mentioning since they are small
and very scattered in the Ovambo area.
     There are many other pluses to a Namibia work.  First, driving the roads in
Namibia is like being back in America.  They are very wide and well maintained.
Second, Namibia is well supplied by South Africa with both foods stuffs and household
needs.  These are not in the Ovambo area, but can be reached within three hours by
vehicle.  Third,  even though Namibia is mostly desert, water can be found in any tap,
and all municipal water is treated.  (It is reported that one city in Namibia sits on
top of the second largest supply of underground water in the world!)  This is vastly
different from Kenya.  In Kenya, Nairobi is the only city with treated water, and that
is not always safe to drink.  Also, more times than not, when a water tap is opened in
Kenya you will not find any water!  Fourth, there is already a grammar and dictionary
of the Oshindonga language, as well as a teaching book of the language that is
accompanied by cassette tapes for ease of learning the language.  And fifth, the Ovambo
peoples are the majority in the newly elected (1990) government of Namibia.  (Namibia
was under the rule of South Africa in the past).  An outreach in this tribal group
could go a long ways in bringing God to the Namibian peoples as a whole.
    This all sounds good on the surface, however, along with the good there is the
bad.  First,  at present there is no housing to be found in the Ovambo area.  Houses
would have to be constructed, if a work is to be done.  Second, Namibia is desert as
was stated above.  The climate is very dry.  Rain is said to fall only nine days out of
the year.  And third,  the temperature is between one hundred and one hundred and
fifteen degrees all the time.
    We will be sending a fuller report about our trip to Namibia in the future, and
will also be sending future reports about two more survey trips that still remain to be
undertaken.  Lord willing we go to Madagascar in December or January, and Burkina Faso
in June of 1994.  We hear that Burkina Faso is even drier and hotter than Namibia, and
Madagascar is more like Kenya in climate. After these survey trips our work is only
beginning.
    We ask your prayers, that God will guide us in our many decisions so that our work
for Him may continue smoothly.  We pray for spiritual growth among the Luo church, a
new area to work in after 1996, and for wisdom in discerning Gods' will as we continue
to labor in His kingdom.  Your voiced support of our future decisions while we were on
furlough, has been a great help. Knowing that you will lift us up before our Lord and
Master is comforting.
     Please pray for the situation in Somalia.  Many of you have asked about Somalia in
your letters.  We have received a letter from the U.S. Embassy encouraging caution in
travel within and without Kenya.  Some of the Somali people have threatened to kidnap
American citizens due to the intervention of America in Somalia.  However, so far no
kidnapping situations have been reported by the Embassy.
     Clement Kasuku still needs to be remembered in prayer.  The bone marrow test was
not helpful in diagnosing his sickness because it was not a good quality due to an
elapse of time between taking the sample and testing.  The doctor has suggested that
another bone marrow test needs to be done.  In the meantime Clement is getting no
better.  He has been given eight pints of blood, and his blood level is still going
down.  Please petition God for Clement, and his family so they may be strengthened
during this time of uncertainty.
    May God bless your efforts in America as richly as He continues to bless ours.
Your Luo brothers and sisters send their greetings.  Please continue to pray for them
as the church seeks out His will in Luo land.

Your Brother in Christ,
 
 

Barry J. Rosie