February 1995

His Work Among the Luo People Of Kenya Go ... and make disciples of all nations Matthew 28:19
February 1, 1995

Our Lord and Master has seen us through another year. For this we praise His holy name. We pray that this new year can be filled with as many bright spots as was the last. We are looking forward to working with the churches as we continue to instill in the Luo Christians the need to always look towards the Lord for guidance, and to wait upon His reply.

We enter this new year with a renewed zeal and pray that the lives that we touch will be used to glorify our heavenly Father. We have many plans for teaching among the churches in this new year, one of which is teaching three day courses on God's plan for marriage. We have already completed two courses, and pray that those who attended will be richly blessed in their walk with Christ, and in their home lives in the years to come. Let me try to give you an idea of what we are up against.

Otieno and Adhiambo are husband and wife, and they are Christians. Otieno and his father paid eight cows for Adhiambo. She came to his home as purchased property. And she immediately became slave to not only Otieno, but also to his father and especially to his mother, made to do their bidding immediately and without comment. She is made to report her every move to the family. Otieno, for the most part, appreciates his wife, but he daren't tell her that. He doesn't want her to think too much of herself. He has no idea how hard Adhiambo works in his home or garden, or what she needs. He does not consult her when making decisions or ask her opinion, he certainly never tells her where he is going or how long he will be gone. If she or the children are sick, naturally she takes care of it. In times of hunger? That's her problem, just so the food is put in front of him on time. If they lack food then she must not be working hard enough in the garden. And when there is a bit of extra food, all the better, for she can carry it to market, trade it and then give him the cash. Occasionally Otieno has beaten her for negligence, the most recent time being when she broke a dish. Adhiambo has stayed with him. He's had no trouble with her running home to her family. Otieno counts that as a blessing!

We have found over the years that marriage is bound by the traditions of the Luo people. It has a binding force that goes beyond the joining of one man and one women, in reality it makes the new bride property of the village. This binding force is so strong that it even binds a woman after her husband has died. (So much so that the wife of a husband that has passed away is called "wife of the grave".) Luos have deceived themselves into believing that this follows the biblical teaching that is found in Deuteronomy 25:5 to an extent, however, in Luo culture, the wife is not married to another brother but instead is used by any remaining brothers that want her for the moment. The tradition of Luo marriage is so strong that it has only been recently that the Christians have started to talk about a needed change in the way marriage is viewed. In the past the missionaries were told, "let us worry about how we give our daughters in marriage". This attitude has left many of them feeling deep remorse when their daughters leave Christ or become second wives or struggle in a marriage that defies God's plan.

Lord willing we will be able to teach the plan that was set forth from the beginning in Genesis 2:24 where God says, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." In the Luo village this is not possible at the present time. As was said earlier, the wife becomes the property of the village, since it is the father of the village that pays for his sons bride with cows, and not the son himself. As long as the son is living this is not a problem. Therefore, we are encouraging the married Christian men, to make it possible for their wives to be freed from Luo tradition both in their marriage and upon the husband's death, hence fulfilling the words of God that are found in Romans 7:2. Here we find, "For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband."

During these marriage courses we are also teaching the men what role their wives have in the family. Not that of a piece of merchandise, rather a cherished friend. Not a servant to carry out daily chores around the home, rather a person to confide in and talk with when planning the future. Not a pack mule that goes along to carry the luggage on a journey, rather a person that can share their adventures in everyday life. Not a person that one puts all of their burdens upon to make their load light, rather a helper that is always beside them and works with them in daily matters so that both carry an equal portion of the load. These are the things that God thought of when He said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him" (Genesis 2:18).

Maybe you've realized what a difficult job ours is. Men, who for centuries have placed the punishment God gave to Adam upon their wives, making themselves the center of the marriage, distorting it into something quite unrecognizable to God, and who are now Christians, must be taught that they have many changes to make, many of which they cannot even conceive. When they are sitting in front of me and shaking their heads at some of my suggestions, I am busy sending up arrow prayers for God to give me the right words backed by His wisdom.

Even when the Luo Christian men see the need for change, the battle has only just begun. The men who purport change towards the biblical pattern of marriage are ridiculed and derided by their Luo family and neighbors. They become the laughing stock of the community. For when Otieno tries to change and make Adhiambo his help meet instead of his slave in the marriage relationship, it is said that Otieno has been cursed by his wife and is under her spell. The average Luo thinks he is but as clay in the hands of his wife, to be molded and used as his wife sees fit.

Upon completion of our second marriage course when the husbands and wives were all seated together I asked this question. Are there any things that you have seen in this course that have been helpful or that you think could be better if they were changed? One of the younger men who was looking very troubled at the time said this, "the course was very good, however, there is one major problem. The problem is not with what we were taught, rather with the many changes that we will have to make ourselves in Luo tradition so that we can follow the plan of God concerning marriage." I think that statement goes a long way towards summing up the struggle that is before our Luo brothers in Christ, since they are the ones that will have to step out in faith as they walk with our heavenly Father.

There are many events planned for this year. Marriage courses, leadership retreats, workshops to prepare the Luo Christians for taking oversight of the churches in South Nyanza, a national meeting of the churches in Kenya, the annual meeting of the South Nyanza churches for study and fellowship as well as our daily teaching that is done among the churches. We ask you to lift up all of these items before God in your daily prayers. Especially remember your Luo brothers and sisters as they strive to forget those things which are traditional in marriage, and reach forth unto those things which are of God (Philippians 3:13).