Following Home Assignment in Germany, Martin & Joy Koch returned to Kenya in June to lead a TIMO team among the Samburu people.
The Samburu believe in one Creator God. In fact they have stories which tell how God once lived very close to Man, but due to wrongdoing, has since moved far away. They also believe that God can still hear when man calls his Name. Their religion however is deeply rooted in their traditions and how they live. Traditionally a man will pray for God’s blessing on his home early in the morning and all meetings begin and end with prayer. Many Samburu have not yet heard of how Jesus, God’s Son, lived, died, and rose again in order to restore Man’s relationship with God. This is the Good News we want to share with them.
“[The Samburu] have stories which tell how God once lived very close to Man, but due to wrongdoing, has since moved far away.”
The Samburu, related to the better known Maasai, are a semi-nomadic people living in central northern Kenya. Pictures of Samburu are often seen on maps of Kenya or in tourist brochures. The traditional dress of Samburu is very colourful and includes lots of beadwork. They number approximately 252,000 and are traditionally a pastoralist community that depends heavily on cattle, sheep, goats and occasionally camels. Those Samburu living on the plains above Maralal also do some farming but in the lowlands that is not possible.
As our TIMO Team lives in Lchakwai, learns the language and culture, and builds relationships with people, we hope to be able to share the Good News about Christ with them in a meaningful way. We pray that God will open their hearts to respond to his love, commit their lives to Christ, and form a community of believers that will be light to other Samburu.In March 2014 the Samburu TIMO Team will begin at Lchakwai, in Samburu District, Kenya. Lchakwai is a small Samburu community southeast of Maralal. The people live in traditional Samburu houses which are surrounded by fences made of thorn tree branches. The people here dress traditionally and most speak only Samburu. There is now one small store, but no medical clinic, and mobile network is limited.
Watch this short film about setting up water for the TIMO team
