The connection and friendship between the Michaels and the Aweer people continues to grow. Once in a while we receive calls from an elder in the villages giving us the current updates or just wanting to know how we are doing. They inform us of what is happening in their villages especially during a sickness or death of a loved one. They also invite us to celebrate the weddings of their children. This is very encouraging because driving to those villages has become impossible due to terrorism.
We were privileged to host Mzee Jenje’s wife Habiba from Pandanguo village in Witu, about 100 km away and Mariam Wirki from nearby Bobo village for lunch on 16th of November. Habiba who is related to Mariam had visited her relatives in Bargoni village for two weeks. All the while, she had hidden a bottle of pure natural honey for Michael and Alice and had called them on her way to Bargoni to say she will pass by their home on her way back to Pandanguo. True to her word, she passed by for lunch in the company of Mariam and presented the bottle of honey! What a precious gift! This was a big sacrifice and pure love.
[Photo from Left: Habiba, Alice & Mariam.]
[NB: Mzee Jenje was the chairman of Aweer Language Development Project where Michael and Alice served previously in Bible translation and literacy development among the Aweer people. The project relocated to Kilifi in early 2014, but Michael and Alice were persuaded by the Holy Spirit to remain in Lamu and serve Christ there and the greater Coastal region the way they are doing now under Charitos Transformation Africa (CTA)].