Pray for a continued effort to make an evangelism trip to the Akie/Ilataiyok group of Dorobo who live in Tanzania just on the other side of the Kenya border. They continue to move around, as they have done for centuries in search of honey and hunting grounds, and we are now told they are near Lake Magadi. Pray that we can make contact in the months ahead and visit them and show the Jesus film.

Pray for Pastor Josphat Musanga, currently in South Africa for a continent-wide conference on transformational development. Pray that he would gain much from this time and that he will be a catalyst on his return in showing how the church among the Dorobo can be a leader in transforming their communities through living out the Gospel in practical ways.

Pray for a three day Seminar on how to teach adult literacy in our Dorobo churches. This is an excellent way to draw the older generation to the church. And as they learn to read, they are introduced to the Gospel. Pray as Rev Jonathan Nang’ari sets up this important seminar from August 5-8, 2024.

Pray for a planned outreach to Dorobo/Okiek hunters on the Kenya/Tanzania border. The group has moved east from their last location, so it has been hard to find where they are. But we recently had word that they are closer to Lake Magadi. Pray for a good contact and passable roads to show the Jesus film in the near future. Pray many would watch the film and be drawn to Jesus.

Pray for an upcoming visit to the Opusimoru area on the Kenya-Tanzania border to organize a June evangelistic outreach to the Akie group of Dorobo hunters who split off from the main Kenya branch and moved into northern Tanzania about 50 years ago. Pray that God would provide a ‘man of peace’ to host our outreach, which is planned for late June.

Pray for our Dorobo church on Mount Eburru called AIC Songoroi. We visited a few weeks ago. We were encouraged by the growth in the church. One older man named Joseph who had resisted the Gospel for years had made a profession of faith a few weeks before and stood up at church to give his testimony. Joseph’s son Luka has finished school and made a profession of faith last June when we had visited his school and shown the Jesus film and has been faithfully attending church. Pray as he prepares to take a driving course with hopes to get a job as a driver. Continue to pray for Pastor Josphat Musanga who drives 40 kilometers on his motorcycle once or twice a week to disciple and encourage the believers at AIC Songoroi.

In December we gave a Jesus film backpack kit to Pastor John Kashu from our Dorobo church in Oloolbung’aiko. Since then he has shown the film weekly. They showed it at Olchorro as part of their Christmas Kesha (overnight) service. And later in the Mau Forest where 11 people accepted Christ. Pray for Pastor Kashu as he is using this film kit to expand his outreach. Pray for the viewers of the film to be touched by the visual images of what Jesus came to do here on earth. Pray for safety as Pastor Kashu rides on the back of motorcycle taxis called bodabodas over muddy roads to share the Gospel in this Dorobo area of the Mau Forest.

Pray for Pastor Silas Bargokwet and Pastor Josphat Musanga as they show the Jesus film in various schools and villages. Pray many would believe and be saved.

Pray for the church at AIC Tinet as they have a fund raiser for their church building in December. Pray for Pastor Vincent Langat as he leads this church.

Pray for the village of Tingwa among the Okiek (Dorobo) to grow in their new faith in Christ. Pray that they will have strength to witness to the other Okiek in their area so the church can grow.

Pray for the Dorobo from Elgeyo Marakwet county. Shel Arensen and Pastor Silas Bargokwet and a team from Good Shepherd Community Church in Oregon spent a week in late June visiting villages in this area and showing the Jesus film. The team also distributed 80 solar audio Bibles in the Kalenjin language. Pray that the contacts and the film showings and the solar Bibles will have an impact on these people. Some are already believers and attend AIC churches. Others are not yet believers. All the Dorobo in this county are discouraged, having been evicted from their home in the forest about five years ago with no resettlement plans by the government. Pray for Shel and Pastor Silas as they plan follow up to this area, especially to the Dorobo living at the base of Tingwa Hill.

Pray the Dorobo believers will consider how to stir one another up to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, but exhorting one another, and all the more as the Day draws near (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Praise the Lord for 15 Dorobo church leaders who came to Malewa for a three day seminar on preparing for the end times based on the book of Revelation. Pray for these pastors as they continue to lead and teach in their communities.

Praise the Lord for three men who completed their Bible School training in April and are now serving as pastors in their churches. Pray that they will have strength and energy in their new roles.

Pray for a group of Dorobo who moved into northern Tanzania from Kenya over 40 years ago. They are often called the Akie. In May they were moved by force (along with many Maasai) by Tanzania government forces from their traditional hunting and grazing areas north of the Serengeti. The government has signed an agreement giving their land to a group from the United Arab Emirates as a private hunting reserve. Pray for the Akie and their Maasai neighbors. They are still protesting the move. Pray that even in the turmoil of moving that the Akie would be open to hearing the Gospel. Pray for wisdom in reaching out to them through village visitation and showing the Jesus film.

Praise God for a trip to show the Jesus film at Esoit Boarding Primary School in the Olpusimoru area near the Tanzania border on May 27, 2022. Pastor Josphat Musanga and Shel Arensen showed the film two times to over 700 students and over 100 students indicated their desire to follow Jesus. Pray for follow up from Christian teachers in this area.

Praise God for a transformational development seminar held for two days at Eburru on July 5-6. Five Dorobo church leaders attended. Pray that they will take what they’ve learned and bring it back to their churches and that they could develop practical projects in their communities to allow the church to have more opportunities to share the truth about Jesus.

Pray for Dorobo believers as they share their faith amongst their own people and look to share with others cross culturally as well. As the Lord to bless their efforts and build His church.

Pray for the 12 Dorobo pastors who are having a three- day seminar this week on how to set up a Savings and Credit Cooperative to help with the chronic poverty in their community. There are many scriptural applications in the teaching. Pray these men will be instrumental in bringing positive change in the lives of the Dorobo members of our AIC churches.

Praise the Lord for Pastor Josphat Musanga showing the Jesus film at Oloolbung’aiko as part of last weekend’s Easter celebrations. Seventy people attended the film service amidst a heavy downpour. Two people prayed to receive Christ after showing the film. Continue to pray for Pastor Musanga as he shows the film around our Dorobo villages several times each weekend. Pray for safety as he negotiates steep and slippery roads on his motorcycle.

Pastor Josphat Musanga showed the Jesus film at his home on February 6th and six teens accepted the Lord and committed to follow him. The film was shown again at the Mbeuti Primary School on February 17th, and Shel and Pastor Musanga are planning to show the film again in the Narosura area on March 6th. Pray for fruit from showing this film in areas that have not yet been reached with the Gospel.

The Dorobo church start at Ilkilorit, where we dedicated the plot and some building materials in August, now has a structure. The family of Ole Moijoi gave permission for the church to be built on their land. Several of the young people in the family have become believers. Pray for the old man himself to come to a true faith in Christ. I’ve attached a photo of the structure for the new church going up at Ilkilorit in 2020.

One of our first Dorobo pastors, Katuman Lemeidimi, passed away on Sunday from complications with his diabetes. Pray for his family as they are in a time or mourning. Pray that the funeral service, which will be held on December 8th at Longewan, Pastor Katuman’s home area in Samburu, would be God-honoring and a time for many relatives to hear and believe the truth of the Gospel.

A new church was launched in a Dorobo area yesterday in the Loita Hills near the Tanzania border. Lenkoti, son of the man who has agreed for a church to be built next to his house, prayed to accept the Lord at the service. Pray that Lenkoti will grow in his faith. Pray that the believers from AIC Entasekera will continue to help this new church. Pray that this new church will be reach out to other Dorobo people in the area and across the border into Tanzania. An older Maasai man named Timothy was there. He said he had been doing evangelism in the Loita area for 40 years, for many years with little fruit. He said he had spent three days some years ago on the top of a hill overlooking the place and he prayed over the area that God would plant his Word and that a church would grow. Now he was overjoyed to see a church going up. He came forward and insisted on praying for the young man who had just accepted the Lord.

Praise the Lord. We had done evangelism and showed Jesus film at a Dorobo area called Ilkilorit several years ago near the Tanzania border. AIC evangelists followed up. We just heard they’re ready to start a new church there as soon as the Kenya government opens up permission for churches to meet. Pray for the Dorobo man who invited us for the first visit, and his family. Pray the Lord’s blessing on this new church.

Pray as our AIC Dorobo churches plan for re-opening. All our small churches have been asked by the area bishop to raise 5,000 shillings ($46) to buy a digital thermometer as part of Covid-19 protocol, so that when churches are allowed to open, they will take temperatures before allowing people into church. It’s a good practical step, but hard on churches with little cash economy. So pray that our Dorobo churches can leap this hurdle on the way to re-opening. In the meantime, our pastors have been visiting members and encouraging family prayer and Bible study. Praise the Lord!

Pray that the solar listening devices we have passed out to several Dorobo villages will be listened to and absorbed into people’s hearts during this time of social distancing in Kenya. Each listening device, called a Treasure, has the entire Bible in Maasai. Pastor Jonathan Nang’ari requested one last week, saying he had a new believer in his church who was blind and unable to speak, but wanted to learn more about the Bible. So I sent a Treasure by G4S courier.

Pray for our Dorobo leaders being invited to a transformational development seminar on March 23-28 at Malewa. Pray for the right ones to come and that they could influence in their communities with this teaching to teach them to rely on the Lord. These communities have been held back by honey-wine and the accompanying poverty.

Praise the Lord for the Dorobo churches, pastors and leaders, evangelists and missionaries who are planting new churches in areas where Christ is not yet known. Pray for the Dorobo who feel called by God to be cross-cultural missionaries to other tribes without the gospel. Pray for the Lord to direct their paths.

Pray for Pastor Josphat Musanga as he and his family will be hosting missionaries Jeff and Mandy this Wednesday to Sunday for their village home stay. Pray that he and Jeff and Mandy will build a good relationship for their future work with the Dorobo. Pray that through their partnership Dorobo will come to Christ and churches will be planted and a missionary movement empowered among the Dorobo people.

Pray for Pastor Jonathan Nangari and Pastor Jackson Ng’ayami as they work out how to start a community-based organization for the Dorobo, with the goal of starting a polytechnic for the Dorobo school leavers from that area. Pray for wisdom for these men.

Praise for a good visit with three Dorobo pastors to two Watta villages near Malindi. The pastors went around to the homes, shared their testimonies, compared their lives as hunter-gatherers and went home enthused about the need to reach out, even across cultures in Kenya. Pray that they can spread this vision in their churches.

On Tuesday September 3rd, an AIM missionary and three Dorobo pastors – Josphat Musanga, David Lekenge and Jackson Ng’ayami – will make a trip to the Sabaki River area to see some Watta hunters and encourage Giriama Pastor Samson Cheu who has started two small churches among this hunter-gatherer group. Pray for safety on the road and that the car will do well on the safari. Pray for the Dorobo pastors to have a chance to share their testimonies with another hunter-gatherer group. Pray that this might develop a vision among the Dorobo church for cross-cultural ministry. And pray that they would be an encouragement to Pastor Samson Cheu.

Thanks for praying for our Dorobo prayer conference to break the stronghold of alcoholism among the older generation. We had three days of teaching and prayer and singing and evening films. We had times of confession and special prayer to break what they called “the curse” of alcoholism. At the end 11 men prayed to receive Christ and for deliverance from their dependence on alcohol. There were over 300 people attending. The pastors from the Omerae family (their family name actually means drunkard) were very encouraged. They continue to pray that their family would no longer be slaves to drunkenness, but that they would be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Most of the Dorobo pastors in one area have been burdened for the older generation of Dorobo who haven’t yet accepted the Gospel and are still in bondage to drunkenness. So they have planned for a three day prayer meeting this week. They have raised money for food and are expecting over 500 people. A leader has been asked to speak on Thursday on breaking curses, as they feel the bondage to drunkenness has become a curse over their people. So he’ll be there from Wednesday to Friday. Pray that the older generation would hear, understand and be set free from their bondage to drink.

Pray for a church leaders’ seminar planned for next week July 29-August 1st. We expect about 30 men and will spend a day studying God’s plan for missions and another day on how to do inductive Bible study. Pray for the men as they travel and for real encouragement during our time together.

“Lord, please deliver the Dorobo elders from addiction to honey wine and instead let them be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

We thank the Lord for a trip in which we visited seven bomas (homesteads) and had two fellowship meetings. There are two Dorobo villages in the area – Olepishet with about 250 adults plus children and Ilkimati with a similar number of Dorobo living side by side with Maasai. We stayed with Pastor Joshua Kujuka who has helped start a church in Olephishet with almost 200 members! Joshua has also started a small group meeting in a school at Ilkiimati with a handful of believers. He asked for help in reaching out in this area. So we’re praying that God will prepare hearts as we decide when we can go in with a team of our Dorobo believers to do some evangelism.

Pray for a trip to some Dorobo villages near Narosura, a town at the base of the Loita Hills. Dorobo pastor Musanga Omerae heard from a friend about these villages and contacted me about doing a survey trip. We are driving out there today, Monday the 20th and should come back Tuesday evening. Pray for safety on the road and for good contacts with the Dorobo in these villages. Pray for open hearts and for a man or woman of peace to accept us and to be a doorway into these villages.

We met with a group of Okiek elders just outside Cengalo Forest. There are several Christians there. The Okiek elders presented many needs and asked for help in educating their children and advocating for their right to move back into the forest, their ancestral homeland. We prayed with them and agreed to sponsor a young Okiek man with a call to pastoral ministry. On Mt Elgon we visited two villages. Each village has a church and a school and we met one young Okiek pastor. We prayed with him and are praying for wisdom on how best to encourage these Okiek people.

Pray for a survey trip from January 23-25 to visit Okiek/Dorobo elders in Cengelo Forest near Eldoret and Mt Elgon Forest near Kitale. We made contact with the Cengelo group ten days ago up in the forest and shared some dripping honeycombs. The elders asked us back so they can tell us their needs and we will tell them more about Jesus. We are excited for our first contact with Okiek/Dorobo on Mt Elgon. An Okiek man named Leonard has offered to be our guide.

Pray for peace and reconciliation at our church in Eburru. In recent church elections, our Dorobo church leader lost his position as secretary of the church, as new members from a more dominant ethnic group who have started to attend the church elected only members from their group. This has led to tensions and even a big disagreement in the church last Sunday. Pray for our Dorobo pastor for this church, Josephat, as he goes up to meet with the factions on Sunday January 6th. Pray for humility from both sides and for peace and reconciliation. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the principalities and powers. It seems Satan is doing everything he can to find weak spots and attack and destroy this little church.