These are our friends: Grant and Loutjie, and their two little girls Abigail and Caitlyn. They have a website here, where you can meet them better and get to know about their lives. Grant has his own blog packed with incredible photographs of the people that they live amongst.
They live amongst the Rendille People in Northern Kenya, in a small town called Korr. The Rendille people are camel nomads and survivors in an incredibly harsh environment. The daily temperatures are about 45 degrees Celsius (>110 degrees Fahrenheit) every day – no summer and no winter.
Grant was just over for a visit, while Loutjie stayed home with the girls. And I peppered the poor man with more than 20 questions about their living conditions. My goodness they certainly don’t have it easy. Life is all about survival and keeping the Landrover going. They bring their food in every couple of months – no fresh fruit, no fresh vegi’s all things we totally take for granted. They are in a hot, hot dessert. They eat camel meat (hmmm I would need to get used to that?!) and bake bread. They do have water, from a watering hole. And they do have a satellite dish for sending and receiving emails. They don’t have a lot of resources for fun. No trips to the library!
They have been there for the past five years with a goal to start a Bible School for pastoralists. Because by training a few leaders they can better reach the people, through the leaders using their own language and culture. At the beginning of 2008 they began the Tirrim School of the Bible. While Grant spends his time in teaching and training, Loutjie is raising her children and has a constant stream of locals passing through her home to watch and observe how these foreigners live. Clearly they each have their own vital ministry.
Grant is a second generation missionary to the region he grew up there as his parents ministered to the Rendille people as well. He met Loutjie in Cape Town while he was studying at the Bible Institute of South Africa. And I met her through a Bible Study she was leading for moms. Loutjie is is one of those people that you don’t ever remember meeting you just feel like you know her. She is friendly and sweet but a strong notion of where she is going and what she is doing – she needs it living where she does!
I miss her and I have no trouble remembering to prayer for her and her family’s needs while she and Grant follow a call that most of us wouldn’t be brave enough to even consider. Go and have a look at the links to see a life that is so different to ours and pray for them as they spread God’s Word as a living example in a very foreign environment.
So lovely to see the pic of G&L & the girls – we miss them a lot and talk of them often! I didn’t realise they had a website & blog – thanks for the links. They’re some of my heroes!
what a wonderful work they are doing and a challenge to us to be less complaining when our "services" are not up to scratch!
Hay L, I think they will be thrilled to hear how many people have them on their hearts I am going to forward the comments on to them!
Hay Aunty Muffin, Nice to hear from you again!!! Isn’t great to have a couple of folk to give us a bit of a reality check and realize that all our grumbles are actually pretty irrelevant!
I’m still thinking of that 40 degree weather – and I can’t cope (headaches and such) when it gets to 30 degrees in Joburg!
Hi Marcia… Talking of heat it’s almost 2 am and well over 30 degrees here… blimey its hot hot hot!!! Lots of hot sticky sleepers here tossing and tumbling there way through the night… till their first swim before breakfast!!! Hope you have a great week!!