The TIMO team has left Kalacha and there are no plans to start another, nor does it seem as though any of the team members will return to continue ministering to the Gabra.

A Gabra village

In the meantime, one AIM couple are continuing at Kalacha and have outreaches in a number of villages like El Gade, El Borge, and some transient villages in between Kalacha and the Hurri Hills.  Beside that they are continuing with weekly Bible studies throughout the town and every morning for the workers who are on the station.

In May, this couple, some church elders and the youth were able to visit more than 120 homesteads and share their faith.

So far the only AIC church remains in Kalacha with about 70 adults and  youth continuing to come, and a large number of children in attendance as well. However, some of the regular church members have since shifted to attending the Catholic Church because there are less demands and, unfortunately, sometimes pays more.

There are other ministries that are making attempts into Gabraland. The Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) has small works in Balessa and Mikona but both are small and not well attended. There is also a Pentecostal group called the Church of the Firstborn which is active in North Horr and which has a fledgling fellowship in Kalacha. They seem to have a stronger work going  on at North Horr and are continuing to reach the Gabra there.

All told, our estimate is that there are possibly around 100 evangelical believers among the Gabra. But as our workers travel around visiting villages they are finding some believers who are still scattered around as they continue their nomadic shepherding in some of the most inhospitable places in Africa. So they are encouraged that there may be more believers out there that have been reached by some of the previous workers.

The ministry still has not been able to replace the nurse who had to leave the work there because of pressure from the community and, as a result, the clinic remains closed. 

As a result of the 3 year or so drought there is a famine relief program that is still going on. There is a push for sustainable gardening but the soil and water is salty and there isn’t any way to make farming a larger part of the life of the Gabra.

Thank you for keeping this group in your prayers.

PRAYER POINTS

• Pray for a full-time Gabra pastor to be trained and to serve among the Gabra people. 
• Pray for a nurse to go and minister to the Gabra so that clinics might be started up again in the villages that are being visited.
• Pray that the youth and the elders might continue to see the vision for reaching the Gabra with the Gospel.
• Pray for the nomads that are believers that rarely get discipled or taught - that, as they herd their animals, God would continually reveal Himself to them and strengthen their faith.
• Continue to pray for the rains to come in their season so that the Gabra can sustain themselves and not be dependent on relief food.