It’s Official

We have been reassigned to the Digo Focus team. We will be living among the unreached Digo people in Kwale, Kenya. We will be traveling back to Africa on April 17^th.

Who are the Digo?

Population: 500,000

Location: SE Kenya and NE Tanzania

History: The Digo moved to their current location 1000 years ago. Historians disagree as to whether they migrated from Somalia or from Southern Africa. Originally they settled deep within sacred forests in order to worship ancestral spirits and to be safe from warring tribes. Islamic traders visited the coast of Africa as early as the 10th century and had contact with the Digo. The Portuguese explorers came in the 16th century. Many Digo converted to Islam in the 1920s.

Culture: The Digo are Bantu people. They are fishermen, farmers, basket weavers and potters.

Religion: Folk Islam and animism

What is a Focus team within AIM?

Team members are placed on a team of somewhat experienced colleagues with a leader to provide direction and vision.

Some previous ministry experience is expected for FOCUS team members as FOCUS teams are not designed to train new cross-cultural workers, but rather to allow experienced workers to join a team that continues to learn and grow together.

FOCUS team curriculum is set by the team leaders and varies from light, medium, to heavy. Teams run a minimum of two years and have flexible starting points, allowing team members to join a team even after its initial launch. As planting churches is a long-term endeavor, FOCUS teams are intentionally inviting members to stay on until the job is done.

We don’t want to overwhelm you with information today, so in the coming weeks we will introduce the Digo people to you all and we will share how we will fit into the Focus team who has already been serving in the area for the past 2 years. We already feel very welcomed by the team who have been praying for a couple to join them.

We are very thankful that God is faithful.

He is directing our path.

Jeremy and Claudia