conley melodie 1992 kenya

8/17/2019 Conley Melodie 1992 Kenya

1/9

LiteracyWork Among

he

Maasai Tribespeople

ofKenya

Susan

Oliver M e l o d i e C o n l e y Box

110 Narok,

enya East f r i c a

CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY

FELLOWSHIP r a y e r

N e w s l e t t e r

January

1992

Dear

(a) riends

(b)

rayer partners

(c) eople who ave forgotten

who we re becausewe aven't

written

in

so long

(d)

ll

of

the above.

These

days we ind urselves

(a)

usy

(b) usy

(c)

usy

(d) ll of the above.

Some

f

ur current activities

include

(a)

i t e r a c y

courses and

i

xing

our

ar

(b) eacher training and ixing

our

car

(c) aterials product ion and

fixing our car

(d) ll of he above.

Sometimes

a

r e e

i s

our

lassroom

But,

enerally speaking,we

find our days i l l e d with

(a)joy

(b)

ncouragement

(c) xcitement at

seeing

God

at work among he

Maasai

(d) l l of he above.

Thenew year always brings

thoughts

of

oals,new deas,

and new beginnings.

t is

no

different for us

in

Kenya as we

begin a

new

year of teracy

work.

We'd i k e to thank you

as

you have

prayed

o r us and

supported

us

in

our work.

We're

glad y o u ' r e

a

part

of

ur

work

n

the coming

year

New

deas

The

Maasai

hristians are

exploring many

new deas

about

heir faith.

We ttended

— I c h u r c h

a t a

i l l a g e

n e a r o u r

H c l a s s r o o m

w h i l e we

e r e

I t e a c h i n g a t O l t u l e l e i .

CMF

I

t e a m m a t e D a n C r u m

y

preached,

and we

had a

great

time

of

inging.

After the

lesson, here were

a severalmenwho

sked hard

I q u e s t i o n s a b o u t t h e i r f a i t h

I

l i k e ,

" W h e n w e

g o

o

h e a v e n ,

1 w i l l

we

e a b l e

t o s e e

p e o p l e

i who re

in

hell?"

or I've

V eard

that

the

Bible

s

just a

book of ade-up

t o r i e s

-

_

how

do know hat

t is

r e a l l y God's

Word?"

t -

Ok a i r o t i ,

one

of ur new e a d e r s .

Dan

and

a strong

Christian

named le

Tipis

explored each

question

with

them

and

answered

them

in

a way

hat

the

Maasai

could easily grasp.

Ole Tipis emphasized t he

passage

that speaks about he

Word f God s " l i v i n g and

a c t i v e

and harper

than a

double-edged

sword."

That

seemed to hit home

ith

many

of he men ince they t i l l

carry

their shortswords at heir

sides

when hey walk

n the

bush


2/9

t ll«*IMUi

Susan

teaches Ole Kute nkala.

materials production,

and

primer

o r k s h o p s . S i n c e

we

plan t o

be

home by

November

992,

here's a

o t

ofwork n

the

co ming 10

months.

Goals

We'd i k e you to include

in

your

New

ear's

goals

a

prayer time

o r

one

area or

Maasai

eacher Here are

some p e c i f i c s to

choose

from:

Areas wherewe ill hold

new

reader

ourses:

Melodie teaches two

new

readers at

our

house.

Elang'ata Enterit - -

February

April course

Matapato

-

May June

ourse

Tiamanag'en

-

July

September course

Wouldn't t

be

wonderful f

every Maasai

hristian

could

carry God's

Word

at

heir side

as heir sword

of

aith

New eginnings

We'd Uke to help

you

know

how

to pray for

us.

The next

year

w i l l bring three new eader

courses; hat meansa

possibihty

of

h i r t y new

readers in the Maasaichurch.

We

re also planning teacher

encouragement

afaris,

Teachers

currently teaching

l i t e r a c y classes:

Matayo

Ole

Nchochoi

James

le

Mepukori

MenyeMoya

Naomi ne Benjamin

Christmas Ole Ng'o

Prayer

Requests

• reparations

for

coming

home n

October

1992.

•

ecisions

or

our

uture.

• ew eaders t i l l

practicing

in

their

home reas.

•

ain

Thank you again for your

(a) rayers

(b)

upport

(c) ncouragement

(d) ll of the above.

In

Him,

Susan

Oliver elodie Oonley

YES,

usan and Melodie,

I would i k e to pray o r

Please

send me prayer card wit h further information to s s i s t

me n praying

Name

Address

City, tate, ZIP.

P l e a s e

i

l l

o u t

and e n d

i t

t o u s a t o u r

K e n y a a d d r e s s :Box

1 0 , N a r o k , K e n y a ,

AFRICA

Thanks

1/92

Christian missionary Fellowship

P.O. OX26306,5674CAITO

DRIVE

INDIANAPOUS,

N46226-0306

ADDRESSCORRECTION

REQUESTED

MISSl

i

L

I I C

P

0

K^iUX^

N o n p r o f i t Organization

U.S. Postage

PAID

Penrit No.2975

I n d i a n a p o l i s , Indiana

QM SERVICES

RIAL OEPT

OX 2427

ILLE

TN

37901


3/9

S u s a n

O l i v e r

^

Literacywork mongthe aasai

Tribespeople

ofKenya

P.O. ox 501020, n d i a n a p o l i s , IN 46250-6020

CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY FELLOWSHIP r a y e r N e w s l e t t e r

October 1992

Please

e j o i c e

with

me

n my ngagement o

Tres Crone.

Since I was a young i r l , I wanted to be

a

missionary. Included in that plan

was

a

d e s i r e

f o r

a

missionary

husband

and

a

family.

But

where

would I ind

someone

way out

here

in Africa? How would I ever m e e t

a

man out in the

bush?

"Delig ht yourself n the Lord and he w i l l give you

the

d e s i r e s

of

our

e a r t . " Psalm 37:4

Be assured

that God has

v e r 3 r t h i n g

in

His loving plan.

Tres

is

a

missionary with t he Church of Christ

here

in Kenya.

CMF as a c l o s e

working

relationship

with

the Church of

Christ

in

Kenya, and Tres

and

I are

looking forward to

returning to

Tres's

work. Over

he next two months

we

i l l be

looking into various

locations

we m i g h t return to in East

Africa.

In December, we i l l be heading back to the United States

o r

furlough. We w i l l be

married

on January 9

at

Central

Christian Church, t. Petersburg, hen

begin

reporting t o our

churches t o g e t h e r . The coming

twelve

months

should

be a

busy but

exciting

year

We

ook forward to seeing you and sharing wit h you about he

past

four

years

and he

coming

our years

Please

pray

o r :

•

afety aswe ravel... both

in

Africa and

o

the

U.S.

• isdom and uidance as we

ook

o r

a

work

place to return to in East f r i c a .

• h r i s t - c e n t e r e d foundation

as

we

begin

our

i f e

t o g e t h e r .

Because

of

Him,

Susan Oliver


4/9

The

Tropical

days on h i l i p p i n e land

nurtured

h e c h i l d i n t o a oung man.

His

a t h e r ,

a

man

f h e Air o r c e , had e d t h e family on a

andering o u r s e .

From apan

o

Manila

o Germany

and home

he

hoy knew many

l a c e s , y e t at

imes e l t a l o n e .

7-7—^ The

i r l ,

on

h e o t h e r hand,

a n d e r e d

n o t a r

and

i d e .

Her home was e t t l e d near he

St.

etersburg i d e .

A/id e t , as she

rew,

her

e a r t dared o dream

^

t h a t m a y b e t h e

L o r d

h a d o r h e r an d v e n t u r ou s s c h e m e .

\ ̂

K '

The

young

man,

ur

e r o ,

was

a

i t l o s t

at

home.

He

asn't

u i t e

sure

in which i r e c t i o n t o roam.

>

e

new what

e ' d b e e n

taught

was u i t e

r i g h t ,

.

so

he

e t

o f f

or Bible school with the

world in i s

s i g h t s .

Now

ur young

lady

wanted

o know ore.

She

e f t ,

foran

nternship on

ast

f r i c a ' s

shore.

Here

he

Lord showed her

l e a r l y

He

anted

her abroad.

Hers

would

not

be

the

i f e f o l k s at

home

sually

r o d .

She

i n i s h e d up

c h o o l

and

stepped out on

God's

road.

Her i f e

was

now

n

"Bush

Missionary

Mode."

Our

ero

e l t

a earning

o s e r v e

God

as

e l l .

He ecided o t r y i t ,

only

time would

e l l .

As o u ' v e probably uessed,

he

went o Kenya,

o o .

So

ow

e t

us e l l you h e happy news

Susan

m e t

res under f r i c a ' s sun.

The

ord

e n t l y showed her

he

was h e o n e .

This o v e i s something we l l c e l e b r a t e .

The

ord's hand

s

i n

i t

- t ' s more

han

Just

a t e

Dedicated

t o

Tresand

Susan

by Lisa Borden,

CMF

enya-Maasai missionary

CHRISTIAN

MISSIONARY FELLOWSHIP

P.O.BOX501020

INDIANAPOUS. N

46250-6020

N o n p r o f i t

O r g a n i z a t i o n

U.S. ostage

ADDRESSCORRECTION

REQUESTED

Permit No.

975


MISSION SERVICES

EDITORIAL DEPT

P 0

BOX

2427

KNOXVILLE

IN 37901


5/9

Literacy Work Among he

Maasai

ribespeople

of Kenya

Susan

l i v e r e l o d i c C o n l e y

P.O.Box 01020, n d i a n a p o l i s ,

IN

6250-6020

CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY

FELLOWSHIP r a y e r N e w s l e t t e r

A

DAT

KC

UA^...

August 1992

We've

spent a o t of

ime

over the p ast

four

years

camping

out

n Maasailand.We

ave found

the

most onsistent rout ines are when e're tenting

i t .

Join

us for a y p i c a l

teaching

day in the

i f e

. . .

OUT N

THE BUSH,

there

a r e n ' t

any

lock

radios

o

wake us

up

(unless you count t he songs

r

om he birds

outside our ent).

And here

s n ' t

any

early

morning

r a f f i c

(unless you count the

long

i n e s of

a t t l e

streaming

out

of

he

i l l a g e s

on h e i r way o

g r a z e ) .

When we

et up

camp n an area

o r a

aasai

. . begins at : 0 0 a . m .

and

a :00 a.m. hair

appointment.

Good morning, Sue

Lucky o r Mel, he water comes

r

om

a

hot

spring

New

eader

Course,

ur morning

routine

is

simple.

NoTV

alk

shows

(but many Maasai neighbors stop

to

chew

the

news),

microwave

breakfasts

(a

cup

of

o f f e e

over

the

ire instead),

or

i n i n g up

or

a hower

(we've got

he whole

stream

- ick

your

f a v o r i t e

s p o t ) .

Our

eaching

day usually begins around

8:00

a.m.,

with

some

ndividual tutoring time.

Sometimes there i l l

be

a tudent who

oes


6/9

A i t t l e

p r a c t i c e at : 0 0

Ole Nko

s one of ur u i c k e s t

s t u d e n t s .

l i v e l y

discussions e s u l t Students ask l l

sorts

of

questions,

rom "What s the Trinity?"

to

"Why

d i d perfume o s t

so

much n Bible times?"

One f ur a v o r i t e times of he day s

11:00

-

ea

time. By now, we e through the major portion of

the new esson and

eady

for a

break.

The

weet,

smoky ea gives us l l extra

energy,

o o

The

esson continues n t i l lunchtime at 1:00

p.m.

Often,

students i l l bring food

r

om heir

shambas gardens) o help pay for the course

c o s t s . This s always an

ncouragement,

because

i t shows

ust

how much

he

Maasai want o leam

to read.

Lunch

doesn't vary too much, ut we

enjoy t Rice, beans,

otatoes,

abbage,and o t s

of hortening a a v o r i t e ingredient... yum )

ahead at a quicker

pace,

and e ' l l use h i s ti m e

to

g e t in an

xtra

lesson. Ole Nko, he student

pictured

with

Susan, earned to read completely

in about

four

weeks Or,a

tudent

might have to

miss

a lass

session

because

ofan unforeseen

problem. When

h i s happens, we ry to catch hi m

up efore he

goes

on ith the new l a s s

lesson.

At

around

9:00 a.m.the main lass

has

come

together. Given the

fact

that we're

operating

on

African

time, his can mean

:15

or 9:45.)We

spend

some ime singing

and

chewing the

news

before

beginning the

teaching time with prayers.

As ur students

lead

in prayer,

hey

often

i f t

up

s p e c i a l thanks

for

you a l l back in America who

are a i t h f u l partners.

By

0:00

a.m.,

o u ' l l

find us in the

middle

ofa

new

eader

lesson.

We ight

be teaching

a

new

word or

y l l a b l e ,

or

one of he

students

might

be

reading

the story

alone. There s always

a time

to

share

a erse

or

two

r

om he

Bible.Sometimes

At

0 : 0 0 ,

we're well into he lesson.

Where

h e r e ' s a r e e ,

t h e r e ' s

a

lassroom

Prayers at : 0 0 s t a r t t h i n g s

out

i n e . .

Prayer y o u r s ,

o u r s ,

and

t h e i r s )

i s

t h e most important

i n g r e d i e n t of our

t e a c h i n g

d a y .

comprise

our

midday meals.We

ust

dmit,

we

sometim es sneak

a

chocolate

bar or

a uice box

Our

fternoons are i l l e d

with

several

different

review

a c t i v i t i e s

and

games or

the

main

l a s s .

If

there s a quick student, we i l l take h i s time to

teach

an dditional new

esson

t o

him

as

ell.

There

s

always a

o t of aughter and

teaching

when w e

compete

in

the i t e r a c y

games;

e a r n i n g

i s

a

o t of un

We

always pickup

new

words and

phrases,

o o .

And h e r e

you

have t . . . our

y p i c a l

day

IN THE

BUSH

By he time you receive this newsletter,

we

i l l

have

completed

at e a s t one new

eader

course in


7/9

each of he areas

in

Maasailand whereCMF

missionaries

work.

There are local

Maasai

l i t e r a c y teachers working in each area,as e l l ,

following up ur work, beginning new l a s s e s ,

and

encouraging t he

readers.

Student o

student, eacher

to l a s s , prayer by

prayer- aasai men

and

women are

being

sharpened by

the Word.

As e've

spent

our days

IN

THE BUSH ver the

past

four

years,

we've

learned

i

rsthand

"as

iron

sharpens

iron,

so

one

man harpens

another."

roverbs 17:17

You ave helped

to

sharpen the

i v e s

of he

Maasai Christians Rejoic e

with us

• ver the readers

in

the Maasai hurches,

•

o r individuals i v i n g on the cutting edge by

the

Word

f

God,

•

nd or

the future

of

elievers

who re

sharpened

and

ready o r use

by

the Lord

Our

erm

together

in

Kenya

s

coming o

a

l o s e .

We'd i k e

to

thank

you

once

again o r

being wit h

us

—

through

prayer, support,

e t t e r s ,

encouragement,and

houghts.

All those days

IN

THE BUSH

and

ON THE ROAD

would

never

have happened

f not o r

you.

We'll

be

seeing

many

f

you

soon,and

y o u ' l l

be

hearing

more about

our

futures

in the

coming

A f t e r

a

u l l

mornmg

f

l a s s e s ,

we

reak

for lunch t 1:00.

Mel

sneaks

a

snack

at lunchtime.(A

i t t l e

excited, Mel?)

I t ' s 1 1 : 0 0 , thank heaven.

ea time

L e t ' s j u s t s a y . . . EVERYBODY

eeds

a

i t t l e

break

no w

and

then.

Review b e g i n s a t

2 : 0 0 . Does

h i s

l o o k

l i k e fun

o

you?

We pend

t h e

a f t e r n o o n r e i n f o r c i n g

t h e l e s s o n s of h e

morning

through games.

months

or

now,

l e a s e keep

praying as w e pack

up,

ay

goodbye at e a s t f o r a h i l e ) ,

and

head

back

to

America.

We've

got

some

busy

months of

speaking

and traveling

ahead as

we

hare

about

this work irsthand

with

our

churches

and .

friends

For the Kingdom,

Sue and

Mel

Susan Oliver and

Melodie

Conley


8/9

/^SL

/ - I Z - An?3

Melodic

Conley

LITERACY

WORKAMONGTHE

AASAITRIBESPEOPLE

OFKENYA

56253

McKenzie Hwy. Blue i v e r , OR

7413

503/822-3526

CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY FELLOWSHIP r a y e r N e w s l e t t e r

October 1992

"Consequently,you are no

longer

foreigners

and l i e n s ,

but

ellow

c i t i z e n s

with

God's

people

and members

f

od's

h o u s e h o l d . . . . " Ephesians 2:20

Hey

t ' s

true

I

don't feel

like

a

stranger here any

more

When

we rrived

in

Kenya our

years

ago,

as

you m i g h t

magine,

e v e r 3 d ; h i n g

was

trange. wasa

foreigner in

a

ountry

where . .

. . . people

drive

on the

e f t s i d e

of he

road

or

down he

middle),

hrough potholes

as

big as small ponds.

. . .

everybody drinks

hot ea, l l

day

long,

very day.

. . .

restaurants are

closed al l

afternoon except ,

f ourse,

o r

tea).

. . . a ox ofAmerican cereal

costs

$8.

. . . double-parking on

busy

streets

s

a iven.

. . . i c e in your soda s not a

given.

. . .

you

can always bargain.

. . .

the

old

adage

comes

rue.

Truly,

i t ' s

not what ou know,

but who you know."

You

quickly

develop

friendships

with

everyone

from the butcher

t o theman

who

ells

auto

spares.

And

hat

was

ust Nairobi

What bout

he

people ' d come

to

work

with?

Talk about

f e e l i n g l i k e

an

l i e n

The

Maasai?

. . . thewomen have heir

heads

and the men ear o g a - l i k e

sheets or

blankets.

. . . the children

think

I'm going

toeatthem.

. . . everybody stares

at

me.

. . . the

hair

on my arms

s

fascinating.

. . . the housesaremade f

s t i c k s , mud and

cow

dung.

. . .

f l i e s

are

a iven.

. . . being able t o

distinguish

anything

inside

the darkness of

a ouse s not a given.

. . . "What o

you

mean you a n ' t

t e l l one

cow

from

another,

Mel?"

. . . the song

"Do

our

Ears

Hang

Low?" akes on significance.

. . . the language has no

uture

tense, but his doesn't make

verbs any easier

to

igure out.

Time asses.

sometimes

drivedown

he middle of he

road. ' v e learned to navigate

through o t h o l e s . I drink tea

(or

o f f e e ) a l l

day long,

very

day. can ask o r

i c e in three

languages

and,

f

t ' s

not

"out of

tock," I even get

i t ) .

Double parking s a

given. Lines,shortages,

and elays are part of

the rhythm of i f e .

Just

in case you

were

wondering, hey

are also

f r u s t r a t i n g .

I ' v e

eaten

lunch at

my echanic's

house, and I'm on

a

first-name

basis with

taxi

drivers and

booksellers.

means

o accept

tea

made ith

your r i e n d ' s

l a s t

b i t

of

ugar,

or

to

serve

up

your

a s t

cold

soda

witha mile.

t

means o

take time

to

share the news

even when you're running a t e .

It

means eaching

the same

reading lesson over

again

m t i l

they get t . I t

means ard work

but even

greater oy.

Throughout he past four

years,Susan and

have

been

working

within a ulture

very

And

he

Maasai?

Somewhere along the

way, men earing red

blankets

stopped

looking

strange o me.

And only

notice if

a woman

as et

her

hair grow out. There

are

times, n a h i l l y

evening, crave the l o s e

warmth

of

a Maasai

cooking

i r e instead

of

my

own

tone house.

' v e

learnedsome

words

o

say to the children who

thought

was oing

to

eat them; ow hold

their

small, dusty,

wiggly

bodies on

my

a p . I wear beaded

bracelets

from

friends all

over

Maasailand.

And

lies don't

bother me much

anymore,

ven

in my ea.

To no

onger

be l i e n : It means

t o

understand or

o

endure

even

when

you don't

imderstand. t

means o try.

It

means o

laugh with

friends

and o o i n in h e i r sorrows.

t

A ay ithout

ea?

Never lease pray for t he

Maasaimen and

women who

r e learning

t o

read God'sWord.

different from our own. his

culture has

become

amiliar to

me,

i k e

home.

erhaps that s

because

themen nd women

we ave been teaching to

read

are,

ruly "God's eople and

m e mbers of

od's household."

We hare the same ousehold,

the

same amily.

Who

ould

stay an

alien

or a oreigner

here

for

long?

In

a

few weeks,

' l l be back

on


9/9

Please

pray

or

Maasai

iteracy

teachers,

ike

Daniel,

as hey go

ahead

with

the

work.

the

other side of

he water,

back

in American culture.I

can't

help

but

wonder what

hings

w i l l seem strange to me.What

ifI an't remember

how o use

an automatic washer, r how o

go through the supermarket

l i n e ? Will I be

unfazed

by weird

h a i r s t y l e s or clothes?

Will

I

t i l l

drink gallons

of

ea?

(Probably.) ill I

be

able to

communicate,

t least a

i t t l e ,

whatan

amazing

four years t s

been?

Furlough begins in

mid-October.

l l

have

a

ear

to

re-learn

American

culture,

and

to hold

Maasai culture

in

my

heart. Please

continue

— as you

have done

so a i t h f u l l y

— to

pray.

Pray or

• he Maasai i t e r a c y teachers

w h o l l

be

continuing to

hold

weekly reading classes in many

different areas.

• he

students who

ong

to

read

on their own.

• ood

rains.

•he MFissionaries

who

are i v i n g and

ministering

among he Maasai.

How an

you pray

for me?

I've

madea entative

decision to return to work

among he Maasai

for

another term whenmy

ear

of

urlough s f i n i s h e d .

My

work

would

t i l l be

in

l i t e r a c y ,

with

a

double

emphasis: eveloping/

producing new reading

materials and curriculum

and working with Maasai

l i t e r a c y

teachers

throughout

Maasailand.

I

wouldn't be

doing

as

much eaching,

but

rather encouraging ,

organizing, and training

local Maasai

readers

to

continue the i t e r a c y

program themselves. I'm

excited about the

p o s s i b i l i t i e s for the

i t e r a c y

program,

and that

I

may

e

returning to i v e and work

among

he Maasai.

Pray

•

hat the

Lord

will affirm or

r e - d i r e c t

t h i s decision

during

my

ime on furlough.

• l s o f o r

rest,

safety,

and

hat

I

w i l l

rememberhow o survive in

American culture again

Now

o

him who s able

to

do

immeasurably

more

han

a l l

we

ask or imagine

. . t o

him

be

glory "

Ephesians

3:20-21

For

the Kingdom

Melodi e Conley

P.S.

Please

note the

address

change

9 .

No onger

an lien

Thanks

or l l

your

prayers

10/92

Christian missionary

fellowship

P.O.BOX

501020

INDIANAPOLIS. N 46250̂ 20

ADDRESS

CORRECTION REQUESTED

MISSION

>cR

eCITORI^iL I

p

0 3QX 242

KNQXVILL

N o n p r o f i t O r g a n i z a t i o n

U.S. Postage

PAID

Permit

No.

297S


V:c-:S

PT

TN 37901

conley melodie 1992 kenya

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