Journey In

Take a peek into the everyday life and ministry of a couple working in Kwale – a community near Kenya’s southern coast – where Tyler and Rachel served as part of a small team, continuing AIM’s decades-long outreach among the Islamic Digo people.
video [09:45]
“The Digo are people who love so deeply. I think they’ve often been misrepresented as very harsh people who are hard to love, hard to get along with, but the more that I live here, the more I get to know the Digo, I think they have a deep-rooted compassionate love and so much care for those around them.” —Rachel
“We went to language school for three months, learning Swahili,” says Rachel, “which was the first time I ever tried to seriously learn a language. It was incredibly difficult, but also incredibly rewarding…” Here, Rachel practices KiDigo, the local heart language with their friend and neighbor, Mwarimo. Learning the heart language of a host people group is central to any AIM outreach.
Evening walks are a regular part of life in Kwale and help in building relationships throughout the community.
A Digo neighbor prepares mandazis, a fried dough staple, over an open fire to share with Rachel and Tyler. “These people are so kind and generous, and just incredible people,” says Rachel. “And we just want to share the love of Jesus with them.”

The Milky Way lights up the sky above Rachel and Tyler’s simple two-bedroom home.

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.

Psalm 19: 1-4

The backyard hammocks are a hit with the neighbor kids…

“To become a part of the community, I’ve had to learn a lot. And still learning a lot.” —Tyler

Don’t mind if I do: Early in their time in Kwale, Asali (the Swahili word for honey) wandered into their lives and just never left. She’s since had a litter of puppies…

Africa Inland Mission has been leading people into meaningful cross-cultural ministry for more than 125 years. We send workers throughout Africa and among African diaspora around the globe. We’re engaged with over 100 unreached people groups and have hundreds of opportunities to join in.

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