The Simakakata Story

I can almost hear Ruhtt's singsong voice: "Shepherd, what's wrong with those people?"

"I'm sure it's nothing, Ruhtt," Shepherd replied, "let's go home."

It was 1998. Ruhtt and Shepherd Mbumwae were returning from a long day of work in Simakakata, laying the ground work for a church plant. They had brought a group of students with them to go door to door, speaking to the residents of the village about Jesus. Now they were tired and on their way home, but Ruhtt was disturbed by the behavior of some people walking in the bush just off the highway.

"They look like zombies; what's wrong with them?! Pull over, Shepherd."

Shepherd knew well that when Ruhtt get's her mind set on something, she latches onto it like a pitbull to a favorite toy. Shepherd pulled over.

The people walking like Zombies were blind people. They walked with their hands in front of them, feeling their way around an unknown area. The government had uprooted them from their homes in several cities in the Southern Province, promising them land of their own. They dropped them off in the bush near Simakakata with nothing; they had no food and no hope to get any. When the Mbumwaes pulled over the people asked them, "Where are we? We can hear cars, but we don't know how far or how to get to them to ask for help."

Ruhtt and Shepherd rushed home and gathered food for them. On Monday of that week (and Tuesday and Wednesday and for several weeks) they appealed to the government on their behalf, but the bureaucrats were unable to help. So, Ruhtt and Shepherd organized a group of students to help clear the land and build some rudimentary shelter.

Now, fourteen years later, there is a community of ten families with at least one blind family member.  They living in their own little village with their own church building. Our team was blessed with an opportunity to visit these faithful people last Tuesday to leave them a gift. We brought them a Proclaimer from Faith Comes by Hearing. 

Grayson explains to one of the church leaders how to use the proclaimer.

Angie and Emma pass out gifts to ladies from the community.

We brought frisbees for the young people, but this woman caught the bug.  Here Marti teaches her, but before long she was teaching others.  We were all smiling and laughing.