Tithing Cows

When we arrived at Siana Thursday evening, James Nanka told us about a Maasai man who after study of the Bible was convicted that he should tithe his cows.  We were invited to his home to witness the counting of his cows and the setting apart for tithing.  This experience is a first for me in Maasailand and I was most anxious to meet this man and his family.  We arrived early in the morning before the cows were taken out for pasture.  In the homestead there were four families living together.  Normally all the cows from the four families are pastured together, but they were waiting for this young man (Amos) to count his cattle.  Besides Amos and his wife, Sophie, there were 3 herdsmen to help with the process.  First they had to separate out their cows from the combined herd and put them in a corral.  Standing in the middle of the herd, we witnessed first hand what a challenge this alone was.  Once the cows had been put in the corral, the counting began.  The cows were let back out of the corral.  They posted our MDP lay pastor, James Nanka at the entrance with a long stick and as they went through the gate he counted 1 - 10, the 10th marked for tithing.  There were a total of 37 cows in Amos's herd. 

God did a really awesome thing during this process which did not miss the attention of one person from that family.  In the counting there was one calf that came through first, 10 cows later was a female cow, 10 cows after that was a bull.  What is the odds of the mother and her calf being two of the three chosen from the herd?  That is exactly what happened.  Remember that James had no idea which calf belonged to which mother, he was only counting and marking every 10th cow.  The family was amazed by this, saying that if the mother and calf had to be separated at that time, it would have been very difficult, but with them being together, it would be much easier to sell them without separation. 

Amos then gave his testimony.  He had become a Christian and had been studying his Bible.  He was convicted that God wanted him to tithe.  However, in the Maasai culture, you don't sell your cows, above all you don't give them away.  Cows are your wealth and even in times of drought the cows will not be sold, the owner will stay with his cattle even until the last one dies. It is not unheard of to hear that a man has committed suicide after his last cow dies during a drought.  Amos said he struggled in his mind over this issue for a long time and resisted the conviction in his heart.  However, over the last several months, he lost one cow to a wild animal and another one hurt it's leg and died.  Again, Amos struggled with his conviction and told his wife that he felt God could not bless his cows unless he was willing to tithe them.  Thus, he called James Nanka and asked him to please help him tithe his cows.  His story touched me and I asked if I might pray with and for his wife and family.  Many people think Amos is crazy, but I can tell you that he is crazy about his God.  I believe that God is going to bless Amos and Sophie for their act of faith as a witness to the surrounding villages.  This story is not over, I believe it is going to continue for years to come.

While at Amos's homestead, I noticed a lady sitting by the side of her hut, I asked Sophie who she was.  She said it was a widow with four children that her father in-law had taken into his home and was caring for.  In fact one of the herdsmen was her son and had recently married a 14 year old girl.  The lady had cut her knee with a machete and unable to do anything.  She had received medical treatment and the leg was healing.  However, this gave us another opportunity to pray with her for healing.  What impressed me so that day was how many opportunities there were for us to pray with individuals and point them to Jesus. 

RESCUED GIRL

While talking to Sophie, she shared with me that the widow's son who had just married the 14 year old standing not far from us and had made an agreement with his wife's father that instead of paying dowry with cows, he would pay dowry with his 12 year old sister (daughter to the widow) as another wife for someone in that family.  The agreement was made, with soon coming plans for the circumcision (female genital mutilation) of the girl and then the marriage.  I had been interacting with the children and taking pictures, but as I was told this story I looked again at this young girl, it struck me just what a child she was.  I was sickened.  Turning to Sophie I asked her, "how do you feel about this"?  She said, "Come with me".  When we had some privacy, she said this is bad and we don't want it to happen, but my husband cannot go against his father.  We agreed that when the date of the circumcision was set that she would send a message to James Nanka who in turn would inform the Child Services Department.  They would then come and rescue the girl and MDP would find a sponsor for her.  I pray that this young girl child will be rescued in time.

At this same Boma was a 9 year old girl, she was very vivacious.  I asked her why she wasn't in school, I was told because she didn't have a uniform.  She could go for free to the government school but there was no money for the uniform.  The uniform was KSH 350/= or approximately $4.50.  Our next stop was the nearby shopping center and the tailor to have a uniform made for her.  This week she should be in school. 

These were two children out of hundreds who will never receive an education unless they are helped.  They will be forced to under go FGM and be married at young ages, as early as 12 years old.  We may not be able to help every child, but one by one, one at a time, you and Maasai Development Project will make a difference for these precious children.  Won't you "Partner" with us to save a child?

Jan Meharry
Founder/Executive Director
Maasai Development Project - www.4mdp.org

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