Going Segeju

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.  To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.”  Revelation 21:6

The final group we will visit on our logistical pre-vision trip is the Segeju.  If you remember from our previous post about them, this people group is almost totally Muslim.  There are no churches in Segeju villages – what an opportunity for an engaging church to bring the Good News to those who have never heard.

Making a point of visiting different villages from our previous trip, we turn off the main road down sandy pathways toward the ocean because Segeju fishing villages are situated along the coast.

Welcoming us heartily, as we walk through Segeju villages, we gather a crowd everywhere we go.

People are very hospitable.

They are happy that we are interested in their lives, where they live, what they do and they are eager to help us learn Swahili as well.  Being a life-long learner helps us in many ways!

Good water is a problem for Coastal Segeju. We heard that in our previous visit and we continue to hear it from folks today.

Mundaro village has three wells.  Two dry up when the rains stop and the water table drops. The third, while it seemingly never runs dry, has a vast opening and it appears everything imaginable blows into it.  Showing our concern for the situation, we agree to taste the water in each of the wells.

While this is a bit risky -- (we filter water before drinking it) usually water from a borehole type well is fairly safe.

Our willingness to drink the water that they must drink is a very important exercise.

It will be the first block of relationship building when engagement happens.

Pray for those who will carry the gospel story to the coastal Segeju. Biblical illustrations abound bridging the gap between Segeju lives and the gift of salvation through Christ. Pray that God’s messengers will be prepared with appropriate stories from the Bible to share with them.

Pray for God to send dreams and visions to the Segeju preparing the soil of their hearts for the seeds of the truth in God’s Word.

Pray that these Segeju fishermen will become fishers of men!

Living life by the tides -- the Segeju of Tanzania

“’Come, follow me,’  Jesus said,  ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’  At once they left their nets and followed Him.”    Matt. 4:19

“We have only mosques, there are no churches,” one man told us as we turned off the road entering the Segeju (Seh-geh-jew) area.  He was quite pleased with this.

Living in fishing villages along the coast of northern Tanzania,  Segeju life centers around the tides of the Indian ocean.  At low tide the men mend nets, sleep and relax, waiting for high tide.

Each family has a hand-built fishing boat beached in the sand also waiting for high tide.

The district council fish market where the fish are auctioned is empty today and no transport is waiting to carry fish to market in Tanga.



A group of passing women greet us, but can only answer a question or two. Laughing and chatting as they rush past, they don’t mean to be rude, but the tide is out and they are hurrying to tidal pools with baskets to collect shell fish which will be cooked for a meal that day.

Life is not easy for the Segeju.  It is getting more difficult to make a living from the ocean because the waters are being over-fished.

Too salty for human or animal consumption, water from their local wells can only be used for washing clothes.  Drinking water must be carried into the villages from wells further inland.

Primary schools can be found in some of the villages, but the secondary school is five or more kilometers away. 

Bringing the gospel to the Segeju will be challenging.  There may be hostility toward those sharing and persecution to any believers.  But our mandate it to go and share even to those hard of heart that some may hear and be saved.

*Pray for the softening of Segeju hearts.

*Pray for wisdom in planning the best way to enter Segeju villages in order for the most receptivity.

*As God calls out followers to go to the Segeju, pray for obedient hearts and minds affording the Segeju the opportunity to hear about God’s gift of new life in Christ.