Introduction / History

It was almost a year since the young evangelist and his family had settled down in the Jennu Kurumba region, far away from their home town. They had nurtured dreams of having a small group of Jennu Kurumba worshipping the Lord within a year. But every time the young family tried to build friendships, they were greeted with suspicion or blank looks. As a result, the evangelist and his wife were discouraged.

The Jennu Kurumba are very poor and struggle to make ends meet. A large number of their children drop out of school and take to daily labor early in life because of their family's financial situation. As a result, very few of them are literate. There is also a clear need for medical, social and economic development for this community.

Where Are they Located?

The Jennu Kurumba are spread out mainly along the border forests of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. They are also referred to by the names 'Then Kurumba' or 'Kattu Naikar.' Most of them work as daily laborers for landlords in plantations in the region. Being a close-knit community, they rarely mingle with other neighboring tribal communities. The consequences of doing so are severe. If any Jennu Kurumba becomes friendly with an outsider, he will be expelled from his community.

What Are Their Beliefs?

They were exposed to the Christian faith almost a century ago, but no visible results are seen now. To them, Christianity is a foreign religion and below their standards, as Christians eat beef. The missionary family has been trying to make contact with the Jennu Kurumba for quite some time, but they still do not have entry into the community. Christian workers are needed for contextualized presentation of the gospel. The Jennu Kurumbas speak a distinct language and research has shown that there is need for translating the Scriptures. The Word of God, given in their language, can better communicate the gospel message. They could then understand the love of God and enjoy freedom from fear and suspicion.

Prayer Points

* God to open doors for the Jennu Kurumba to welcome Jesus into their community.
* The missionary family to be encouraged and be a key means for the Jennu Kurumba to come to faith in Jesus.
* Wisdom, grace and empowering from above for the newly assigned Scripture translation team