Today’s song video is the story of how one woman of faith responded to difficult times. The song is about the inspiring confession that Ruth, the daughter of Moab, made before her mother-in-law, Naomi. Ruth made a courageous decision to trust the God of Naomi in the face of economic and racial marginalization. This story has been a source of encouragement for millions of people throughout the centuries. The passage from Ruth 1:17-18 is presented word-for-word in the Luo language.
We met the artist, Joseph Agali a few years ago in Nairobi, Kenya while working on a song project. Joseph, who was an administrator at the time, heard scripture songs in other languages and asked if he could try to compose scripture songs in his native Luo language. We recorded his songs after we finished with our other work and Joseph was off and running as a composer. His songs can now be heard regularly on local and national radio and some of his song videos are in regular rotation on Kenyan music video television. One of his most joyful moments was going to the fish market and hearing a fishmonger he had never met singing his song from Habakuk 1:1-5!
The arts have great power to communicate messages that connect deeply with people’s hearts, especially in the non-Western world. We are blessed to lead a ministry that celebrates, encourages and releases the ethnoarts in ways that advance the gospel and the ministry of the local church among the world’s most underreached peoples!
Enjoy!