Shem Alakonya Ombango

Shem Alakonya Ombango fought the good fight, finished the race and kept the faith, and on Friday the 28th of January 2005, God rewarded Shem by taking him Home. In his last days with us, Shem had suffered a stroke, following which he never fully recovered.

Born in 1936, and baptized into Jesus in 1990, Shem was blind and lived in the sprawling slum of Kibera, but never allowed that to handicap his zeal for God, his commitment to disciples or his passion for the mission.

Shem leaves behind him a legacy of courage, conviction and compassion, and tributes to him poured in from all over the Nairobi church and from disciples in Kampala, Uganda; Triangle, USA; Toronto, Canada; Washington D.C., USA; Seattle, USA; Atlanta, USA; New York, USA; Denver, USA and San Antonio, USA, as a testimony to how deeply Shem has a place in the hearts of many.

About 200 disciples came to a morning send-off service as the funeral entourage departed for the burial, and a few days later the Nairobi church's midweek service was a memorial for Shem. Several people shared that night:

Tom Mboya, a disciple in the Kibera region of which Shem was a member: "Shem often shared that the kingdom should be the greatest focus of every disciple."

Steve Odongo, a physically challenged disciple from the East region: "When I came to church Shem told me, 'Disability is not inability. We need to work together to help people know God'."

Nicasius Kamani of the Metro region and HOPE worldwide: "Shem spoke with so much hope for eternity, as if he were seeing God."

Elias Aketch: "Shem would share Ecclesiastes 7:10, 13 with us in calling us to stop complaining about the cost of living in Nairobi and other things that often bothered us."

William Auki, leader of the Kibera region: "Shem was very quick with Scripture and impacted many this way."

Writing from Washington D.C., Tom Ziegler shares, "Shem had been on my heart over the last few weeks for some reason. I had an opportunity to preach a few Sundays ago to the church here in Northern Virginia and shared about Shem and his inspiring life as a disciple."

Former leader of the church in Kenya, Mike Taliaferro, now in San Antonio, says, "My wife and I are truly saddened to hear of Shem's passing. As the Bible says, 'Godly men mourned the death of Stephen,' and so we mourn the passing of a great brother and dear friend in the Lord. He will always be remembered for his faith, his conviction, and his booming 'Amens' to encourage the preacher.

Shem was not a man blessed with earthly riches, and I thank the Nairobi church for their continued support for Shem as he battled both his blindness and his advancing age. Shem was VERY blessed with spiritual riches, however, and now he is fellowshipping with the saints from all the centuries gone by. My heart aches at his departure, but I smile when I think about his sight restored, his health perfect, and his every need taken care of by the Almighty.

"Dear Shem, thank you for your example, your constant encouragement, and your love for all the disciples. I cannot wait to see you again at the end of the race."

As Nairobi evangelist Steve Mukenya shared in his sermon at the body-send-off, "Shem nourished many with his words of guidance and advice, and despite his challenges lived a great, committed life. That is Shem's legacy. We will miss his love, advice and compassion."

"Loving Memory" Page