Sharing a name with one of Christ’s 12 disciples, Bartholomew Lotome Adome has made it his existential duty to live in accordance with all that is good and holy. In addition to regular church service attendance, he lives a life of thorough introspection saturated by mindful prayer and meditation. Abiding in solitude and silence, he finds joy in transcending earthly existence and establishing a celestial connection with his god.

Bartholomew’s moral and spiritual consistency did not begin with conversion to christianity. As a young man living in the midst of Turkana pastoralists, he never fell for the dissolute delights of deceptive youthful life. Abstaining from all temptations, his was a life of saintly upbringing. When he encountered the catholic missionaries, his innate spirituality was amplified by scriptural guidance.

In 1971, after a two-year training, Bartholomew began a career in teaching. He taught Geography, History and Civics at primary level. And while the working conditions of a teacher appeared to be ghastly and insufferable, Bartholomew maintained his job, at times trekking for over 15 kilometers, on a scarcely fed belly and inadequately rested feet.

“I loved teaching. There was an unexplainable satisfaction in passing on the little knowledge I had,” he recalls.

In 1978, while stationed in the remote reserves of Isiolo, Bartholomew was driven by the exquisite love of one of the young ladies to a point of exchanging sacred marital vows.

As the two lived together in relative bliss, fate cruelly examined their creed. One by one, all his six children sailed from the safe harbor of earth’s life and proceeded on to the uninhabitable shores of the hereafter. This darkness surrounding him failed to extinguish the light of faith within and his conviction grew stronger.

However, the same could not be said for his wife. The loss of her children became the primary cause of her delirium. Earnestly preaching to her, Bartholomew attempts to remove the rust on her mind without wrecking it completely.

Bartholomew is now retired with a full heart enriched by honest service. Ascertaining that idleness is indeed the enemy of a fruitful existence, he separates his time between farm labor and devout prayer.