Violence in Kenya

Pray for Kenya

When I was in Kenya this summer, I watched a lot of Kenyan news, having the privilege of staying with a woman in Nairobi who could afford a tv. A heated topic was the upcoming presidential elections. Honestly, I saw that the competition was cutthroat but I did not realize any huge party implications. I heard people were very spilt on politics, especially since democracy was so new to them. But my naive little mind could not wrap around the possible reprecussions of this election.

The Electoral Comission of Kenya announced earlier today (Sunday) that President Kibaki had beat Raila Odinga by more than 230,000 votes, and he was immediately sworn into office. But Mr. Odinga disputed this result, accusing " a clique of people around Kibaki trying to rob Kenyans of the election," to his supporters at a news conference after the results were announced.

After the government suspended all live television and radio reports, Mr Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement invited its supporters to an alternative inauguration ceremony in the capital, Nairobi, on Monday to declare him the "people's president".

All of this had dangerous ramifications.

After the official results were announced, thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets across the country in protest and at least 13 people were killed.

According to BBC, in Nairobi's Kibera slum, people began attacking and looting shops. Houses were burnt to the ground and vehicles set in flames. Police fired live rounds and tear-gas to disperse Mr Odinga's supporters, while a blackout also plunged the area into darkness.

This is where -I worked this summer - Kibera. Looking through the pictures on BBC news, it looks all too familiar. I thought about the people I met in their homes, the sisters I worked with at the Missionaries of Charity and the school kids as well as the street kids who'd always cry out "how are you!"

This has all just happened within the past day. It looks like it'll just get worse. Evangeline, who went to on the Kenya Global Project me, forwarded this e-mail tonight from a missionary in Northern Kenya:

Dear brothers and sisters,

Greetings in the Lord.

As you may have heard from the news that Kenya has just had an election this past Thursday. The presidential race was so close that it took a few days for the electoral commission until this evening to make announcement. They have declared the current president Kibaki as the winner. But the opposition party has rejected the result, accusing the government of rigging the votes. People are very confuse now. A peaceful election has turned into violence everywhere in the country. People in many towns along the highway have set up road blocks and create havoc and chaos (burning tires, throwing rocks, and rioting).

I was traveling down country from Lokichoggio yesterday to send some missionary friends home and plan to get some supplies in Nairobi. But on our way, we have heard violence in many parts of the country. We had to stay in a town last night to avoid the trouble. Today, as we heard the road were clear ed so I continued to send a missionary home and another one to the local airport, we were caught in some of the road blocks along the way. We thank God that we got through safely, but it was very scary and tense with the mob surrounding our vehicles shouting and threatening us. The situation where I am now is very tense. I have to stay in a Bible school tonight with soem other missionaries (and perhaps for the next few days) to avoid the troubles in the area and not be able to travel until it is safe to do so.

Please pray

1. for peace of the country. The violence can spread and turn the whole country into chaos and unrest.
2. for safety for Chris as she is at the school in Songot, with another missionary family, the Haspels. Pray that the Turkana will not get involve with the violence and troubles like the rest of the country.
3. Safety of all missionaries and mission stations in Kenya.
4. for the situation in the area where I am now will clam down so that I can travel back to Lokichoggio soon.

Thanks for your prayer in this trouble time in Kenya.

Blessings,
Tim

I echo this request: please pray. We're powerless to do anything by ourselves but God comes into power as we call on his name on other people's behalf. The power of prayer can change things around. I would like to lift up a specific prayer request that the Lord will strengthen the sisters at the Missionaries of Charity school even more with his mercy and love- making them an extension of his light to the people in Kibera during this turbulent time. Pray for the orphans, the widows, the jobless, the hungry, the sick, the homeless, the AIDs victims- that God will protect them through of all of this and bring his light into their lives. Pray for the people- everyone. Pray for the protestors, pray for the victims of this violence and their families. Pray for the government not to fall apart- that this will not lead into something worse than it already is.

Keep informed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7165383.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7165406.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7164350.stm

Thanks Evangeline, for the urgent message.


"Prayer is no surrender to the world, but an act of absolute sedition. And while God does not always answer our prayers, he invariably changes our perspective on the world. He shows us a little bit of his upside-down power when we pray.In prayer our vision becomes clear, so that at the moment of greatest injustice our sanity remains solid, while the oppressor, mentally shackled to fleeting power, loses his mind and confuses the here-and-now with the limitless. When we pray, God changes the world, and he usually starts with our hearts and minds. When we pray, even amid stultifying injustice, God demonstrates greater power yet by giving us our right minds."- Paul Grant