Agreement Reached

The good news from Kenya last Thursday is the reaching of a power-sharing agreement between the two rival political parties. Amen.

Lead mediator, Kofi Annan, was quoted yesterday by the East African Standard as saying, "Kenya has a lot to offer. As Kenyans you need to work together, heal and unify the nation," adding that it was a beautiful country which he would like to see remain prosperous.

The Standard reports of life now in Kenya, "Some have great hope that peace will prevail and they will go back home. Some are still too traumatised by what they went through, and believe things will never be the same again, even after reconciliation."

An agreement is reached. The real work of finding a new peace lies ahead. What does the future hold for Kenya?

Wishing for Normal

Sue Sprenkle of the IMB has published an article about the current situation in Kenya, "Displaced Kenyans wish life could be normal again." Find it here.

In the news: An opposition party leader has threatened further rallies if the constitutional arrangments for power sharing do not begin within the next two weeks. Further rallies means further terror & bloodshed.

Continue to pray for peace in Kenya. Pray that those with power to affect the outcomes to be moved by God's Spirit. Pray for the thousands of internally displaced peoples still unable to return home due to the real presence of ongoing violence. Pray that the strong, humble differences of Christ-followers would be evident to those needing Jesus.

The Forecast

Calm prevails today. Uneasy as it may be calm has prevailed the last two weeks. Countless Kenyans are still displaced & fearful for their lives. Negotiations between the two sides are moving ahead with Kofi Annan seeking to broker a peaceful settlement of shared power.

Stormy forecast ahead? Further storms of violence are the inevitable concern of Kenyans however. Rightfully so as the two rival parties seek power and its spoils. This may have the effect of colliding cold & warm fronts in the atomosphere. Explosive. Stormy.

Continue to pray for Kenya. May peace prevail. May God draw Kenyans unto Himself.

Safety & Peace

The following paragraph is taken from a recent US Embassy in Kenya security message:

American citizens should avoid all travel to the cities of Kisumu, Nakuru and Naivasha and defer non-essential travel to the remaining portions of Kenya’s three provinces -- Nyanza, Western, and Rift Valley -- which are most affected by the unrest. Road travel in western Kenya remains unsafe. Sporadic illegal road blocks by gangs or criminal elements make travel risky.

Those locations are exactly where we'd have traveled through & been staying with the Teso.

We'll stay safe at home.

Yet many Kenyans can not go home.

They are not safe.

We can pray as Jesus spoke, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

Whiter than Snow

Rolling out from under my warm covers this cold morning I found Lincoln covered in beautiful, sparkling white snow. What is it about snow? Clean, pure, floating, blowing, sparkling, enrapturing. I love it.

There is a great, old hymn with lyrics by James Nicholson that shares the name of this post: Whiter than Snow.

Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole;
I want Thee forever to ransom my soul;
Break down every idol, cast out ev'ry foe;
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

May those in Lincoln. May those in Kenya. May those sin-stained, heart-darkened people everywhere turn to Jesus with this plea, "Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."

NEWS FLASH: Trip Postponed

Just hours ago I received an email from our missionary contact in Nairobi, Doug Lee, saying that they have decided to cancel our trip for now. There is concern of ongoing unrest due to the corrupt election process of 2 weeks ago.

Our trip to meet the Teso will be postponed indefinitely until we are sure of a prevailing peace in Kenya. We will cancel our flights & rearrange our schedule. Our Kenyan friends are not so fortunate.

One person we looked forward to meeting, David Gitau, the director of the Busia Baptist Bible School, is in hiding fearful for his life. David is a member of one tribe, but lives in an area dominated by a rival tribe. The rival political parties are formed from rival tribal groups so what started with an election has become tribal violence. David is just one Kenyan. I wonder how many countless others are living in fear or hiding as he is right now?

Pray for peace in Kenya. Pray for the protection of it's people. Pray that God would turn people toward Himself using what Satan has intended for evil.

Violence Shows the Greatest Need

You may no doubt have heard about the violence erupting in pockets across Kenya as a result of their recent elections. Terrible, senseless atrocities have been committed by people angry that their party didn't win & distrusting their ruling party. This speaks of hopelessness.

If your life has so little to live for that you will resort to violence over election results, then you must be hopeless. If you place your faith in elected officials to change your way of life (this is not a politician joke), you must be hopeless.

What is the cure for hopelessness?

A transformed life in Jesus Christ. Hope transformed. Thoughts transformed. Actions transformed.

May God restore peace & order in Kenya. May God draw Kenya to saving knowledge of His Son, my Savior, Jesus.