upheaval in Kenya

[Heather Goodman]

I didn't want to believe it to be true. I thought that maybe the news was making it sound worse than it was. Then I read Heather Jamison's blog (www.heatheronthenet.com). It's worse than I thought. The truth is, between the Iowa caucus, some woman getting stuck in an elevator for two days, and another Amy Fisher story, Kenya's barely showing up on CNN. You have to search for it.
Anyway, my point--I'd love to hear from missionaries (Heather? Steve? Amanda?) and from others following the situation how to best respond. Obviously, prayer. But what do you guys think about what's going on?

[Heather Jamison]

It's WAY worse than the media is showing in the States. WAY worse. Everyone who knows Kenya is shell-shocked in disbelief. 100,000 are displaced and in severe humanitarian need. Hundreds killed. Food and fuel only started coming to the town where we live (we are NOT there right now - we are in the Middle East) yesterday after being cut off for a week.
Please, please, please PRAY. That's about all you can do right now but it's a good thing to do. Relief organizations may ASK you for money but most don't NEED it. They can't even get the relief TO the people yet. None of it. They are complaining about this but it's not their fault. The roads are still blocked by siege. So more money won't help. Plus several large ministries worldwide have already given large sums. BUT what Kenya needs right now is a TON of people praying for peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Please. Please. Please. Even if you'll just add a post-it note to your mirror to remind you to pray every day --- because Kenya is at a crossroads. If it stops the violence, it could return to the country it was. But if it continues, IT could become a Sudan, Rwanda and the rest of Africa.

[Heather Jamison]

I guess I should explain why I encourage people not to knee-jerk and GIVE money in a situation like this. It goes back to the philosophy of historic missionary Hudson Taylor. When he would speak at crusades and missions meetings in countries around the world, he would always tell people NOT to give after his talk. He said that we often can find ourselves giving some money and then checking off our involvement when God Himself wants so much more from us. In not giving money, perhaps the lingering compassion remains and we are compelled to pray more than we would have or perhaps even seek God out directly for what He wants us to do. I remember reading Hudson's philosophy over a decade ago and being impressed with his wisdom. It's a good wisdom. And so I want to apply it now, more than ever before. Because Kenya and Kenyans need the prayers of the Body of Christ interceding for them MORE THAN money, more than anything. Prayer is powerful. Sometimes we stick it on the sideline for a donation or something when IT was what God wanted all along. God bless.
PS, I'm uploading a video montage of the story from the last week in Kenya. It should be up shortly. My prayer is that Kenyan unite for peace. Seven of the nation's newspapers (all of them) joined together last Thursday to publish the same headline: "Save our Beloved Country" and they urged the people of Kenya to strive for peace. In the video montage, you will see the photo of a bishop in black talking to a woman. This Bishop is housing over 2,000 refugees on his church's compound just 15 miles from where the Eldoret church burned. The thing to note, though, is that this Bishop IS FROM the exact tribe that burned the church and killed its members. But he is refusing to join in the tribal hate. Instead, he is housing over 2,000 people from the tribe that was killed and have been targets of the violence --- at a risk to himself. God is at work. He CAN save Kenya.

[Heather Goodman]

That's a perspective I didn't expect--don't send money. The desire to do good is good, but I agree, it's easier to write a check and cross it off my to-do list than to be actively involved through prayer.
I continue to pray for the country, the leaders, the churches, the pastors, the missionaries, and the children.
Thank you. I'll go check out the video.