Kenya in Chaos

I have been praying and preparing to go to Kenya on a 16 month Overseas Internship with Bethany College of Missions, but rioting and violence in the country have threatened to take this opportunity away from me.

The country of Kenya has previously been one of the most stable countries in Northern Africa, with a generally stable economy and increasingly healthy and educated population.  However, after the Presidential election at the end of December, much of this stability came crashing down.  The candidate up for re-election was accused of rigging the vote by his opponent and over the course of weeks of rioting and anger sparked by this accusation, the clash has been reduced to racial and tribal conflict.  Over 1,000 people have been killed in the uprisings and around 300,000 have been displaced.  How ironic and unsettling that the country that was once home to refugees from Somalia, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Sudan is now sending fleeing citizens those very same countries.

This unrest does not necessarily mean it would be unsafe for Americans to enter the country or that we should flee the country in fear, but it does mean that life in general has become very difficult for citizens and foreigners alike.  It would be unwise to send a team of fresh missionaries in training into this situation as the missionaries already there need to

 focus on the necessities of life and ministry.  Simple things such as how to get clean water and

 food become enormous tasks when the entire infrastructure of the country has been shaken.  We would be burdensome and even more

overwhelmed than necessary, so as long as the violence continues, we will not be p

laced in Kenya.

The team that intended to leave in January has been redeployed to Tanzania, the country bordering Kenya to the South, for the time being.  They are hopeful that once the country settles into a new government they will be able to return to the original destination and ministry plans in Kenya.  The same is true for the team I will be on that will depart next January.  We will be watching, praying and waiting to see if we will be able to go to Kenya or if we too will need to switch to an alternate location.

Please pray that our leadership will have wisdom and direction from GOD to decide where our teams should go and what risks to take.  Living for Christ is not always safe, but this doesn't mean we make foolish decisions and test God.  Also pray for the missionaries and Christians in Kenya that they will have a powerful witness of love, mercy and faith in the midst of hatred and chaos.  Pray that God will give them courage and protect them as they continue working for his glory.

Thanks for reading and I'll keep updating as more information arises!

(All of the information in this post is from online news reports such as Reuters and from Wikipedia)