Signs of Hope

We must say that things are really on the upswing here. Since the end of last week, the tone of the people has dramatically transformed. The first days of the new year were spent inside, fearful of what was happening beyond the gates of our compound and when we did venture to the supermarket, the Kenyan hospitality was overcome with fear and skepticism. This is no longer the case. We rode downtown in a matatu today...our first time in the city in 10 days and felt that Nairobi had some rhythm to it again, maybe not the same beat as before...but it has a pulse!

From our perspective, it seems that the problems that plague Kenya have been divided into two responses-the need for peace, reconciliation and handling the humanitarian crisis (500-700 deaths, 300,000 displaced and a huge problem with food distribution) as well as the governmental issues that stemmed from a rigged election. While it is hard to tell how the upcoming months will pan out, we are encouraged by the progress of the Kenyan people to stand against the chaos of this country.

A few of the signs of hope that we are encouraged by:

• Thank you to many of you for your prayer support this week as individuals, families, churches, organizations, etc. We can't tell you how much we appreciate your time and initiative at this time.

• I firmly believe that 99% of all Kenyans have given up on the fighting. Kenyan pride has stood up and proclaimed itself larger than violence, looting and rioting. Part of the decline in violence is due to shear fatigue and the inability to eat if there is no work. The majority of the decline has come back to people saying, “Enough is enough. Regardless of what our government officials are doing, we are going to get through this.”

• The church has played an important role over the past few days in organizing humanitarian efforts, political pressure, reconciliation and prayer. We weren't able to go yesterday but Gideon joined 300+ pastors from all over the country to discuss matters and to chart a way forward. He told us about one of the more powerful moments when each of the tribes represented stood up and apologized to members of the other tribes for crimes committed over the past week. He described it as humbling and praised church leaders for modeling a way that other citizens can follow.

• The opposition party has called off tomorrow's rally. They have recognized the potential violence that it would have caused and have chosen to make peace a priority in their fight for justice.

• A group of African leaders are coming to Kenya on Tuesday and will mediate conversations between the current government and the opposition party to negotiate a feasible outcome. We are hoping that supporters of both sides will remain peaceful when discussions are made public.

• The humanitarian aid is in full swing. Although access to food and water in the slums is still limited, there is a great deal of progress being made in this arena. The people of Western Kenya are still impacted by food distribution issues at this point as the road from Nairobi is impassible without a military convoy.

I am not sure how to accurately paint this picture but it really feels like most Kenyans are moving on from last weeks events. (In some ways, it appears that they are putting band-aids on deep wounds-but these wounds could not be healed through violence) It seems that many people have turned their attention away from Raila and Kibaki since neither of them are providing strong leadership. The newspapers and network stations are filled with ads promoting peace and reconciliation and pleading for leaders to lead in a way that restores unity. The kiosks on the streets are beginning to fill up with vendors again after time away in fear of being looted. Police cars and military trips are more sporadic and people of different tribes are returning to tribal “melting pot” areas.

One area that we do need to lift up however, is the pastors from the CTM Network. The magnitude of difficulties in the slums is incomparable to other parts of the country as they bring together many tribes, those that are already struggling to survive and what many people describe as "not much to lose". I am not sure how I feel about that statement at this point as I see immense value in the millions of people living in the slums of Nairobi. Please pray for the pastors as they are feeling exhausted caring for their own families, trying to get food, having to stay up all night to guard their houses and continual pressure from members of their congregations that are struggling to make it. We will continue to share more info on this front as the impact of these elections will undoubtedly altar how it is that we are serving these pastors.

We are hopeful. There is a long road ahead as this government realigns itself, but the past few days is what makes Kenya different from so many other developing countries. The people expect basic principles from one another, principles that go back a long ways, principles that have been developed by putting up with poor governance, principles that come back to the foundations of community. This national community will prevail.