latest update from Kenya

Happy New Year!

What a month it has been. Most of you received word from me at the beginning of the month about all the post-election turmoil going on in Kenya. We all thank you for your thoughts and prayers and are blessed to have you praying for us. Thank you.

Things remain tense, but on Thursday Jan. 24, Pres. Kibaki, opposition leader Raila Odinga and African Union representative, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan emerged from a meeting with everyone saying they were open to dialogue. We praise God for that and pray that it is true and hearts, minds and eyes will be open to what lies ahead.

I have not been out of Westlands since returning home from Christmas holiday. Westlands is the area of Nairobi where I live and work and things have remained fairly ‘normal’ here. I have linked on my blog to several other blogs of friends and strangers who are more ‘in the trenches’ than I am if you would like to see and read more. Please be aware that there are a lot of resentments and fears and hurts and not everything you read is balanced or even entirely true. These links are in posts and others are on the ‘Resources’ page.


These are snapshots taken by Alida as we waited in line two hours to purchase groceries during the early post-election crisis. Many of the food shelves were sparse or bare, like this shot of the veggie area.

While current events in Kenya have changed all of our lives and the way we work (all visitors with CRC have been postponed or cancelled until further notice), life still goes on.

Christmas was good, different but good. I called the family that evening for me, morning for them, and got to talk to everyone except that somehow I missed Aunt Janet. As I was talking to my cousin, Steve, I looked up and saw a crocodile in the lake not 30 feet from me. Merry Christmas?! The Lake Baringo Club, where we stayed, had entertainment for the holiday complete with native dances. The men in the photo are Maasai dancers and the woman with the necklaces is Turkana. The day after Christmas we took a boat tour of the lake and came a little too close to some hippos. They can be quite vicious as well as fast so we quickly moved to give them way and got a few good pictures in the process.


We had a lot of time on our hands while we were away and it was quite warm at Baringo with no AC anywhere to be had. We did take some time on one day and drove over to Lake Bogoria nearby to see the flamingos and hot springs. You can see more pictures of my Christmas holiday here.

After returning to Nairobi we just stayed in our homes for the next week. Venturing to the nearest grocery, the office, each other’s apartments and the Mennonite Guest House, all within a 25-minute or less walk, although we did have the office car the whole week which was really nice.

Alida and I were going stir-crazy in my apartment and so we stayed with Amanda for a couple of days to ‘shake things up.’ Our friend, George who is Kenyan, was also staying there. I think he stayed to comfort us as his home area was safe. It was such a blessing to have him with us to help us understand the political implications of everything. We had a TV, radio and bought the papers most days to help us stay informed, but as newbies we had a lot of questions.


I have been keeping up with my blog and trying not to post too many things on any one day. I do know that you are visiting and I believe that I have set it up so that you do not have to use a password to leave a comment anymore, so please do so.

Finally I would like to share with you something I think is very exciting. The following is from Calvary Christian Reformed Church in Edina, Minnesota, where I attended church the four years before moving to Kenya. They are a tremendous support to me in everyway. If you are anywhere near the Twin Cities the next two weeks, I encourage you to stop by for the fun. Copies of the DVD that will be used on Feb. 10 are also being sent to Beth and Marty Christians in the Osbourn, Kansas area, Laura Hitt in Longview, Texas, the Grand Rapids Home Office in Michigan, Sterling United Presbyterian Church in Sterling, Kansas and my parents in Liberal, Kansas. If you would like to see it (it is nothing close to being professional so be prepared) and are near any of those folks, just give them a call or contact Pastor Todd at Calvary in the Twin Cities. (If you need any of those contacts, please let me know.)

MISSION EMPHASIS WEEK
Mission's Emphasis Week Kick Off begins next Sunday, February 3 with an extended worship service (aprox. 90 minutes). We will talk with Amy Thompson live, via the Internet, and will be blessed by the music of the Minnesota Teen Challenge Choir. We welcome Pastor Bob Pollema as guest preacher and Andy Ryskamp, the executive director of CRWRC. There will be an all-church lunch after worship. During lunch Andy Ryskamp, the executive director of CRWRC, will share what the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee is doing to further the Gospel around the world.

Come and join us for this wonderful celebration of God's missionary heart.

I close with a verse that my dear friend, Chris, sent to me recently, along with this photo taken of a dessert rose up at Lake Baringo. May your lives be filled with the Joy of Christ, dear friends. I praise God for each of you and think of you often and pray that we may all know that in the midst of trials, we are never alone. Praise be to God!

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10