Hope

As I write today, I am touched by the many, many folks who have written and even called to make sure we are safe, in light of the ongoing hostage situation in Nairobi.  We sincerely appreciate your concern and your prayers for us and the victims.

We are safe here in Kijabe and we, like you, await more information.  The worldwide news sites, such as CNN and BBC, are as informative and up-to-date as any of the local news sites in Kenya.  In church this morning, it felt a little like attending church after 9/11...except without the incredulity that something like that could happen nearby.  Everyone here understands that something like this can and does happen here sporadically - we are briefed on it before we come and are constantly reminded that we need to be aware in public situations, avoid demonstrations, etc.  Also, we are the outsiders here - we stand out naturally and don't need to do a lot to draw attention to ourselves.

I generally avoid Nairobi on the weekends:  not just from a safety standpoint - I don't like crowds and traffic.  However, I did take Anna and some friends into town last Saturday.  We were pulled over twice by the Kenyan army.  I had no idea why and no one was coming to my car to ask for my license or a tissue to wipe the dirt out of my wheelwell to read a sticker (this has really happened!).  The army was pulling everyone heading in my direction off of the road, but the first time it seemed like they were directing everyone down a "frontage road" (and I use that term very loosely).  Assuming they were directing everyone around an accident, I followed the crowd down this rutted path paralleling the highway and eventually found my way back to the highway.  A few minutes later, I was pulled off the road again.  This time, I asked the officer why and he replied "a state function."  The girls were convinced that the president would be passing by in a convoy, and that seemed reasonable.  As the minutes passed, it dawned on me that I was sitting in the middle of a large Kenyan crowd of vehicles and pedestrians with something related to the government about to happen/pass by....and all the warnings started to come back to me.  Unable to find anything on the local news sites on my phone (have I ever mentioned how our phones are really lifelines here?), I looked around for a way to leave.  When another car pulled out onto the highway, I followed and so did many of the other cars.  Of course, about 3 or 4 minutes later, the president's convoy did actually pass us!!

The Presidential/government convoy.

We speculated that this was the President's car.

I only mention that story to illustrate what life is like here.  You cannot assume that your grocery shopping or birthday party or sporting event will be routine - even returning from a trip to town without being involved in a road traffic accident makes us so thankful.  One of my interns in the nursery right now wanted me to email a lecture to him last week, and he mentioned that he would get it from a friend's computer because his laptop was "lost."  That seemed strange to be nonchalant about losing a laptop, so I asked him about it.  It turns out that he was knocked unconscious leaving a friend's house in Nairobi a week or so ago, and his laptop was stolen.  Indignant, I asked if he reported it to the police, and the other interns smirked ruefully.  They explained their opinion that it wouldn't make a difference and he will never get the stolen items back. 

Things like this can happen anywhere - in any city or small town across the world, including in the US.  But, we don't assume that they will happen in the US.  We live in a privileged world of assumed safety - our infrastructure is maintained, our police force has cars, we have a 911 system for emergencies, we can drink water straight from the tap.  Honestly, it is mind-boggling!  Twice on the cul-de-sac where we were living before moving here, different families called 911 for an ambulance, and they arrived in less than 5 minutes.  FIVE MINUTES!!  It took the airport in Nairobi 2 and a half hours to get the firefighters back to fight the huge blaze last month - it wouldn't even have made the news if they had been there to put it out or had arrived in only five minutes.  

The issues here in Kenya are complex and I can't begin to offer an easy solution, but I do want us to both appreciate the luxury that we live in and not let it corrupt us or make us apathetic about the world others live in.  If we take our privilege for granted, it will corrupt us - we will become haughty and proud...and ungrateful.  If we become apethetic (ex, "It's their problem, not mine."), we will not reach out to help others with our time, skills, and wealth.  The simple interaction I had with the young Kenyans about the stolen laptop belies some of the fatalism that exists here, even among the well-educated that will carry the next generation.  While I am convinced that we cannot help by just giving out money and directing change, we can come alongside our Kenyan (and other areas of the world's) brothers and sisters and offer them hope.  The hope of Christ offers love that does not end and is not based on race, socioeconomic status, or even worth.  Hope gives a reason to enact change and reach out to others, crossing tribal and political lines in a way that nothing else can.  

So, as the world waits for the standoff in Nairobi to end and for more answers, please pray for the victims and their families.  Please pray that this is not the beginning of more attacks in Kenya or around the world.  And please pray for hope to come to this land and the world - to all places where hope is squelched by fatalism.

Love,
Sarah

Romans 5:1-5
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. ³ And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; ⁴ and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; ⁵ and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. [emphasis mine]

Luke 12:48
...From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.