Thanksgiving in Kenya

Hello to all our friends and family. Today is Thanksgiving and we hope and pray you’re all having a blessed day with good food and great company. We’re not having any turkey today, but we may get some Friday night when the Nairobi team gets together. In fact, we’re all being lazy today. Jaime is pretty sick with some kind of bug and he doesn’t feel much like doing anything. Phooey. We’ll just have to spend Thanksgiving lying around watching TV!

We want to begin by saying thank you for your prayers concerning Kenya’s recent vote on the proposed new constitution. We were apprehensive and not quite sure what might happen. Your prayers for peace were granted undoubtedly. Overall the vote was very peaceful with only a few problems and outbursts in various areas.

The outcome of the vote was overwhelmingly against the new constitution. We were happy to see that Kenyans voted in an organized and peaceful manner and we felt as if the tension had passed. However, your prayers are still very much needed. The president of Kenya, although accepting defeat (he strongly supported the new constitution), made a move yesterday that has confused many and left us all wondering what he is up to.

On Wednesday, President Kibaki fired his ENTIRE cabinet. In essence, he has sent the whole government home. That leaves him and only him as the sole leader of the country and supreme commander of the military. He has promised to replace his government within the next 2 weeks with a more unified cabinet, but only time will tell. For now, he IS the government. Needless to say, this bold move has left us all a little concerned and just a bit perplexed as to his true motives. If you will recall, this is EXACTLY what occurred in Zimbabwe a few years ago. There was a national referendum on a proposed new constitution that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe strongly supported. The results of the vote in Zimbabwe were the same as here in Kenya, with the people rejecting the proposed new constitution. After his defeat, President Mugabe was angered and began to retaliate against those who opposed him and plunged Zimbabwe into the chaos that still reigns today.

We don’t tell you this to alarm you, but to ask again for your continued prayers for the people of Kenya. Kibaki’s bold move could either help the country – if he truly has the best interests of the people in mind – or it could cause lots of pain and suffering throughout Kenya.

Pray for Peace

This next Monday, November 21st, Kenyans will vote on whether or not to accept a new draft constitution. As far as I know, no country has ever ratified a new constitution during a time of peace. Every new constitution that I know of has come after a period of civil war or serious political upheaval.

There has been a lot of violence in the last couple of months leading up to this day, but still the government pushes on and refuses to grant a stay. Just a few weeks ago, a small boy, just out of class and still in his school uniform, was shot to death by police who were firing unchecked into an unruly crowd. This is just one sad example of the violence and rioting that has divided the country and caused hundreds, if not thousands, of injuries and deaths.

The US Embassy here in the capitol city of Nairobi is under “lockdown” for the next week - they are not allowing any American Embassy personnel to travel and are strongly recommending that all American citizens in Kenya remain at home and away from dangerous areas of the city where rioting may erupt.

There is danger, you can be sure of that. We live in a country where the government is exceedingly corrupt (just ranked among the top 20 most corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International) and is willing to go to the extreme to advance the agenda of the wealthy few and those in power.

Please pray for us and our safety during the next week. We recognize the danger and will be cautious, but we cannot bury our head in the sand and put our lives on hold. And too, we ask that you pray earnestly for the people of Kenya. From what little we can tell, the people do not support the draft constitution. The government does. That alone could be an explosive combination. So please pray for the people of Kenya. If things get out of hand, we can leave and return to a country that knows peace and prosperity; they cannot.

Birthdays

It really is amazing how fast they grow. On October 22nd, Autumn turned 8 years old. All the grandparents sent money for them to spend and celebrate with, so Jaime took her out for pizza and bowling. Despite the fact that they have a “ball slide” for young bowlers to launch their ball with, Autumn insisted on throwing her ball like papa. Little did we know she had been practicing in school!















Our baby, Gabrielle, turned 5 on November 6th. In this picture, you see her reaction after opening the big present from mama and papa. (Isn’t that just a beautiful little face?) I’m not sure why, but our girls love horses. Maybe some day we can surprise her with a real one.

Kilifi District, poorest of the poor

A recent study issued on November 1, 2005 by the Kenyan government and in conjunction with the World Bank, reports that much of the country still remains impoverished. Of the 210 constituencies in Kenya, two of the poorest were located in Kilifi District where we lived and ministered for the last 7 years. The 210th place (#210 being at the bottom) is held by Ganze and the 206th position by Kaloleni.

The report went on to say that the people living in those areas were surviving on less than 1,239 Kenyan Shillings (approximately $16) per month. That is an average. We know personally many families living on much less.

This report only confirms what we have known to be true for years: the Mijikenda people on the coast of Kenya are the poorest of the poor. Who else needs a message of hope more than those who have absolutely nothing in this life?

Please remember to pray for us and our Mijikenda friends as we continue our ministry among Kenya’s poorest. There is never a shortage of opportunities to give when living among the poor. So if you would like to help bless the Mijikenda of the coast, please feel free to write us for more information on what you might to do lend a hand