Dear Friends,
The coastal region where we are located has been very peaceful for the last
three days. There are still some areas of the country where there is unrest.
We have had to cancel some outdoor meetings with guest we had coming from
USA but we are hoping to have these later in the year.
We heard yesterday that we have about 300 displaced people on the South
coast and about 200 near the police station in Kisauni. We went to check on
the food & water situation and it seem to be ok for the moment. Many of
these in our area are from the upcountry tribe that have been targeted and
were burnt out or their goods stolen from their small stores. It has been
reported that there are over 300,000 people that have been displaced in the
country and over 300 killed. Please keep Kenya on your prayer list.
Blessings,
David D. Smith
Mombasa, Kenya E. Africa
Other reports from leaders:
47 sections and 298 churches
were affected by post election violence.
In terms of families, 12,818 KAG families are displaced, in total
64,159 KAG members are without a place to live. Concerning the
churches, there are 298 KAG churches not holding services mostly
because the people have left. Of that number 98 churches are
unusable meaning that they have been badly damaged. Of these 98
churches, 15 have been reduced to ashes.
Concerning the Eldoret Church (Kiambaa), the pastor, Rev. Stephen
Mburu, sustained serious injury including 6 panga hits to the
head. One panga slash went through his mouth inflicting a major cut
and knocking out his front teeth. He was admitted to a private
hospital, he is improving and fortunate to be alive. Pastor Mburu
remains in Eldoret with his wife Lucy and their 6 children. Of the
300+ people who were taking refuge in the church, 100 were seriously
injured or burned, 50 people died either by being burned alive or
being beaten to death at the hands of an angry mob. Of those
injured, 16 have burns over 90% of their bodies. Many of them are
children. The congregation met in a semi-permanent building (500,000
Ksh). They also lost 300,000 Ksh in electronic equipment (PA system,
keyboard, etc.).
Remember to direct all offers of assistance to AGMD, Suffering Church
fund [project #649230 (60)], Kenya Relief.
Please continue to avoid Outer Ring Road. Disturbances can occur at
any time. Next Tuesday will be another day to watch. That's when
the 10th Parliament will be convened. The President personally will
be there to open the parliament. Observe how he is treated. The
opposition does not recognize him as president. They have vowed to
take over the chairs normally allocated for the government. The
level of discord in that meeting will immediately translate into
violence in the streets, market places and residential
neighborhoods. My advice would be to stay out of town on Tuesday.
On a positive note, we are hearing reports of churches being
packed. Lord may it be the beginning of a great spiritual awakening
for the nation! In order to understand the magnitude of the post
election violence, think in terms of three 9/11's! Let us continue
to pray that political leaders can charter a new framework of how the
government will function. It is possible because Kenyans are
praying. They want peace with unity. Let us also be praying for
peace with unity.
Also continue to pray for our KAG leadership. They are carrying an
enormous weight. Tomorrow our KAG leaders are among a group of 32
Kenyan bishops who are flying to Eldoret to see for themselves what
has happened and to reassure the affected that their brothers and
sisters worldwide are lifting them in prayer and are committed in
helping them in anyway they can.
Blessings,
B
Hi --
>
>Some friends found a website that has an incredible amount of pictures
>of the turmoil in Kenya -- the guy posting is a Kenyan, and somewhere
>down around Jan 4 he posted a "letter" that is very poignant. He also
>has a few pics of the A/G church that was burned
>-- just thought you may want to check out this link.
>
>http://josephkaroki.wordpress.com/
Link for previous update from David D. Smith Kenya:
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