Kenya’s New Leadership

What Kenyans are being treated to from the new occupants of State House is quite commendable. We are seeing an eloquent, youthful and dynamic pair ready to move this nation to the next level.

I admire the unity displayed by the President and his deputy. Likewise, President Uhuru’s willingness to reach across the divide to his estranged opponents is also an encouraging sign. Watching Uhuru and first ‘runner-up’ Raila Odinga at a recent state funeral sharing a platform, as well as affirmation and complements, was superb. This, and the commitment of the Kenyan people to maintain peace, is a clear indicator that Kenya has come of age. And if the four cabinet secretaries that were paraded at State House in a display of professionalism and ethnic balance is anything to go by, then Kenya is destined for greatness. A new generation of leadership is poised to move the whole nation to her prophetic destiny.

Sounds ‘all good.’ But is it? Under it all, there are some nagging questions. The events leading to the strenuous Supreme Court ruling on the eve of Easter Sunday, declaring that elections were free and fair, raised major doubts.

Kenyans deserve to know the whole truth. If we sweep anything under the carpet like we have through previous regimes, things will come back to haunt us. The apparent breakthrough might just be a mirage.

What happened to weapons that were being distributed around the country just before the ruling? Was this just police propaganda or were the weapons going to be used only if the verdict did not favor Uhuru? Did the desire for peace inform the verdict more strongly than the quest for justice? Is there something to the allegation that nearly one million votes were cast for the Presidency alone, and not for any other positions? Were the biometrics tampered with in collusion with a presidential campaign team?

If these questions are answered and Kenyans know the whole truth – then we shall genuinely celebrate our Jubilee year.

Until then, we shall respect and honor those in authority but also pray that the Almighty God will reveal and clean our messes in His own way, then lead us to His divine purposes for this nation.

~Ibrahim

Three Weddings and __ Funerals

This blog is not about a movie with the similar title. It is about the weddings and funerals we have on our ‘plate’ right now.

In Kenya, weddings are a community project. So are funerals. In a church family, it means that everyone is involved in planning, participating, traveling, and also in giving. Weddings and funerals both cost a lot of money. Most people do NOT have an insurance package for such events, or a savings account to draw from, or even a hefty income that can be channeled toward the expenses. So everyone pitches in with contributions and donations.

Part of me does not at all like the fact that each of these events comes along with its own fundraising campaign. It becomes tiresome and draining. But that is a very western, individualistic way of thinking.

The differences around how these events are handled would be as good of a study as any other on the stark cultural contrasts between these two worlds to which I belong (both at the same time?)

But we’re not doing a cultural study now — writing about African funeral traditions would require a whole book. Yet as I write, DOVE Nairobi will have 3 weddings within 2 months. On the side of funerals, we lost our member Mary Wanjiru to a short illness late in March. This week alone, five congregants have lost a close family member (moms, dads, brothers-in-law). That includes our own brother-in-law.

So needless to say, we are full to overflowing with grieving, celebrating, planning and . . . fund raising!! While it feels like such a strain – too much to handle – it is also a time when the meaning of family, of community, of belonging to one another and of sharing one another’s joys as well as burdens, becomes powerfully real.

I wonder what all that looked like in Acts Chapter 2 days.

~ Diane

Recalculating

Orchids that we did not even “plant” — isn’t God’s creation amazing?

Traveling between Kenya and the U.S. is a privilege but at the same time a nagging challenge. We just returned from a 3-week trip that included precious times with the DOVE family, two of our children, my father and my brother and family. Despite the joys, going back and forth often feels like quite a jolt. Since I’m not good at thinking about a situation when I’m not physically present in it, arriving back home requires starting ‘from scratch’ to organize tasks and schedules. The travel ends up making life a very stop-and-go kind of ride. It requires recalculating.

But that’s totally nothing compared to the recalculating that the disciples had to do after Jesus’ death. Everything they had expected came crashing down. A king for the nation of Israel, an earthly reign, a position on his right or left (or at least in his cabinet) – that is what they were gearing up for. Now it was not only a change of rules, it was a different game.

The cross that we commemorate in this season represents all we must die to if we will truly live as Christ did. But the cross was also a big-time recalibration moment for this King’s followers.

Yes, ALLELUIA, He rose again. Their despair did not last long. They quickly realigned their expectations, re-evaluated His words, and reinterpreted scripture in the light of Christ’s victory over death.

“The old has gone; the new has come.” A new covenant. New plans. New power. New hope. New life! HAVE A BLESSED EASTER!

~ Diane

Elections, Kenya-style

It felt great to cast my vote on Kenya’s peaceful 2013 election day. The predictions making their rounds were that this would be a day to stay out of the public arena. Not so! Kenyans, I included, were ready to make a point that we are a peace-loving people, that we regret the events of 2007/08 and years before, that we have come of age and are ready to be counted as a  civil, prosperous and democratic society.

Voting lines: The station is still 1/4 km beyond the right turn at top.

I had the privilege to vote in style. As an election observer, I had clocked close to 2,000 kilometers going to different parts of the country to talk to returning officers,  District commissioners, police chiefs and presiding officers. It seemed that the country was upbeat and ready for the significant day. After driving around and witnessing long winding lines (most voters waited in line for 3 to 8 hours!) composed of the mixed tribes and races that populate Nairobi, I was ready to vote. Due to my “Election Observer” badges, I was ushered to the front and the presiding officer let me exercise my democratic right in the quiet of a polling booth.

Here, instead of the popular “six-piece” (each ballot included votes for 6 political offices) I did a seven-piece vote. Besides my six selected candidates, I voted for the end of impunity and corruption; for the end of tribalism; for the end of land grabbing and for the end of marginalization of certain communities. I cast my vote for social integration, for equal opportunities and for prosperity for all Kenyans.

I am aware than impunity and corruption have been with us for a long time, and might not go down easily. They will kick around and even fight back, but will certainly go. With this election, we start to implement the new constitution. I believe God is already helping us make things turn around in this 50th year of our nationhood.

Thank you for praying for and paying attention to Kenya at this time!

~ Ibrahim

New and Improved?

Pre-script: Kenya’s High Court approved the ICC-bound candidates to run in the March 4 elections. We trust for fair elections and peace in the land!

Some people thrive in change. They like to stay up-to-date with the newest version of everything. Maybe you are that type.

Not me. I am NOT a fan of “new and improved.” Whether a new version of Windows, an upgraded cell phone, or a new arrangement of our furniture, I generally do not like change. Last week, a message popped up on our computer screen “Check out the Improvements in Outlook.” I decided to ‘check it out’ – and in one second, everything that I was used to had changed on that screen. The font was different. The color was different. The emails were ‘stacked’ together (so that I couldn’t find what I wanted). All the commands were in a different place. It was so confusing, but I could not ‘revert.’ Only groan.

I must have been 7 or 8 years old when my father taught on Sunday morning about a “new” version of the Bible that had just been published (probably NIV?) I was worried. That year I had memorized Psalm 23 and John 3:16. I was confused about what would happen if those verses were now different. My young mind could not comprehend how they could ever be changed. I looked up the scriptures in the “new” Bible and felt so distressed to find that the words WERE different. O, no! How could anyone dare change the Bible!?

Maybe that childhood ‘trauma’ gave me a bad taste of new things – that has stuck with me until today?

Our friend, Mike McCausland, writes:¹ “Change is beginning to accelerate exponentially. Everything is changing; people, information, technology, communications, economies, even the way our brains and bodies function. The world is shrinking, challenges and opportunities are growing, and change is accelerating. Mankind is about to experience the most significant transformation since the beginning of time.”

It is true – almost everything around us is changing. In this kind of world, I find tremendous solace and stability in the Lord who does not change,²  in the Word of God which stands forever,³ in the love of God that continues to all generations⁴, in the Kingdom of God that cannot be shaken,⁵ in the covenant of our Father which is from everlasting to everlasting!⁶

Yes, the world is changing. But even if the twenty-third Psalm has slightly different words, the message is secured. “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever!”

~ Diane

¹“Pioneering in the 21^st Century” by Mike McCausland; ² Malachi 3:6; ³ Isaiah 40:8; ⁴ Psalm 100:5; ⁵ Psalm 145:13; ⁶ Psalm 105:10

Elephant in the House

Kenya is moving towards the March 4^th 2013 elections. Until Monday night when we had the first-ever Presidential debate, tensions seemed to be building up. However, something happened during the debate that apparently eased major pressures all over the country.

So what actually eased these tensions? A few months ago we were treated to a debate between two gentlemen vying for a position at the White House. As I remember well, it was more of a contest of emotions and the inflicting of pain. Not so with the Kenyan debate. This was civil and quite pleasant to watch. Yet there were serious issues to be handled, including the one termed as ‘the elephant.’

“The newspaper announcement for this debate showed an elephant standing behind all of you” started Linnus Kakai, one of the moderators. “And we all know that elephant’s name: the issue of ICC.” Looking at Uhuru Kenyatta (one of those to stand trial for crimes against humanity in Kenya’s post-election violence), he asked, “How do you plan to be the President of Kenya with this case over your head?”

I was amazed at how clearly Uhuru responded to the question, as well as the rebuttals from the other candidates. Other controversial questions including many about tribalism were likewise answered openly by all. The accusations and complaints of many Kenyans were articulated and addressed, one after the other.

I learned quite a lot.

1. When dealing with a national crisis, it is best to bring the pertinent issues out in the open.
2. The best people to address these issues are the ones directly perceived to be involved.
3. Acknowledging issues and responding to them in a redemptive way brings healing, not just to those directly involved but also to others listening in. Tension, anger and bitterness are alleviated.

I believe this applies not only regarding national issues, but also on personal and local levels.

So wherever we are, let us bring our ‘elephants’ out of the closet and face them squarely. Maybe – probably – they will just walk back into the pasture or the zoo where they belong!

~ Ibrahim

“I Never Knew You”

Pre-script: (Your blog will play in 10 . 9 . 8 …) The ruling on Candidates in Court will be delivered next Friday. That is one day after the ICC will publish trial dates of when the accused should appear in the Hague. So the situation is on hold as Kenyans wait for the verdict. . . .Now to your blog!

“Depart from Me.” I cannot begin to imagine the sting of these words,¹ especially if spoken to one expecting to be ushered gloriously into heaven². The plea of response reveals a lot: “But Lord… I did this and this and this in your name…”

This morning, we could not send email because of an “IP address conflict” on the server. Not to worry; we left for the office with the confidence that the problem would fix itself by evening.

At the office, I was assisting one of our pastors with a U.S. visa application. “PIN Number Invalid. You are not recognized in this system” flashed in red across the online application screen. “That’s okay,” I explained to the pastor. “By next week the system should catch up with itself.” But I was starting to get uneasy.

Then after putting my SIM card into a new phone, the message came “You are not registered on the network.” “What? A customer care agent AT the network OFFICE is the one who trimmed the card and PUT IT IN the phone. And tested it. Now it is not registered?” Since the SIM card had been trimmed to size, it could no longer work in my old phone either.

Feeling quite alone with no way to reach “my contacts,” I was checking out at the grocery store and anxious to get home. “We need your I.D. for the credit card,” said the teller. I pulled out my driver’s license. “No, we need a passport. We do not accept a driver’s license.” What?

Trying to convince the teller did not help. He called the supervisor. No progress. I was taken to the customer care manager. “I have been shopping at NakuMatt forever, and have never been asked for a passport,” I tried to plead. Granted this was a different branch of the store, but at the NakuMatt just one mile down the road, I was ‘well known.’ I looked around to see if any of the tellers who ‘knew me well’ might have been transferred to this store. No one. I could feel a crisis moment approaching (Read: Adult Female suffers Emotional Meltdown at Check-out Counter). My email doesn’t know me. My phone doesn’t know me. My embassy doesn’t know me. And now NakuMatt doesn’t know me?!? How can all this be happening in one day?

“Mrs. Omondi?” I heard the manager asking. Suddenly it clicked. I responded in the Luo language – a sure proof that I was in fact Mrs. Omondi. Instantly things changed. We started chatting in Luo: Idhi nadi? (How are you?) Idakuri? (Where are you from?) etc etc etc. After my home area and husband’s identity were well established: “Sure, we’ll accept your credit card. No problem. But next time. . . .”

I thought he would say, “Next time, carry your passport.” No. He said, “Next time, greet us in Luo to start with.” (smile) Only in Kenya!

Back to the point. We probably all know the irritation of being treated as persona non grata in one context or another. It feels so unfair. So unjust – especially since we are very alert to our personal ‘rights.’ Reviewing things on my drive home, the scenarios narrated in Matthew 7 and 25 came to mind. (By the way, this is NOT intended as a nasty game that messes with anyone’s assurance of salvation!) But on that final day, the earthly credentials, connections, passports, passwords, contacts, followers or friends . . . will be of no value. Am I known to the King?

Check out the verses, and have a famous day!

~ Diane

1. Matthew 7:21-23
2. Matthew 25:31 ff