Praying, waiting and watching....

Weekends don’t seem to have much activity on the political scene – I guess they need their rest. After the talks for peace were stalled, the opposition party called for three days of demonstrations to begin next Wednesday in at least 16 cities. Once again they will try to get to Uhuru Park in the center of Nairobi to demonstrate. The police have had this area surrounded with armed guards from the beginning of the trouble. “Uhuru” means freedom in Kiswahili. For those of you that have been to Nairobi, you might remember this park being beside All Saints Anglican Cathedral and the Serena Hotel.

The count of “internally displaced” people is up to 250,000. This is the estimated number of Kenyans who have stayed within Kenyan borders but have fled their homes. I saw today where the number of people who will require food assistance is estimated at 500,000. Of course with all of these people living in refugee shelters and open fields, predictions have been made that a nationwide medical crisis could also be a threat.

School begins on Monday. My children would never admit to this, but I think they will be glad to return to a somewhat normal routine – well, at least they will be ready to see their friends. Although there has been no official announcement, it is likely that school will be cancelled on at least Wednesday, as navigating the school buses through town will be difficult. When this happens, we will probably receive “homeschool” packets to complete. This will ensure that we do not have to make up those days later. Even though there will be some cheering for the extra missed days, the work will continue on course.

For us, it means that we will not venture any further into Nairobi beginning Wednesday. Like we have stated many times, this is merely an inconvenience for us because our house, school, work and general errands are in safe locations. It is a frustration that we cannot go about our normal routines without checking the news and possible locations of trouble.

Everyone is getting a bit weary of the roller coaster ride that this is becoming. Emotions are mixed as we are hopeful that the new round of mediation talks will bring peace and worried about the demonstrations that are scheduled. We are all anxious to get back to “normal”, but several friends have commented that we don’t know what normal will be like after this.

A friend reminded me that God has a plan in all of this, and it will be revealed. We do have faith in this, but we find it frustrating waiting to see what it is all about.

Praying, waiting & watching…
Anne