April 2008, Update from Gatundu! - Sarah L. in Kenya

April 2008 Newsletter: Update from Gatundu, Kenya

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts, and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.
-1 Corinthians 12:12
This verse has a great deal of significance for me as I serve in Kenya. …And though all its parts are many, they form one body. Throughout the post-election chaos and aftermath, it is blindingly clear that Kenya is made up of many parts-its 40+ tribal groups. Even before the presidential election, a common question to ask a new acquaintance was what tribe they belong to. What may often be just curiosity or a hope for a better understanding of a new friend's heritage, has unfortunately become a source of fear amongst the Kenyan people.
Since January 2008, several individuals have begun to turn on their neighbors of different tribes due to propaganda that "others" could not be trusted. *Please note that I am not generalizing that this applies to all Kenyans or even many Kenyans.* People were even afraid to share their names because many names divulged their tribal heritage. Many Kenyans who did not live in homogeneous communities packed up their lives and moved (generally to police stations or IDP-Internally Displaced Persons-camps) in fear that their own neighbors would turn on them.
This is why I think this passage in 1 Corinthians 12 is so relevant to my current context: The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I don't need you.' And the head cannot say to the feat, 'I don't need you!' … But God has combined the members of the body so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. (1 Corinthians 12: 21, 24-26). Verse 26 has been especially true in the past four months. No matter who was considered a victim, an instigator, or who played the part of Switzerland, everyone has suffered from the post-election violence.
Only on Sunday were some of the IDPs returning to their homes, where likely a home no longer existed. Food prices have risen exponentially because hundreds of thousands of people were displaced and therefore, unable to harvest and cultivate their crops. An outbreak of cholera swept through the IDP camps, in addition to the malaria, dysentery and HIV/AIDS that plagued the areas. Even though the majority of the violence has subsided, Kenyans continue to suffer from the aftermath.
What I like about his passage in Corinthians is that it reminds us that we are all in this together (12:27). We are all part of God's plan and no person is placed about another. In order for us to function as one body, we must realize that we cannot survive without each other.
A quick update from the field:
April is a holiday month for most Kenyan schools between Term 1 and 2. I spent most of my time recuperating in Nairobi (there are far less bugs there!), however, I did have the chance to travel to South Africa with another volunteer. We specifically wanted to learn more about the effects of the apartheid, so we travelled to Soweto, the township where Nelson Mandela did much of his work/organizing. We also went to Robben Island off of Cape Town where Mandela and other political prisoners were kept. The prison only closed in 1994!
I am now back at school in Gatundu for my last term. The term ends at the end of July and I will be returning to MN in August.
While on holiday, I learned several new Kiswahili phrases (that I should've learned a long time ago):
Una kuja saa ngapi?: What time are you coming?
Ume fika nyumbani?: Have you reached home?
Tuonane kesho: See you tomorrow.
Prayer Requests:
1. For those living in IDP camps as they prepare to return to what is left of their homes
2. For a fellow Young Adult Volunteer, who has had to end his year of service early due to a family illness
3. For the students of Icaciri Secondary School as they begin their 2nd Term
Thank you for your continued prayers and support!
Blessings,
Sarah Larson
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
1 Corinthians 12: 27