32 Days until we get on the plane and fly to Entebbe, Uganda. One month and 2 days and we will begin our journey through East Africa. Over the past year the dream of going to Africa has developed and changed and undergone trials and transformation, but somehow it has come together and the time for our departure is in sight.
For a while now our “team” has been meeting regularly to talk and pray about God’s work and our involvement in Africa (specifically the places we plan to go). In the beginning our group was made up of six guys; two remain among the present six. Along the way the faces in the group changed, but the way we prayed remained consistent from the beginning – we always acknowledge to God that the work in Africa is HIS work and we petition him to bring life to the people of Africa now and tomorrow whether he allows us to go or not.
I now encourage you to do the same.
Africa is God’s land and the people are his children! Sometimes we may not be able to go, but God is there already and he hears the cry of the people and he responds in ways that we cannot see! Recently we received an email from Fielden and Janet Allison telling us about an outbreak of violence on Mt. Elgon, Kenya. Since January of this year over 100 people have been killed and more than 32,000 people have been displaced; schools and churches have also shut down because of the chaos. We have been praying and planning to go to Mt. Elgon since the beginning and now because of the situation we will most likely not be able to visit the people.
As some of you know, Mt. Elgon is where I lived with the Allisons in the summer of 2004. The area where we were is one of the most effected areas right now. The school where we worked and the churches in the area have stopped meeting. Some people we knew there have been killed by the violence and others have had their homes and land destroyed.
(This little girl is named Anna; she was our neighbor; she lives in the area now in conflict)
Please pray for peace and justice on Mt. Elgon! Pray for the Christians on the mountain that they would be strong and resilient! Pray for the children that they can return to school. Pray that the people would be able to return to their land and rebuild their homes. Pray for food to be provided and for provisions to come for next year in place of the crops that have been destroyed.
Below is a video of some Christians meeting in a hut in a village on Mt. Elgon. Pray for our family that their praises would resound in the midst of violence and destruction, and that God hears them and responds!
Below is a viedo of Laban, a friend and one of the teachers at the Kapkirwok School.
