A Friend's Sorrow

You would recognize Christofus in a moment, from his engaging and friendly smile, from his royal red Safari Park uniform, but mostly you'd remember his sheer size...he's 6'9" and can lift a 50 lb.suitcase like it's a pillow.

So when I saw tears in Cristofus' eyes and pain in his voice, I knew something wasn't right.

"They killed her..... the mob took my little niece and they chopped her," he said, still in disbelief. "Now she lays in the morgue and we cannot even take her to Kakamega to bury her properly. The mob on the road will not let us pass...the pangas (machetes) are drawn. Pastor Steve, my little niece is gone."

What turns neighbor against neighbor, so frighteningly fast, in this land that has been a model of peace and harmony? What has turned Kenya inside-out in the days since the disputed elections?

The answers are complex...born out of tribal rivalries and historic grudges, and fanned by politics and poverty.

In the next week I'll be asking myself that question a thousand times...why here? why now?
I'll also be asking the Lord, "How do people get back on track?"

The shirt I grabbed from my duffle this morning is the one many of us wore in Katrina 2 years ago.
On the back are the words that have become a motto to us in PEACE RELIEF, "We're not here to SOLVE...We're here to SERVE."

LORD...in the process of serving our broken friends like Cristofus, help us come to grips with your words, "Love God and love your neighbor".

When your neighbor has a drawn panga...it's not so simple.