kill the termites!

random fact: I was cleaning up and organizing my room yesterday. In the process I picked up a beautiful wooden jar that I bought in Ethiopia. Underneath it were several piles of what looked like sawdust. When I looked closer, I saw many little dead termites…they probably ate themselves to death! I can’t bring myself to throw the container away so I am spraying it every day with doom and putting it in the sun to see if I can kill the termites. So sad!!!!

positive tribalism

My time here in Kenya is drawing to a close. I leave three weeks from today. One short-termer left this morning and I realized there were only 2 more people I would be saying goodbye to from this standpoint. So strange. I am in the process of burning dvds, backing up, documenting projects, etc.

Kenya seems to be in constant fluctuation these days…quiet, violent, quiet, violent. Kenyans and Mzungus alike are ready for it to return to “normal”. Today there is a large memorial service here in Nairobi, tomorrow there is another rally planned, and Friday there is Prayer service to remember all those who have died. Please continue to pray for the leaders, for mediation to take place, and for all those who have lost loved ones or who are displaced. According to BBC, the displacement camps are supposed to be shut down within 3 days and I hurt for those people who have no where else to go!

In church on Sunday the pastor gave a strong, bold message concerning tribalism. He gave some of the history behind the resentment between tribes, which was incredibly helpful. He also made the point that God created tribes within a nation (i.e. Israel). So we shouldn’t seek to destroy the concept. Instead we should practice positive tribalism, realizing that each group of people has different God-given gifts and abilities that can be an asset to the nation as a whole. It was interesting as he went more specifically into mentioning certain qualities of tribes here in Kenya. One is most known for its intelligence and good schooling; another for their ability to be entrepreneurs; another for their intense loyalty; another for their spiritual hearts (compared to the Levites). What a cool picture.