Nadolski - After Election Suffering in Kenya

Hello Friends,

Last week, the people of Kenya voted for their president. As it turns out, the incumbent pushed throught the election results and the opposition is fighting to get a fair count on the voting. The police and military control the streets, shooting indiscriminantly, stopping any kind of truck traffic.

I've talked to several people in Kenya, including all of the LWI partners. All of them tell the same story:

- it's not safe to go in the streets
- there is no food or supplies
- there is no fuel for the vehicles or generators
- no generators means no water is being pumped from the wells

Below is a newsletter I just received from Kenya. Please read it and get an 'eye-witness account' and please pray for the people of Kenya.

People in Kenya are sharing the little they have with others who have less. If you want to donate to the people of Kenya, please check with the church office.

God bless you, John

Saturday January 5, 2008

Mombassa, Kenya

What do you do when the lines reach 300 people in front of you and you don’t know if you are going to get into the grocery store? My friend Clive & I had been to several stores and we could not find milk, bread, and many other basic things in any store. The petrol stations where closed for 3 days because there was no fuel. Thieves came to the house next door a few days ago, but the guard happened to see them before they broke in and sounded the alarm. Riot police are surrounding the police station a block from our house to protect some of the people inside.

The Bible speaks that there is going to come a day when a man will work all day for a loaf of bread. What do you do when you have money and there is no bread to buy? We have heard of these kind of things happening in other countries of Africa, but never before like this in Kenya.

On Wednesday I was able to buy a few hundred dollars worth of maize & flour after begging & pleading that this is for people who do not have anything.

Yesterday, we moved early before the demonstration rally, to some areas that people are really hurting. We only had problems on the Malindi Road near Kisanuni when the people started motioning for us to turn around, so we did. We found out later that the people were rioting and police shot and killed one person. We were able to go around the problem through Nyali and on out to Bamburi where we found the pastor on his knees praying in the church. The presbyters were able to get the food to other pastors & friends. They were so thankful for the little we could bring. I have received several SMS's of thanks from Maritini, Bakoli, Likoni. Some do not have anything in the house. Shops have been closed and there is no bread, milk, cooking oil, kerosene, available. We were able to beg at one petrol station to get enough diesel to keep going.

Today the planned demonstrations failed in Nairobi and Mombasa after the police moved in with tear gas. Again I went to buy what we could this morning and took supplies to the church in Kisauni. Next I went by the house of a Muslim friend and give him some maize. We also took charcoal that cost three times the normal price.

One Muslim friend who lives across & near the Likoni ferry told me he was up all night protecting his property. There is a bar (owned by a Kikuyu man) next door to his house and the people came to burn it three separate times. They had to be alert because the fire would spread even to their house.

Two different pastors called me & said it is so good to be alive this morning. We thought we were going to die during the night. Shops were being burnt all around us.

Another pastor has left his family here in Mombasa & traveled up country to Molo. His family had to leave the area because of the burning of houses.

As we were leaving the house yesterday morning, a Baptist pastor came to the gate and said we lost everything last night and we don’t have any food or anything. He said they even stole our mattress. We were glad we had just been able to get some food and clothes to help him a little.

Another man who works for me at times called and said they did not have anything in the house, so we were able to help him also. He said that they had organized the men in his area to protect the property with bows and arrows and panga’s. They told the police to please stay out, we will not kill the thieves, but will bring them to the police station. The night before the looters had broken into many of the shops and took everything. Another Kikuyu friend who had a hardware shop lost everything and all his wielding equipment.

Please pray for peace to return to Kenya.