(cover photo by Reuters)
Kenya (MNN) ― Kenya's government and opposition crossed verbal swords in Parliament this week. The two sides faced off again over the election of a new house speaker.
Bitter hostility has greeted the results of Kenya's December 27th presidential ballot. While incumbent President Mwai Kibaki wasted no time in taking the oath of office and naming his Cabinet, rival Raila Odinga refuses to acknowledge the legitimacy of his win.
Both Kibaki and Odinga were sworn in as legislators, following uproar over the method of electing the house speaker. Neither has been in the same room since the results were announced, sparking weeks of deadly protest. However, after all was said and done, the opposition garnered the most votes for the influential position of the next parliamentary speaker.
The fact that they're talking is good. However, the opposition is planning more street protests, which could trigger more instability.
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship's Eric Miller says one Christian professor noted that "many of the youth that were blockading the roads and being violent were actually university students. The main campus of the University of Nairobi has postponed classes another week to allow these young people to cool their passions before they come back to campus. It's a difficult time to come for student ministry when the students are scattered."
Their team postponed the Global Project until things settle. The Kenya Global Project has over two decades' worth of history in the region.
Typically, two teams serve together: one consisting of students majoring in nursing and another for students in other majors.
The first team serves at hospitals and clinics in any way needed, including limited patient visitation and care. Students will have opportunities to observe medicine as it is practiced in hospitals and clinics in a developing country.
The second team splits up into smaller groups, each one staying in the home of a Kenyan pastor and other ministry. Almost all of these "pastor assignments" will involve students in preaching, giving testimonies, and visiting with the purpose of strengthening the churches.
But the security issue is critical. Miller says church leaders are now finding that "as they work for peace and call for people not to kill and drive out people of other tribes, they're threatened, themselves for being peacemakers. So another prayer would be that Christians would be bold."
Pray for short-term and long-term solutions to the current political impasse. Pray too for continued boldness of those who act as the hands and feet of Christ during this time.
