Thoughts on life, death and Kenya

(By Erik)

I'm helping out with a brief presentation tomorrow on our church's contributions to relief in Kenya after the post-election violence. Here’s a first draft of my remarks. (I’m going to have to edit this down to fit the time slot)

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Like most of us here this morning, I’ve never traveled to Kenya. But I know many ministers and members of Churches of Christ there through my work with The Christian Chronicle.

While the people of Kenya were coping with death and loss that most of us would find difficult to even imagine, my wife and I were welcoming a new life into the world.

Our daughter, Maggie, was born Jan. 16 — two days before we went to press with the February issue of the Chronicle. I already had written a story for our Web site, but the continuing chaos in Kenya warranted an updated story for the front page of the paper.

So, the night before deadline, one day after Maggie was born, I e-mailed the church members I know in Kenya using the wireless network in Mercy Hospital. I basically explained where I was, that I was sorry for the tight deadline, but my wife just had a baby, etc. I told them we were praying for them and asked, if at all possible, for any updates about church members impacted by the violence.

Now, the night before Maggie had been a little angel, just sleeping peacefully, and I even found myself saying, “Wow, I don’t see what the big deal is. This baby stuff is easy.” I think Maggie heard me, and she made up for it the next night, right after I sent that e-mail. Between the screams, I think Jeanie and I got about 10 minutes of uninterrupted sleep.

The next morning I stopped by the Chronicle office and had a handful of replies from our brothers in Kenya. This one’s from a man named Jacob Agak, principal of the Winyo Christian Academy in Kenya:

“Congratulations on the arrival of sweet and pretty Maggie. We thank God for her safe journey to this land where she will be a sojourner too. We pray and hope that God will grant her great health and above all let her grow in Him. Be sure to give a BIG hug to your wife Jeanie for us. We thank God for keeping her safe for all those months.”

Then he went on to tell me how his school was closed due to violent threats and that most of the church members in his area feared for their lives.

Well, as you can imagine, I just lost it — just broke down there in front of my computer screen, almost started weeping. In retrospect now I like to blame it on the sleep deprivation.

I received half a dozen other responses that said pretty much the same thing. Though facing death, each one of these brothers took a moment to share in the joy of this new life that God blessed us with.

I just wanted to share that story with you because I think that says a lot about the character and the love our fellow Christians in Kenya have for God and his people around the world.