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Prayer & Action for Peace in Kenya

by Jim McGinnis, inspired by his new book

As we continue to pray and act for peace around the globe this week, especially in Kenya and Somalia, please consider forwarding this weekly prayer & action request to your networks. Attached is the full page on "Praying for Peace in Kenya" from PRAYING FOR PEACE AROUND THE GLOBE.

Insight on the Struggle for Peace in Kenya. Two articles from the NY Times in the past week have touched my heart as I pray with the people of Kenya for peace. "Under Wraps, Kenya's Bill for Bloodshed Nears Payment" describes the urgent need for action on the post-election violence that tore Kenya apart earlier this year. "Radical Islamists Slipping Easily into Kenya" personalizes the struggle for peace and provides two icons for our prayer: Kenyan and Somali children as the first victims of this violence. It's always the children.

Prayer for Peace in Kenya
We plead with You and praise You, O God of peace, for peace in Kenya, not just the political peace for which we long, but the Peace that prompts compassion and courage in the hearts of believers; for the Luos who are opening their homes to Kikuyus, for Kikuyus who are opening their homes to Luos, and for all the tribally mixed villages who are not fighting, even if they are few; for church leaders who are talking with politicians, and for drivers who are ferrying refugees; for all the fathers and mothers, uncles and aunts, brothers and sisters, grandparents, cousins, and neighbors who caring for the children of Kenya, even if they lack food or must sleep in the forest.

-From Brent and Katrina Siegrist, Eastern Mennonite Mission workers in Nairobi, Kenya, one week after the post-election chaos of January 2008; and reprinted with permission from the Eastern Mennonite Mission.

Action Suggestions. Consider supporting the reconciliation projects of the African Great Lakes Initiative Friends Peace Teams, the reconciliation listening project of the Nairobi Peace Initiative-Africa, which is supported by the Mennonite World Conference; and practice good listening as a way of daily peacemaking; also supporting Kenyan villagers through the Green Belt Movement and through Microfinancing Partners in Africa, the micro-lending program developing sustainable businesses and economically viable communities in Kenya, in conjunction with Jamii Bora.

Order a copy of Praying for Peace Around the Globe online, email jimppjn@aol.com or call 1-800-833-0245.

Thanks for caring,

Jim