When African Realities Meet American
Sensibilities—
September 20, 2005
We are back in
Thank you to all who were praying, because we needed it! Maybe we let
ourselves get too spoiled by our year in
And we do have a wonderful house, again with a breathtaking view of the
Rift Valley. We have a nice central location on the campus and there are loads
of gardens for me to tend. Ben & Kate are loving all the fellow
pre-schoolers here. The older boys are settling in and are glad to be back.
* * * * * *
* * *
The above words were written 2 weeks after arriving. And we have
settled in now. The showers are usually hot, the sheets aren’t always
damp, I’m regaining my cooking style and ability to stay stocked up on
the things I need to make a complete meal, and I’ve generally relaxed
into being able to go with the flow (or non-flow) of life in a developing
nation.
That was until Friday. Then it all hit me again. Within 30 minutes of
each other I got 2 very disturbing pieces of news.
First, I received an email telling me that my step mom, whom I love
dearly, had a stroke. It was not a major stroke, she is back home and is
recovering well. But the helplessness of being 10,000 miles away when someone you
love is ill, is not an easy thing to deal with. And my still-fresh American
sensibilities tell me that I should have access to information right now and in
a very personal and continuing manner. I have called and talked with my sister,
but you have to figure in time differences and wait till people are awake and
available, and when I spoke with her she hadn’t yet talked with my dad,
yet it was a $10 phone call. And then you hate that you are counting dollars,
but you have to and so it’s not easy.
The second piece of news was that Theresa’s husband (Theresa
works for us 5 days a week and is like a part of the family) had been taken by
the police and was in jail for something he didn’t do. Here is the story
in a nutshell: A little over a week ago a man in the village where she lives
was suspected of robbery by the police. They went to his house in the middle
of the night, woke him and started beating him. He tried to flee so they shot
him and killed him.
The people in the village believed the man to be innocent and so were
outraged at what the police had done. A group of them, feeling they had no
recourse through lawful means, took things into their own hands and went to the
police station and burned it. The police station compound shares a wall with
the compound of the little place where Theresa and Michael and their 3 year old
daughter Maureen live. The next day Theresa came to work rather shaken by what
had happened. Michael is a night guard here at RVA and was at work that night
so she and Maureen were alone while a group of men were breaking windows and
burning the police station. Then, the police arrived and started shooting.
Fortunately no one was killed, but the whole village is scared and unsettled.
About 3 days after this, in the middle of the night, the police started
knocking at doors and rounding up men who they thought had done it. They came
to Theresa’s door, after breaking down the gate to the compound, and
asked for Michael. She told them he was at work and had been on the night of
the burning too. They asked where he worked, she told them and they came down
to RVA at 4 am and took Michael off to jail after roughing him up. He has been
there since 4am on Friday morning. The missionary who oversees the guards has
seen Michael and talked with the police, but since their evidence against him
is non-existent, anything we say appears to be non-existent too.
The injustice of the situation is just unreal to my American mind. The
helplessness of Theresa hurts so much. This shouldn’t be happening! And
no matter what the verdict from the trial he will probably have to pay a heavy
fine just to be released from jail. I’ve been very angry and frustrated
and wondered how one can bear such injustice…
Then the Lord reminded me that His own son bore such injustice all the
way to the cross. And because He did, we can appeal to him even under the most
unjust and corrupt situations. So if you would, please join us in appealing to
the Righteous Judge on Michael’s behalf. We will keep you posted and
anticipate the Lord being glorified even in such an unlikely circumstance.
Thank you for sharing in our burdens. I hope our next missive will
contain joys to share.
PS I’ve just talked with Theresa and things have gotten worse. He
was detained after a brief court session and told to get a lawyer. He will go
to court in 2 weeks and faces 15 years in prison if convicted. Please pray for
justice…
Steve and Nancy Peifer