Reflecting on the past week whilst in church today.

As is my usual practice when in Nairobi on a Sunday, today I went to church at Nairobi Baptist. In my naivety it hadn't clicked with me ahead of time that it would be anything other than a standard Sunday. But boy was I wrong. Such a powerful service today, to be in church with Kenyans at the end of this tumultuous week. A week when young people have stood up and said to government that enough is enough in a very loud and powerful way, when Parliament has been stormed, when unrest has taken place all over the country, when tear gas and bullets have been used on the protestors and when young people have been shot dead by the police whilst taking part in the protests.

A week when memories will have been triggered of previous riots related to the politics in Kenya, and individuals who suffered trauma at those times may well have had those traumatic memories triggered again.

One of the most powerful moments in the service was when all of the GenZ and millennials in the church were invited to the front of the church. There were at least 150 of them - all members of the age group who have been leading on the protests.

I don’t know how many actually took part in the protests but there’s a high chance that many did. All of them will have been involved in the conversations in some way, and are concerned about their future in this nation. That's why they are protesting.

Once at the front, the older members of the church were invited to go and pray for the young people. It was an incredible moment - the generations coming together, the old lifting up the young. Just like in the Bible when Moses lifted up his arms to pray blessings over Joshua who was leading the army on the battle field.

The message throughout was not one of inciting more violence, but it was also not one of telling the young people to stop being involved. It was one of prayer. To keep Gods justice and wisdom at the heart of the actions that they are doing. To stay faithful to God, to keep looking to Him as they make their decisions on what to do. To keep centring on God, as they seek to do the right thing.

I went down to the front and prayed with some of the young people. We shed tears together and it felt right to be demonstrating that their fight is not being ignored by the rest of the world, but that prayers are being said for them from beyond national boundaries.

At that stage in the service, the focus was very much on supporting and praying for the GenZ's and Millennials of the church, but during the service, it was clear that this is definitely not just a GenZ issue.

Yes they are leading, but the older generations are right behind them. Depending on their age, they will have their own memories of previous election and government related riots in the past. Some of the actions this week will have triggered those memories to surface again.

The teenagers are too young to be actively involved but they are very aware of what is going on, and the implications that it can have for them in their future.

The children know something is going on. They might not understand the issues, but they do know that they were sent home from school early to avoid them getting caught up in the troubles so they definitely know something bad is happening.

Lord I pray for Kenya. 

 

For the GenZ and millennials who are so angry and frustrated and lacking hope for their future - May they stay safe and know wisdom in what actions to take. 

 

For older Kenyans who are having to relive past painful and traumatic experiences related to election riots and the like - May they know peace and comfort. 

 

For younger Kenyans who are looking on and wondering what the future is for them - May they have hope. 

 

For the President and the government who have the power to move the situation forward - May they have the courage to make the right actions, and to represent their people well. 

 

Lord I pray for Kenya.