Waiting For News ... and Receiving It

Christmas ... a time for rejoicing, giving and receiving.

But at 8.00 this morning, as I logged onto the Internet, I was hit with the news from Kenya that the wife and two daughters of my good friend and business partner had been involved in a road accident on the way to church. They were accompanied by one of our Twiga children, Benta, who is living with them.

The four of them have been taken to hospital. That is all I know. So now I am waiting by my computer to receive news, praying that it was a minor accident resulting in nothing more than cuts, grazes and bruises.

What a way to spend Christmas morning.

But it is worse for my friend Vincent. It is his wife, they are his children, and even Benta, the Twiga child is one of the family.

He is at the hospital now, with his family, hopefully getting the news that no one has been seriously hurt.

Abigael, Faith, Yvonne, Benta, I am praying for you all. And I am sure that any reader to this sad blog will do the same.

Update

All are as well as can be expected having been spilled off a motorcycle taxi - nothing more than cuts, grazes and bruises.

Everyone is now back at home, and celebrating life!

It's That Time of Year Again

... when the supermarkets are full of people rushing around buying too much, when some kids get far too much in their Christmas stockings, and when I look around me and think of my friends in Kenya, struggling to make a living, struggling even to put food in the bellies of their children.

And a song comes to mind:

It's Christmas time
There's no need to be afraid
At Christmas time, we let in light and we banish shade
And in our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy
Throw your arms around the world at Christmas time

But say a prayer
Pray for the other ones
At Christmas time it's hard, but when you're having fun
There's a world outside your window
And it's a world of dread and fear
Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears
And the Christmas bells that ring there
Are the clanging chimes of doom
Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you

And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time
The greatest gift they'll get this year is life
(Oooh) Where nothing ever grows
No rain nor rivers flow
Do they know it's Christmas time at all

(Here's to you) raise a glass for everyone
(Here's to them) underneath that burning sun
Do they know it's Christmas time at all

Just think about the lyrics. Says it all, doesn't it?

So, Merry Christmas!

Krismasi Njema