“People in the United States were praying for me?  This was the reaction of a young man who finished in high school last November.  A missionary had asked to use his picture in a thank you note to Southern Baptists who prayed for students sitting for Kenyan national exams in October and November.  Norman, who sat for the Form 4/Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examinations, said, “My exams went fine,” but he will not know for sure until the KCSE scores are released in early February.  If his scores are high, he may be accepted into one of the few national universities, but he will not choose the degree for which he will study – it will be chosen for him.  Norman is praying that he did well enough to be offered a position in a national university.  If not, like the majority of those who finished high school in 2008, he will begin looking into studying at one of the private universities, colleges, training schools or finding full-time work. Most universities/colleges in Kenya will not accept new students until Sept of 2009 or January 2010.  Pray for local churches who offer special programmes during the waiting time for those who have finished high school.  Pray that these discipleship and mentoring programmes will offer these older teens the foundation they need to become strong and growing Christians.  http://omba4kenya.blogspot.com/
 

KENYA. Life is full of choices, but should they include which meal to skip each day or which child to send to school?  These are the choices that more and more Kenyans must make. The economic problems felt around the world are especially painful in the lower income areas and city slums of Kenya. The daily news of the cost of oil is of little interest to these people as few have cars and often a bicycle is a luxury, yet their lives are affected by the fluctuating cost of oil – which combined with other problems has led to milk, grains, beans, cooking gas, etc., doubling or tripling in price in the last year.  As a result many people are starving.  As the rich find ways to cut costs as the price of commodities continues to grow, these people are already on a limited diet of porridges, ugali (ooh-gah-lee/cooked cornmeal), sukumawiki (soo-koo-mah-wee-kee/greens), and beans.  Education is affected as hungry children lack the strength to study or walk the too often long distances to school.  Education is “free” in Kenya, but it does not include uniforms or supplies – which a starving family cannot eat! As you bless your food today, take time to pray for the hungry in our world.  Pray that the governments of third world countries such as Kenya will find ways to create new jobs, offer better medical care and truly free education, so that the cycle of poverty can be broken. http://omba4kenya.blogspot.com/