The last few days have been kinda wierd, as what could be the beginnings of civil war are breaking out in Kenya. Half of my kids are from Kenya, and the riots are happening in the Nariobi area, where many of my kids are from. As I sit here and think about this, I'm realizing a few things. First, I don't know how in the world I'm going to tell any of my kids if a family member of thiers dies. I think as selfish as it is, I love these kids so much, the idea of breaking thier heart sounds like too much for me. As I sat back, I realized that in one way, God is showing me on a much clearer level what thousands of faceless, nameless children and adults throughout Africa have dealt with thier whole lives. I cannot say I have experienced even close to what they have,but for the first time in my life, I know personally people who are directly affected by it. God is giving me a tiny glimpse of the hurt and pain that genocide causes. The idea of telling one of my kids breaks my heart.It makes me want to just weep for all the hurt in the world. All over the world, war, genocide and genuinely just loss of hope abounds.My heart aches for the hundreds of people in Kenya who have been driven out of thier houses, lost loved ones, and are sitting tonight without a meal because of the food and gas shortages there. God, have mercy on them, Father, give me the strength to endure this. Lord, give me wisdom in how to best encourage my African sisters and brothers. Lord, I pray that I would be another vioce for all the voiceless children there who have no chance. Lord, please give me perspective, allow me to glean what I can learn from these things, and I pray taht you would cover all of it. You have a purpose in it, although I can't really see it right now. As I sit here, I can hear my kids singing about how the Lord is the shepard and how they belong to Him. God, break my heart for the hurting, and give me perspective and wisdom in doing what I can, here with the kids you have put under my care.