Hello Friends,

The other day I was researching Burundi, a country in East Africa not far from Kenya. Daystar has a scholarship student* from there. I read through its history from the time of independence in 1962. Burundi has had a rough go of it with plenty of turbulent turnover in government. I remember living in Kenya during the genocide in Rwandan (the country just north of Burundi) in the 1990s and how horrific that conflict was. At the time I tried to put it in context for myself, imaging that people from Minneapolis and people from St Paul were so hateful to one another that they would kill the other if they met on the streets. It seemed unimaginable. Yet, just a few weeks ago we asked you to pray for the violent demonstrations in Nairobi.

To be honest, if I think about what’s happening in East Africa, or Russia and Ukraine, or the Middle East (we could add to that list), I can get so overwhelmed that I tear up and have to take a moment to collect myself. These are people’s lives we are talking about, people are losing loved ones every day – real people with spouses, parents and children. Maybe you feel that way too.

Sometimes it’s just easier to turn off the news and not think about it. But today I’m asking you to pray. Please pray for the governments of Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan. These are the surrounding countries of Kenya, and we've had students from these countries. Pray that those in leadership would have the good of the people in mind and not work for selfish gain. Pray that future leaders would be transformed now by knowing Christ and their Lord in all aspects of life. Pray for the leadership at Daystar, and the students that are being taught to be servant leaders of the future.

Praying, Jan