Praying for "All these Fires!"

“All these fires! What is happening in our country?” This is what I was asked this morning by a young man who is a very strong Christian. This has been another difficult week for Kenyans. On Wednesday afternoon, a fire began in a major grocery/department store in downtown Nairobi which completed gutted an old building. Today’s Sunday Nation* shares that “46 people are reported missing, and 23 bodies have been recovered” from the Nakumatt building on the corner of Kenyatta Avenue and Kimathi Street. The fire has led to many questions related to city’s inability to deal with fires, as well as the extreme security measures taken by businesses (blocked/locked entrances and windows) – all which contributed to the high number of deaths.

The store owners asked that the country join them in praying this morning for those affected by the fire and an incredible bit of information was shared before our church prayed this morning – A pastor from our church and others have been holding prayer times with the staff of this store before it opened in the mornings and again in the evenings after the store closed. So as the man prayed, he praised God for those among the dead who are now with Him!

Most people learned of the second fire when they opened the daily papers this morning. “Now 91 killed as oil tanker explodes” was the headline on today’s Sunday Nation.** The updated internet article now lists the number as 111. This fire occurred in Molo (Rift Valley) on the Nakuru-Eldoret highway at 7:30 yesterday evening. The fire did not begin when the tanker crashed, but later as people “were siphoning off petrol.” You may question why people were exposing themselves to such a risk, but this is poor area where many people cannot afford kerosene, etc. Hungry, desperate and especially uneducated people are unaware of the risk or desperate enough to take the risk.

Do pray for peace and healing for all the individuals and families affected by these fires. Medical care for most people in Kenya is very limited, so pray especially for those who were injured in the fires. It appears that the number of those with injuries in the Nakumatt fire may be low, but the Standard on Sunday in “Oh, not again” (2/1/09, p.2) stated that 139 were rushed to hospital with severe burns” from the Molo fire – and this is probably a low number. Pray that Christians, especially those among those affected by the fires, will be strong ambassadors of their Father’s strength and peace during this time. Pray also that these horrible fires will spur changes in Kenya that will prevent future events like this from happening. Bert Yates
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* “NAKUMATT FIRE: Angry relatives have to endure long agonizing wait to identify loved one” (Sunday Nation, 02/01/09, pp.4,5) – http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/522540/-/u1tucm/-/index.html

** “Toll rises to 111 from tanker explosion” (Sunday Nation, 01/02/09) – http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/522578/-/u1tufi/-/index.html