Molo Fire Tragedy

I’ve become accustomed in my life to hearing big headline news on the TV or reading about it in the paper. That’s part of the reason why I was caught pretty off guard when we went to church in Nakuru, and heard about the breaking news first hand. Unfortunately, the “breaking news” was of a pretty tragic nature. On the road to Molo (which is just near Nakuru) a big truck carrying petrol overturned by the road. People started collecting the free petrol in the ditch and (stories differ), the GSU officers started collecting bribes from those trying to get the petrol. Things got out of hand, and someone threatened to light the scene on fire. And . . . it wasn’t an empty threat. Over a hundred people lost their lives, with many, many more injured. We were at the scene a few days after the accident, and it was hard. It was hard to see the overturned truck, the ditch where the petrol had overflowed into, the burned trees, abandoned jerry cans, and burned, discarded articles of clothing on the bushes. It was hard, because it is hard to see what poverty, corruption, and greed can do. A huge part of our time here has been becoming a part of people’s lives—people whose lives are very broken: broken by sin, by injustice, and just the effects of living in a fallen world. Living in the midst of a culture where hardship and tragedy is so prevalent, I have to be reminded of God’s concern for the oppressed. I’m trying to figure out what it looks like to grieve deeply injustice of the world in the lives of my friend’s here and not let it undermine my knowledge and experience of God’s goodness. Sometimes it seems that the sorrow of this place and the people I love here reminds me of the sorrow of my own heart. When we were in Molo, at the scene of the tragic accident, I stood in the ditch where hundreds of people had been burned alive in the petrol. In the very midst of this tragedy, I couldn’t help but think of my dad, in the last moments of his life, the plane probably going up in flames in the crash. I haven’t often considered the physical aspects of his death, but I felt like I was standing in the midst of it. It made me realize yet again that my heart so longs for restoration. I LOVE what I am able to experience of the kingdom of God on earth, but my heart at the end of day longs for the complete restoration—the kind only heaven will bring. Here is the reality: I know that this world is broken, and I am at times broken in my pain. But, what I want is to be a faithful servant on this side of glory, sharing my hope with those like Alex, Gilbert, Harrison and Nickolas. (4 of the boys we visited who had gotten burned at the scene). It is good to be reminded of Psalm 27:13-14 “I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” I am confident that many here will see the goodness of the Lord . . . and I cannot tell you how encouraging it has been to be a part of the Lord’s goodness here in Kenya for this short time.