Email: Shelvis Smith-Mather

Inauguration in Kenya

Dear Friends,

The Young Adult Volunteer team and other U.S. citizens planned a worship/prayer service today to celebrate the inauguration of President Obama. We called it “Fulfilling the dream.” The service provided Americans, Kenyans, and many others with an opportunity to celebrate those who “paved the way” for such a special day. It was an opportunity to recognize God’s work in history through the lives of civil rights leaders in the United States and in this region. This service was the vision of our coordinator, the Rev. Phyllis Byrd, who also made the arrangements for us to watch the inauguration with Wangari Maathai, Kenya's Nobel Peace prize winner, and several other guests at a closed party. Pretty sweet, huh?

I missed the party, however, because I was at a clergy meeting in Eldoret (training ground for many of Kenya’s elite marathon runners), so I watched the ceremony in a cafeteria. The meeting addressed ways that the church could reunite the people of Kenya. Many clergy spoke of how their congregations fled when the ethnically and politically charged violence broke out in Kenya a year ago. And they lamented about how many church leaders did not speak out against the tribal division. After a long day of prayer, discussion, and strategizing, I joined 40 Kenyan archbishops, bishops, and pastors in the cafeteria to watch the much anticipated event. We huddled around a projector and gazed at the images on a large sheet hanging from the wall. It was a little surreal, yet extremely touching to share the moment together.

The next morning, they asked me to start our meeting by telling the group about the significance of the inauguration for the United States. I did my best to share what it meant for me as an American and an African-American. I told them about my conversation with my 85-year-old grandmother on the night of the election. It meant more than anything to hear the excitement on the voice of a woman who has seen more discrimination and racial hatred than I could ever imagine and who still lives in a small southern town with train tracks dividing blacks on one side and whites on the other.

After I spoke, the bishops insisted that we take a moment to pray for continued racial reconciliation in the United States and the leadership of President Obama. They prayed because they believed that if this level of progress could happen in the United States, then it could also happen in their battle-scarred country. They found strength in the example of the United States of America and the American people. Their prayers were a sobering reality that what our country does (for better or worst) truly affects the world. My heart swelled with pride for our country and the hope that the new presidency offered.

The day after the inauguration, every picture of every paper was about the new first family of the United States. There were articles about Barack’s dancing, Michelle’s fashion, the kid’s puppy, but the article I think sums it all up said of Obama, “He is nobody’s Messiah but everybody’s Hope.”

What a special moment in history.

To God be the glory,

Shelvis

For frequent updates on our lives here in Kenya, please see our Web site.