Using her bare hands, a woman dug through the rubble of a home devastated by a flash flood that swept through her Kenyan village in early May. She pointed out her cousin’s red jacket to a reporter. It was streaked with dirt and snagged on a tree branch. A few feet away, a broken bed and mattress lay amidst a heap of debris. She was certain that her cousin lay somewhere beneath it.
Since mid-March, flooding from the rainy season has killed more than 200 people in Kenya. In neighboring Tanzania and nearby Burundi, the death toll sits at more than 160 and 29, respectively, with tens of thousands displaced, including more than 50,000 refugees, many of whom fled Somalia over the last several years to escape drought. “No corner of our country has been spared from this havoc,” said Kenyan President William Ruto. “The forecast is that rain is going to continue, and the likelihood of flooding and people losing their lives is real.”
In Kenya, murky brown water still rushes, rapid-like, across fields and roads, sweeping away cars and railroad tracks, and leaving at least one father grief-stricken when he lost his wife and baby. “The water came and I felt as if something was falling,” he told a Reuters reporter. “That’s when the water swept us. There was nothing I could have done.” In the worst-hit area of Kenya, a dam burst in the early morning hours, sending water and mud hurtling down a hill and killing nearly 50 villagers. “The military has been mobilized, the national youth service has been mobilized, all security agencies have been mobilized to assist citizens in such areas to evacuate to avoid any dangers of loss of lives,” President Ruto said. “It is not a time for guesswork, we are better off safe than sorry.”
Indigenous missionaries are among those affected by the rising water and must strategize how best to continue their evangelism efforts in the midst of this dangerous crisis. “We are still having much rain all over the country and it has caused much havoc in some places as people have died,” one ministry leader said. “It is still raining but we trust God that it will stop.”
In one area, ministry workers kept careful watch on the riverbanks, knowing that they could not conduct baptisms at the risk of peoples’ lives. But in places not prone to flooding, they were able to baptize new believers, and they joyfully celebrated each time someone joined their fellowship. “Many are testifying of the goodness of the Lord and have a desire to serve God because of what He has done in their lives,” a ministry leader said.
The effects of this year’s rainy season will linger for months to come as communities band together to clean, rebuild, and mourn their losses. But even amid the heartache, missionaries recognize God is at work. “We thank our Almighty God for the great things He is doing in our midst,” the ministry leader said. “We have a lot of work to be done and without the help of our Lord, we can do nothing.”
Pray for all those affected by flooding. And please consider a donation to support the missionaries throughout the region who work tirelessly to share the good news of Jesus.