Reconciliation and Team-Building

On Friday I joined a day-long retreat with the staff of Church Army. I’ve been working with C Army once a week and went with about 30 other staff members to Nairobi’s City Park. We played games, engaged in team building exercises, and participated in a few short seminars. The staff at C Army is quite diverse, and many staff members have been directly affected by the ethnic clashes in Kenya. I listened as some staff members shared their heartbreaking experiences and discussed ways for reconciliation and healing. It was an eye-opening and heart-wrenching time. We heard stories of several young children, one who had witnessed the brutal death of his parents. Two Kenyan counselors also talked with us about emotional trauma and how to deal with stress, bitterness, and pain. They encouraged the staff, “we can never go back to the way things were before the elections, but there is hope. . .there is healing. . .”