Picking up the Pieces

The mall may be deserted and the gun fire has stopped.
But the influence this day has left on people will not be forgotten.

Westage Mall collapse

It has been exactly one week since terrorists stormed the Westgate mall in Nairobi and people are back to their routines. The weekend hosted dozens of funerals including the funeral of the president's nephew and his fiance which was held at Nairobi Chapel on Friday morning. I had the opportunity to help make sure things went smoothly and as the place packed with about 3,000 mourners and press, it was evident that last Saturday will be forgotten by few.

It is not only those who lost loved ones who will forever have it etched in their brains. It is also the ones who escaped that will grieve. They will need to come to terms with this experience and for a few, a lot of internal healing will need to be sought.

Today the state of the once very posh shopping centre lies in rubble (above) but it will be rebuilt and restored and enjoyed again. As will the hearts of everyone affected by this horrible event.

A friend of mine was in the mall with her children that day. Her photo was taken and her story recorded here.

4 year old Portia, running to safety

What God Hates

There are six things the Lord hates—

no, seven things he detests:

haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that kill the innocent,
a heart that plots evil,

feet that race to do wrong,

a false witness who pours out lies,

a person who sows discord in a family.

- Proverbs 6:16-19

Al-Shabaab, a terrorist group linked with Al-Qaeda, is proving to be guilty of every one of these characteristics as they have unleashed yet another attack on unsuspecting, innocent men, women and children in Nairobi. This isn't new to them. Their game is terrorizing the globe. Pakistan, India, Uganda, Kenya are only a handful of locations where they have unleashed their cowardly killing sprees to save face of a losing battle against a world who actually holds human rights valuable. Their spokesmen continue to spew out pretentious small minded threats against anyone who supports taking down their terrorist group in any way.

Just thinking about this garbage makes my blood boil. I've been on Canadian soil when the US was attacked but this time, it hits even closer to home.

Westage is a four storey shopping centre, comprised of over 80 stores including a movie theatre and a two storey grocery store, on the west side of Nairobi. I've been there a bunch of times. Typically around holidays because the way they decorate the place always reminds me a bit of Canada.

The last time I was there I played Uncharted from a bean bag chair in the video game section of a tech shop and ate at Haandi where I ordered some curry dish in medium; discovering that their 'medium' actually means 'runny nose and fiery tongue.'

On a Saturday at lunch time there are thousands of people roaming it's brightly lit hallways; many of them families with small children. This is when the Al-Shabaab decided to attack. They didn't attack the Kenyan military, police or government. They attacked children, pregnant women, the elderly... They attacked Kenyans and foreigners alike. The current death toll lies at 62 with victims between the ages of 2-76. They killed anyone they pleased in their frantic blood-lust. And while they did that, they tweeted! Twitter shut down multiple accounts but they just continued registering and mocking Kenyan police as closed in on the terrorists and secured hostages. One tweet that was particularly piggish, "Westgate a 14-hour standoff relayed in 1,400 rounds of bullets and 140 characters of vengeance and still ongoing. Good morning Kenya!"

I can't quite wrap my head around how people are capable of this kind of evil. I don't want to get into the discussion of types of sin and how there is no grade of severity - sin is sin. But the Bible is clear: God hates what is going on at Westgate. Hates it with a passion. As do I. As should we all.