Kenyan Terrorist Attacks

17 killed in simultaneous attacks on 2 Christian churches.  Grenades and gunshots rang out while congregations were worshiping God.  Death interrupted people as they were giving what little they had to the collection plate.  Masked gunmen took people’s eyes away from Jesus and onto terror, blood and the flashes of multiple explosions.
This is not our fight, per say, but it still feels violating.  We are visitors in the country that is being targeted.  We get a small taste of the fear, suspicion and helplessness that these terrorist attacks stir up in the Kenyan people.  The killings happened in a small village on the opposite side of Kenya from us, near the Somalia border.  The area typically gets the brunt of the tension between Kenya and the Somalian Al-Qaeda.  The terrorist group from Somalia consists of individuals claiming to be Muslims, yet the media here insists that this is not a religious war.  Rather, church gatherings are simply the events in Kenya that draw the largest number of people.  Is it not a religious war if only people of one religion are being targeted?  By attacking congregations that meet on Sundays, there was an assurance of no Muslim victims.
I begin to wonder what if the attacks started moving closer to us? How quickly would we stop attending church on Sundays, or even leave Kenya all together?  Would we be quick to leave because the battle does not feel like ours? How different would our response be if these attacks targeted U.S. churches? Sadly, there was already an expectation that terrorism may occur while we were in Kenya since tensions between Somalia have been ongoing for quite some time.  Is there more of an expectation, acceptance or tolerance of such attacks in third world countries, compared to such bloodshed happening in America? Why if these same gunmen attacked American churches would I be more outraged than I am now? One country does not deserve these senseless attacks any more than another country…so why would I want an immediate, overwhelming and forceful response from my own country in such a situation, but do not have the same passion for the Kenyan attacks?  Is it because I already know that such force is not possible here?  Kenya is more vulnerable, with less resources?  Is it my American arrogance?  Or simply love and sense of ownership for my own country?
The battle in Kenya is ours because it is our brothers and sisters in Christ that are being terrorized.  As I make friends here, I see that these attacks are not just on a third world country…but they are on my friends.  As I experience the humanity that is here, I see that we have more similarities than differences.  And safety is something we all crave for our families and ourselves.  Since the attacks, I can no longer robotically listen to the news…mindlessly hearing the countless death tolls from far away countries.  These victims are fathers, mothers, children and friends.  These people have families, lives, faiths, communities and people who love them.  What I’m experiencing is the horror of terror in a country that doesn’t have the defense or resources that we Americans have the luxury of hiding behind…God help us all.