Editor's Note: This is a personal, firsthand report from the MAF program manager in Kenya concerning the continuing violence there.

Violence continues in this troubled nation as Mission Aviation Fellowship seeks to save those in immediate peril.

After an initial wave of flight requests in the first two weeks of January, police established more control over transportation. Thereafter, transport by road became possible, albeit with police escorts, and the demands for our flights diminished. We were grateful, because we then were able to resume our normal flying into Sudan. Requests for assistance with an evacuation or a delivery of relief goods could be honored.

Our fastest aircraft, the Pilatus PC-12, was still stuck in the northern Kenya desert after a propeller strike in November, and this made things more difficult. An engine overhaul of one of our piston aircraft and major maintenance on the other piston aircraft left us with only our four Cessna C208 Caravans. It was a blessing that our pilot shortage was alleviated by the arrival of a short-term volunteer (and former MAF-Kenya pilot). Working overtime, we have been able to restore the PC-12 and the piston aircraft back to service!

The recent surge in violence has again blocked road transport, and the ethnic cleansing made intervention by air critical. In just two recent days, MAF-Kenya has evacuated 75 Kenyans to escape from threats made against their lives. The staff in the Nairobi Operations Centre is working hard to deal with the chaotic stream of incoming requests. At the same time our team in Lokichoggio is managing the continuing flying into Sudan.

All MAF-Kenya staff is Christian, so all of us, Kenyan and expatriate missionaries, are serving under Kingdom values. But we notice how we also are seriously affected by the tension in the country, Kenyans above all. We are aware of the tribal background of staff members, and we can see how difficult it sometimes is to work together. We work with half an ear tuned to the radio, struggling to concentrate.

Then, another devotional time comes and we pray together. But what do we pray when the opinions are divided. Do we pray "safe," or can one pray from the heart? At the same time, there is the fear when family members are affected in remote places in Kenya, sometimes in Nairobi. Riots break out, and we wonder if children are safe while on their way from school to home. Many Kenyan staff members live in very unsafe areas. Information is often unreliable. Dramatic messages create panic, and we all gather around the one television set in the maintenance tearoom. Many days we have had to take the cautious decision to release staff early, so that we could all travel at a time when disruptions in town would be avoided.

It must be said - with thanks to Jesus our Lord - that we all are Christians, and by His grace we have been able to stand together in fellowship and go through this together. I do not even know about any angry words. Maybe sometimes we are even too disciplined, but all of us are so aware that our ministry is critical and that our calling is to serve and be different. The only weapon that we are allowed to carry is love, and we do believe that the only answer for Kenya is to adhere strictly to the commandment that Jesus has taught us: You love - even your enemies!

As to the situation itself, the anger and violence of the last weeks have undoubtedly been triggered by the disputed tallying process and the hasty reinauguration of Mwai Kibaki as president. However, the emerging hatred and the escalating horror of the atrocities committed have revealed deep tribal divisions within the Kenyan society that have existed for many decades and never have been dealt with. The confrontations between opposition demonstrators and police have been violent since the end of December, but we now see unconcealed tribalism. Hatred about ethnicity, and grudges over ownership of land, poverty and political power, produce a very volatile mix.

The country is now divided along tribal lines. Often groups of young men control access to villages or areas of towns. Kenyans are asked at roadblocks for their ID cards, and then based on their tribal identity, are either given way, or they run the risk of being butchered to pieces. A vicious cycle of revenge is spiraling out of control.

Some days everything appears calm and almost back to normal. However, driving home on a normal afternoon one can find oneself suddenly confronted by a large contingent of riot police, and within seconds, problems are all around. Last week, not far from the MAF compound, a funeral service for 28 victims of police violence was suddenly tear- gassed and ended in a battle that left people dead and wounded, cars on fire and the regional telephone exchange demolished.

Yesterday an opposition Member of Parliament was assassinated in front of his house. Later the police lobbed tear gas into the group of mourners and even into the house. The whole country saw on television how the screaming widow stumbled out of her house, retching and eyes streaming. More violence erupted within no time in several towns in the country.

Nairobi has remained relatively calm, because the police have managed to contain the fights in the slum areas. There, however, a member of our staff came out of her house to find three dead bodies lying there, killed overnight.

Outside of Nairobi many areas experience even bigger stress. Armed groups of young men are visiting the large flower farms in the Great Rift Valley, demanding that only members of certain tribes are employed. Members from other tribes are beaten up, sometimes killed or even burned alive. In panic, people try to get away.

On Jan. 30, MAF flew nonstop with just small planes to rescue more than 50 Kenyans in that region. Roads are blocked, more houses were set on fire - sometimes with whole families inside. More than half a million people have taken flight and are seeking refuge at police stations, churches, town halls or army barracks. Dramatic humanitarian situations develop. Reports about a staggering increase in rape and other crimes make us shiver. The police announce that they are investigating all crimes, but it is obvious that nobody really knows how bad the situation countrywide really is. We all fear that it is worse than we can imagine.

The Kenya Red Cross is co-coordinating relief efforts. Many Kenyans are willing to help, collecting water and food and making financial contributions. Makeshift refugee camps are being put in place. Churches send out groups of women to help the displaced. The news bulletins are full of spokesmen from all sorts of organizations asking Kenyans to stop fighting, pleading with the politicians and the government to seek reconciliation. Many cry for peace, yet most of us here in Kenya are simply very, very tired.

The recent arrival of Kofi Annan and a team of mediators has given the country hope. After visiting the most devastated areas, Annan was visibly shocked by the level of pain and destruction that he was witnessing. Back in Nairobi, he has guided the two parties towards accepting a covenant that will work on the main problems of the conflict, including the disputed presidential election and the deeper economic and tribal issues. Within a month, positive results are expected.

Let me close with one personal example.

One evening my phone was ringing. I answered and heard the voice of a woman pleading for help: "I am not safe here, and I am told to leave with my three-year-old girl. Please, please help!"

I had no idea where her village was located, and she did not seem to be able to explain more. Suddenly, I realized that my daughter's music teacher, a Kenyan from that region, was in the next room. "Do you know this village?" I asked. A moment of hesitation -"No, I think not," he said, but then remembered a friend who had once mentioned that village. A quick call by him on another telephone while I was calming the woman gave us the information.

On our large wall map we found the village, close to the Ugandan border, and were then able to identify the nearest airstrip. We had not flown to that destination for years, but just the next day we happened to be evacuating some people from there, and there would be space on the flight! This was more than a coincidence! While I quickly passed on the details to the frightened woman, my heart was filled with a silent prayer: "Thank You, Lord. You do care for Your people, and it is an adventure to serve You!"