Patience...

There was a sense this morning that the ordeal at the West Gate Mall was nearly finished. We were informed that the terrorists were shot neutralised and the hostages released and then we were informed that an official government statement would be made later in the morning. With that information, I headed to the gym early in the morning and said Hallelujah.

But the frequent buzzing of the helicopters over the gym made me wonder. My gym is not far from the mall. We heard later that there was still some shooting taking place at the mall and it is unclear what is happening now. And so we continue to wait and be patient.

But lives are really put on hold. Nowadays, people ask, "how are you?" which means, 'was anyone in your family affected by the event?' Because Nairobi is so small there is about 2 degrees of separation between people. Everyone was impacted by this event and if not personally, than they know of a friend or relative who was either killed or injured.

The kids' schools were closed today...perhaps they will open tomorrow but I am not holding my breath. Most parts of town are open and running and things are 'normal'.

Let me end here. I had to slip out of my office only briefly to take a shot of the flowers near my door during the 5 minutes the sun shined today. It has been unseasonably cold and rainy...

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!