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By Lloyd Mackey
THE TRIAL experience has been “scary.” And
the building of two new greenhouses, for growing vegetables with which to
feed orphans, has been “exciting.”
Those were the descriptives used by John Bergen, during
a January 24 phone interview from Kitale, Kenya.
Bergen, along with his wife Eloise, was brutally
attacked at their home near Kitale July 9. Residents of Vernon, they had
been in Kenya working with farming projects and orphanages, in association
with Hope for the Nations (HFTN), a Kelowna-based Christian development
agency.
After the attacks, the Bergens had returned to Canada
for medical treatment and healing. Since their recuperation, they have
travelled extensively throughout Canada and the U.S.
Through HFTN, and with the assistance of their son
Darcy, they have been speaking to churches and community groups about
Kenya’s development needs. As a result, said Bergen, they were able
to take commitments of $50,000 for greenhouse and well-drilling projects
back to Kenya, when they returned to testify at the trial of their
attackers in early January.
He noted that the courtroom experience was frightening
because the nine men charged were “wild, waving their arms, and
threatening both me and the police. One picked up a wooden chair and threw
it” toward the police.
At that point, the suspects were escorted out for a
cooling off period – and, when they returned, were “well
behaved.”
But Bergen said that, since there is no screening of
people entering the court, he and Eloise had wondered if court observers
could menace witnesses by smuggling in guns.
The Bergens gave testimony in front of the suspects in
mid-January. Then, during a week-long court break, they went to visit many
of their former co-workers and projects in which they had been involved.
They were set to return to court the week BCCN went to press.
The next phase , said Bergen, “will allow the
nine suspects to interview Eloise. The court feels every opportunity should
be given [for] the suspects [to have a] fair trial.”
Eloise was sexually violated, allegedly by several
suspects, while in their home. Meanwhile, outside the home, John was
attacked with machetes, choked and left for dead.
Once the trial is adjourned, likely later this month,
the Bergens will visit more of the projects. Then they will return to North
America for several further weeks of church speaking and fundraising
meetings.
And, on March 12, John is expected to undergo surgery
in Calgary, to repair muscles and tendons in his left arm.
“A machete that cut my left hand and arm has left
me so that I cannot open my left hand,” he said. Doctors believe they
can repair the damage through surgery.
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During the court break, John returned to the farm where
the attack took place. “It was a strange experience to stand on spot
where I had been strangled and beaten,” he recalled.
“I shared some very special moments with the
farmer-tenant who had worked on the farm for 30 years. He felt so bad, but
I told him he did not need to apologize.”
Two of the positive reasons for returning to Kenya were
the new greenhouses and a successful well-drilling project elsewhere.
“The greenhouses will be used to grow hundreds
and hundreds of tomatoes and other vegetables for the orphans,”
Bergen said. “And the new well came in at just 70 feet. We were
fortunate to hit an underground stream that close to the surface.”
Food and water are currently crucial in Kenya, Bergen
told BCCN. “The
country is in a drought season, right now; 10 million people are on the
verge of starvation.”
Commenting on the healing process after the attack,
Bergen said Eloise had come back very strongly, considering the
ferocity of the attack. And he added: “God came into my space
in such a major way,” when he awoke in the hospital last July.
Part of the healing process, he maintained, was
“to keep the poison, anger and bitterness out of the
system.”
As they consider their future work in Kenya, he said,
they are well aware of major challenges to be faced. For one thing, the
country has 42 major tribal groups.
“The culture here is different. We want to teach
the people of Kenya how to overcome tribalism – and how to forgive,
as Christ and the Father forgive, instead of taking up arms.”
On the practical side, they want to drill more wells
and develop a village for 200 orphans. The wells help in the combatting of
widespread cholera and typhoid, through the provision of clean water.
The couple expect to divide their time between North
American speaking engagements and returns to Kenya to help facilitate
various projects. A website set up by their son will provide updates on
their work.
Contact: bergensmission.com.
February 2009
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