We are still searching for Sharon Akinyi. She ran away from her home on the night of June 14th. The father had come to school to report it the next morning. He said he had been asking her to come to the table to eat dinner, but she kept doing her homework. Because she wasn't obeying him he got annoyed and starting caning her (beating her back with a stick). When he went outside to get another stick, she ran away and didn't come back that night.
After reporting the matter to school he went back home to find Sharon in the house with two of her brothers. Because he felt guilty, he asked her what she needed. Sharon asked for new slippers and so the father gave her the eqivalent of $7. The old man fell asleep on the couch and when he woke up Sharon had left with all of her things. Since that day (June 15th) she hasn't come home.
Sharon is 16 years old and in 8th grade. She is registered to sit her National Exams in November and then begin secondary school in January. She was always responsible and hard-working. She was even selected as one of our school leaders for the 2nd year in a row. She performs well in school, in fact she had really been improving over the last couple of months. She is also a great football player which makes all of this more confusing. Because of her athletic ability she is known all over the area, so if she really is around here, then surely by now, someone would have spotted her. The only person that has seen her since that time was someone in the Mbita market who talked with her when she was going across the causeway to Rusinga Island on June 18th.
In conjunction with the family, we have been searching for her everywhere. I have been to Rusinga Island almost everday, driving around the island, stopping at marketplaces, beaches and schools to show her picture and see if anyone has seen her. We have reported to the police, chiefs, and clan elders. We have followed many leads that offer so much hope, but ultimately culminate in dead ends. We have interrogated several people, and even searched some houses. On Friday I took a boat out to Mfangano and covered almost the entire island searching for her. We have announced over the radio locally, within the province and even nationally. And we have prayed, fasted and prayed some more. We have prayed individually, corporately, and in churches; pleading with God for her safety and protection, and that he would bring her back.
We have done everything possible to try and find this girl, with no fruit at all. My mind wanders so many places just imagining what is happening with her, things that I don't even want to write down or speak outloud. A 16 year old girl is so vulnerable.
After reporting the matter to school he went back home to find Sharon in the house with two of her brothers. Because he felt guilty, he asked her what she needed. Sharon asked for new slippers and so the father gave her the eqivalent of $7. The old man fell asleep on the couch and when he woke up Sharon had left with all of her things. Since that day (June 15th) she hasn't come home.
Sharon is 16 years old and in 8th grade. She is registered to sit her National Exams in November and then begin secondary school in January. She was always responsible and hard-working. She was even selected as one of our school leaders for the 2nd year in a row. She performs well in school, in fact she had really been improving over the last couple of months. She is also a great football player which makes all of this more confusing. Because of her athletic ability she is known all over the area, so if she really is around here, then surely by now, someone would have spotted her. The only person that has seen her since that time was someone in the Mbita market who talked with her when she was going across the causeway to Rusinga Island on June 18th.
In conjunction with the family, we have been searching for her everywhere. I have been to Rusinga Island almost everday, driving around the island, stopping at marketplaces, beaches and schools to show her picture and see if anyone has seen her. We have reported to the police, chiefs, and clan elders. We have followed many leads that offer so much hope, but ultimately culminate in dead ends. We have interrogated several people, and even searched some houses. On Friday I took a boat out to Mfangano and covered almost the entire island searching for her. We have announced over the radio locally, within the province and even nationally. And we have prayed, fasted and prayed some more. We have prayed individually, corporately, and in churches; pleading with God for her safety and protection, and that he would bring her back.
We have done everything possible to try and find this girl, with no fruit at all. My mind wanders so many places just imagining what is happening with her, things that I don't even want to write down or speak outloud. A 16 year old girl is so vulnerable.
SO I am just requesting you to pray for her. Pray by yourself and in your small group and in your church. Pray for her protection and safety. Pray for her to realize what is happening and to realize how much she is cared for by her family and friends. Pray for her to come back today or for us to be able to discover where she is.
Please Pray
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