DALLAS (ABP) -- Buckner International, a Baptist family-service agency based in Texas, has postponed two mission trips to Kenya in light of political unrest there, officials said.

Ethnic violence Jan. 1 followed a disputed presidential election. Thousands of Kenyans have fled their homes, and an estimated 300 people have died, including at least 30 people who burned to death in a church in western Kenya.

According to Randy Daniels, Buckner's vice president for global initiatives, Nairobi police have placed barricades around the capital city, making travel in its downtown nearly impossible. Meanwhile, gangs of young adults armed with machetes are patrolling the streets in some Nairobi neighborhoods, assaulting people of rival tribes.

Buckner staff members throughout the country are safe, Daniels reported, and most of the children in the Baptist Children's Center in Nairobi were safely with relatives during the Christmas holiday. The 10 children who remain in the center have no living relatives and are also safe, he said.

At this point, Daniels said Buckner will not move the Nairobi orphans or staff out of the area. He also noted that much of the violence has been attributed to one Nairobi slum, highlighting the need for continued ministry among Kenya's poor.

“The ministry will continue in Kenya,” he said. “We're not going to back out.”

On his blog, Buckner President Ken Hall encouraged people to pray for Buckner's ministry in Kenya and the situation in the country.

“The events in Kenya are a reminder that our world can be a dangerous place, and when you serve in it, you face uncertainty and even danger,” he wrote. “Please join me as we begin 2008 praying for peace in Kenya and around the world.”

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