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Enock Oroo's life hung by a thread as he arrived at the emergency ward in Kenyatta National Hospital on Aug-ust 7, shortly after terrorists bombed the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.

Oroo, 22, had survived but was gravely injured. The bombing claimed 257 lives, among them a dozen American nationals working at the embassy. More than 5,000, mostly civilians, were wounded. A simultaneous terrorist bomb in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, killed 10.

"As the team of doctors and nurses worked trying to save my life," he recalls from his hospital bed, "I heard the doctor tell the nurse, 'This one is not going to survive.' The nurse later repeated that to another, [but] I responded, 'Just do your best. God is great.' "

On the day of the bombing, Oroo was riding on a bus near the U.S. embassy and witnessed an unforgettable scene of screams, blood, and death.

"Some people were calling their mothers or fathers, but I cried to God," says Oroo. The passenger seated next to him on the bus died instantly. The bus caught fire, and several riders perished in the flames. Oroo sustained multiple injuries.

Oroo admits that for the past three years he had turned away from his childhood Christian faith, even though he says he never forsook God completely. "My life was not stronger than those who died. It was a miracle I survived. I immediately knew God had spared me."

Oroo's faith in God has been revitalized and, much to his surprise, as he recovers he finds himself sharing the gospel with fellow hospital patients and staff.

SURVIVAL STORIES: Kenyatta's Ward 7A is one of dozens of hospital wards throughout Kenya with people recovering from the blast. Many show a remarkable determination to move on with their lives without bitterness.

During an interview with CT from her Kenyatta Hospital bed, Grace Kiuna, a secretary whose collapsed office building was next to the embassy, remembers hearing gunshots and the sound of a grenade.

"At first, I was thinking it was all bullets, then I ducked under the table not knowing I had been badly injured," she says. "An office colleague who was not injured helped me to run down staircases for ten floors as I constantly prayed: Please, God, don't take me away, you have given me children and I have a lot to do."

Kiuna, who had been an orphan herself, cares for foster children belonging to her deceased sister. The bomb blast severely scarred Kiuna's face and upper body.

Many survivors, including Oroo and Kiuna, suffered eye and facial injuries from the bombing. The main blast that brought down one building next to the embassy had been preceded by gunfire, which drew people to windows. Doctors say 40 of the bombing victims are blind in both eyes and another 50 have lost all vision in one eye.

Douglas Sigialo no longer has the use of one eye and has lost significant vision in the other. "The doctor tells me the retina is badly damaged," says Sigialo, who remains optimistic. "The doctors are doing their best." The 27-year-old father may never see again, but that has not altered his view that God spared his life for a purpose. "I feel ready to serve God in a big way when I get out of here," says Sigialo, a marketing manager with Saint Paul's Publishers. He also writes for African magazines and sings in his church choir. "Even if I don't see again, I desire to learn to play the guitar and the kayamba and sing for the Lord. Of course, I will continue to write somehow. My wife can scribble and edit for me."

LONG-TERM IMPACT: Christians make up 80 percent of the 28.3 million people of Kenya, making it one of the most thoroughly Christian nations in Africa. There are more than 40,000 congregations, and evangelicals represent at least one-third of the populace.

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October 5 1998, Vol. 42, No. 11