slowly by slowly.

My prayers were answered today. Like I said in the last post, I've been wondering how I fit into the work at MOHI. Even before coming here, I had been praying that I would be open to doing whatever they needed me to do, but I was really hoping to do photography and writing.

After spending last week touring the different departments, we were asked where we wanted to be placed. Throughout the week I had realized the work I was originally hoping to do would fit well in several departments. But because of miscommunication (ie cultural language differences, silly timidity on my part) MOHI was going to place me in the Education Dept, helping kids learn to write and read English better. I wanted to be open to it, but honestly, the idea terrified me. I've never taught before, and although I like to write, I wouldn't know the first thing about teaching writing to Kenyan children. It had me pretty stressed out, and wondering if I would get to do the kind of work I had hoped to do here, as well as feeling guilty that I maybe wasn't being open to trying new things.

I finally decided to just talk to Mary (the creator/head of MOHI) about it. (I sometimes forget I can clear things up through simple conversation.) And it was wonderful; she was so understanding and encouraging. Through a few more meetings today, it's been decided that I'll float around to different departments (CHE, Social Work, Micro-finance)- going on home visits, making friends, learning Kiswahili- and in the process I'll be taking pictures and learning/writing peoples' incredible stories. I'll get to do this throughout MOHI's ten area centers in Mathare Valley, spending 2-3 weeks in each area. I'll probably be given one day a week to edit photos and write. It couldn't be more perfect for me. And even better, I found out today that this is a need many MOHI workers have seen- the need for someone to be documenting the transformative power of Christ at work in people's lives in Mathare.

So I will take my camera to work tomorrow for the first time, and I'll be traveling to a few Mathare communities for the Micro-finance Dept. I am so excited to start working! I'm sure the next six months will be filled with hard work, probably harder than I'm anticipating- but I am at peace now, knowing I'll be doing work that not only fulfills me, but also helps to fill a need within MOHI. Win-Win.