A Little History and the Beginning of Friendship

Oh Kenya...how I wish all of you could be experiencing all the little things I encounter and soak in throughout my days here. There is just too much and not enough time! Today was a day full of stories...incredible stories. We were stuck in traffic this morning for about 45 mins so I took the opportunity to get to know Mary Kamau (one of the founders of Missions of Hope and my house mother) by asking her questions. We chatted about many things including some girl talk about how she met her husband, Wallace ;) But what I wanted to know most was how one woman got the courage to start an organization that has grown to help over 1,000 children and their families throughout the Mathare area.

Her answers were very encouraging. She said that when she moved to the city, she saw how many children were in desperate need in Mathare so she just started getting to know the children. The children would then invite her to meet their parents and eventually she began praying with the families if someone was sick or needed money and before she knew it people were coming to Christ. She sought out a nearby church to send the people to and as time when on started a pre-school for 50 children which just grew and grew as more families became interested. The whole time, God was guiding her, providing property and teachers. Her husband, Wallace took care of the logistics and they have been expanding and touching the lives of thousands ever since!

Some of this I also heard in an orientation that I sat in on today for a visiting group. I honestly can't believe how much they are doing! They have schools, micro-finance, AIDS education, child support, and medical care. How great is our God!! And they only officially started in 2000!!!! So encouraging :)

I had no real place to go today once the orientation was over so I just hung out in the CHE office and talked with people. Some of the social workers took their turns teaching me Swahili, but I spent most of my time with Reginah. We have actually gotten really close and she is quite encouraging as well. She loves to laugh, so we laugh together and a funny thing actually happened today. I had my first little language blooper :) I was trying to say that I was going to go to the bathroom, but instead I said I wanted to go take a bath and she looked at me with a weird smile and then started cracking up. We laughed about that for a bit! Here is a quick photo of Reginah and I.

The questions she asks me are quite hilarious though. Like today I told her that I have three dogs and she asked me if I bathe them. I said yes. She looked at me surprised and coolly asked, "Oh so everyday? Like morning and evening?" I said, "Oh no." "Then just once a day?" "No, maybe once every couple of weeks." "Ohhh, naona (I see). Here in Kenya, we do not have dogs as pets. They are dirty. One of the worst insults you can give a person is to call them a dog...so don't call anyone a dog!" And then she started laughing again haha. Her fiance called at that time and she got all giggly, and I poked at her laughing as she blushed. She asked me if I had someone and I blushed so she poked me back...I guess I deserved it. But that is how my afternoon went, just going back and forth laughing. Oh, it was wonderful!

The downtime has been a blessing though like I have said before. It has really given me time to contemplate and think about God's purpose for me and maybe what I have been hindering him from doing in my life. Mary's story really encouraged me, because I feel like I have not dived into any project because of fear. I do not know how I am going to accomplish something and that is what overwhelms me. But I forget that God is on my side and he will lead me to help and provide ways for his work to be done. I do not have to do it all by myself. I am looking forward to getting started on my apprentice project which is something I budgeted for in my find-raising. Each apprentice or intern raises an amount and gets the chance to start a project here that will hopefully be self-sustaining. I have been praying that God sheds light on something for me.

Well that is enough for now. Thank you so much for all your prayers and your comments! I have read the comments and I am glad that you are excited as well :) Love you all!