During my initial conversations with CMF about serving in Mathare the greatest needs discussed were in the area of administration in Child Sponsorship and Microfinance.   As one of my strengths is administration and I had over 20 years of business management and finance experience it seemed like God could use these gift so I have spent the past two years planning on working in either or both of these departments. 

Several weeks into being here I was at dinner and was asked where I went to school and what I studied.  Unless you have known me for a very long time you may not know that though I have spent the past 20 plus years working in the world of business management my education and training was actually in Music Therapy with an emphasis on children with special needs.  When I was asked what happened to my passion for working with special needs children I explained that I have never lost my passion for it and that though I worked in business and enjoyed what I did, my love, what makes me tick, what makes my heart skip a beat is children and music.   As only God could orchestrate it, the MoHI leadership team has seen a great need for a resource room and programs to work with children in our schools with special needs.   A current teacher passionate about the program has started working with a small group of children and when school resumes in January I will have the privilege of working under him and helping set up a resource room at our main center to be a model that can be implemented at all of our centers. 

There is part of me that is very nervous because it has been a long time since I was in school and actually worked with children with disabilities but more than anything I am, I don’t know, I just shake my head at how faithful my God is.   This is something that I couldn’t have even dreamed to ask God for and yet He had it in His master plan way back in my college days.   I clearly remember the day I gave my hopes, dreams and desire to work with children with disabilities back to Him because all the doors had clearly closed and others had clearly opened.  I questioned if I had made a mistake and “wasted” years of practice and study to pursue what I thought at the time was God directed.  I am confident that though I may have planned my way, God has ordered every single step for His purposes and His glory.   I am excited that in a culture that can tend to send “those children” away or feel they are a curse that MoHI wants to honor the life God has given these children and change the mindset of their families and communities.  I am humbled to tears even now to think that God and the MoHI directors have entrusted me to help in ministry.   This is certainly not what I thought or told any of you I would be doing here but I trust that God has ordained every step of it and I feel I have been given a huge God gift.

Striving to live a life Fully Abandoned,

Andria