As all my friends know, I have a freakish interest in personality types and their implications on our lives. So it should come as no surprise that I thought about Myers-Briggs while I was in Kenya. Its first relevance for me was in relation to my ability to write posts for this blog. I discovered that, as one would expect from an introvert, I need a lot of quiet time in order to process my thoughts. With only one computer and extremely limited internet time, I found it difficult to compose the types of reflective posts I had hoped to share. Hammering something out under pressure just doesn't yield the same results for me. I also realized I hate writing out my thoughts on paper. I feel restricted by space and the finality of putting ink to page. I write well when I can express my thoughts fluidly, an ever-evolving body of work that takes shape in much the same way a potter's work does.
Since Kenya was my second African adventure, I was able to compare and contrast my experiences here with those I had in Uganda. Uganda was a life-changing experience for me. I've detailed it extensively in my personal blog. My love for Uganda led to a love for Africa in general and I was thrilled to be going back. I didn't even think about the fact that I was going to a large city this time and not the small town/rural setting I enjoyed in Uganda. The number of people we continually shared space with on the streets of Nairobi and in the matatus overwhelmed me. My introvert self got anxious with so much going on at once.
The amount of need, no greater than the need I saw in Uganda but multiplied by the much greater population in Kenya, led me almost to point of discouragement. So many more people and a much more established and yet broken infrastructure. While I have this quote as my email signature - “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.” - the idea of helping so many "ones" feels overwhelming.
It shouldn't have come as a surprise to me that I found my greatest pleasure in this trip when working with small groups or individuals - the girls at the rescue center, Grace, the women at the resource center, the individuals with HIV we visited in Kibera. This is what I should have expected, being an introvert and lover of one-on-one attention. But the realization gave me pause when I stopped to consider it in light of providing service to others. I've always thought I am willing to do anything when it comes to helping others, but I now see clearly that I am well-suited for some types of work, while other types of service feel more like labor to me.
I guess that's why God uses the analogy of a body when describing the church. We all have different abilities and functions; no two people work in the same way. I've appreciated the chance to learn more about myself and my world through this trip, and look forward to seeing how God will use me and stretch me in the future.
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