Kenya: Day 41

Pray for:
- The future that God is preparing for me and that I will have the faith, confidence, and boldness to embrace it
- Wisdom in continued development of a filmmaking curriculum

In this review: Progress, Networking, Future

Progress
==
Things have been going really well. I've been teaching 2 classes and just started my third yesterday.

One class is with high school students. 3 of them just finished their assembly edits and I gave them feedback/critique and sent them back to re-edit. Another 1 is in the middle of production. While the rest are still working on their scripts and pre-production work. It's been really good to see their eagerness to just get something done.

My second class is with post-high school students. We just wrapped production on their first short this week and going to start editing on Monday. I'm hoping to transition them into teaching roles.

The third class I started is as kind of a consultant at the Kibera Film School. I critiqued their scripts, but it looks like I might help them retool their curriculum.

I've been building relationships, and God's been giving me opportunities to pray for people and make a difference. It's been a real blessing thus far.

All in all, I think it's been a pretty successful trip. I still have another 8 weeks. Planning to do shoot some documentaries while I'm out here. Also dedicating August to shooting a TV pilot. We're working on the script now so I'm hoping we'll be able to get it done.

I'm at the point in the curriculum where I'm rethinking my plan and considering trying something new. What that is, I still need to think about.

Networking
==
These last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind of meetings. It was to the point where I couldn't even blog. I know! Right?

It's been a good sort of business. Making contacts, moving Filamujuani forward and seeing who else is doing development and partnering to share resources, what we've learned, and becoming more effective.

I've also been making inroads to the Kenyan film insdustry. It's a really exciting time and I wish I didn't have to go back to school so I can stay here and jump on the band wagon. As is, the earliest that I'll be able to come back is probably 2013.

I'm hoping that things will orchestrate to bring me back sooner, but at this moment, it seems unlikely.

Future
==
As with all trips like this, it has thrown a huge wrench into my future and possibilities and opportunities. In a good way.

In December, I'll be graduating and taking the next step in this journey called life and faith. I see about 4 different paths and the various permutations of being bivocational.

At this point, I'm almost positive that I'm going to be bivocational, it's just a matter of which of the 2 paths I walk.

I thought coming to Kenya would make the decision easier. Boy, was I wrong.

So, the future is wide open. And one of the realities that I'm going to have to face is that of money. Specifically, how to make it. I wish I could just choose a path and run down it, but unfortunately, you can only run so far without eating or drinking anything.

I don't know which path I want to take. And in a lot of ways, I've been putting off the decision. But in a few months, I'll have to take a step. When the time comes, maybe I'll just close my eyes, spin around in a circle, and take a step and see where I land.

As much as I hope for a hand to pull down a particular path, I've come to realize that it's not always that easy. Sometimes we're given the responsibility to choose because we're big boys and girls and we're capable of making those sort of decisions.

It's really quite a privelege to be able to make those sort of decisions. There are so many people here who really have no choice. Because of their circumstances or the resources they have access to, there just isn't much in the way that they can decide for themselves. It's hard when you have to think about how you're going to make ends meet tomorrow, let alone a year from now. Or in my case, 3 years from now. That sort of forward thinking and planning just isn't available to the majority of people.

Thank you so much for your prayers. They're definitely felt and and great appreciated.