Early days

Dearest friends and family,

This is the first chance I have had to breathe since I arrived to Kakamega. I would like to share with you about the wonderful things the Lord is doing. So sorry that I haven't emailed yet and it feels very good to be able to finally do so! I have had so much on my heart to unpack and share with people who know and love me.

It has been the most unreal experience of my life. The Lord is stretching me and growing me in so many ways already. I have a much clearer understanding of what sacrifice truly looks like. When I met the missionaries (Dennis, Michelle, and their two sons are Joel and Eric), we had an immediate connection. The Lord truly set me up with like minded believers like you wouldn't believe. When I arrived they all hugged and kissed my forehead treating me like their own daughter/sister.They truly present their lives as living sacrifices and die to themselves daily. They pay the price of living for Christ, but they count it all joy. They admit that times can be hard and sacrifice may seem like too much, but the Lord fills them with grace and strength and always replenishes their supply as they give of their time, resources, emotions, physical strength. They give fully, knowing that the Lord will always fill them back up. It is so inspiring to see such strong believers in Christ.

Today, we went to the school in Kakamega. It was about a 40 minute drive (the "roads" here don't even deserve to be called roads). We got to a point where the mud was far too deep for us to drive, so we parked the van and took piki piki bikes the rest of the way. I hopped on the back of a piki piki with a Kenyan man in his late 50's. It is an excellent way for them to make money. Thankfully, Joel (the youngest son) rode on the same piki piki with me. He is 12 years old and I feel like I have a little brother. I read with him every night and we talk about the Bible and who Christ is for him. He is a sweet sweet boy with a definite calling on his life. Anyways, Joel rode with me and this made the 40 minute scary/bumpy/awkward ride much easier. He is so comfortable in the culture and has taught me a lot on how to interact with Kenyan children and adults. So thankful for him and I can tell he is thankful to have me around. I am officially his sister and he is starting to introduce me as his big sis. :) During this ride, I felt like I was on display. Kids, teenagers, men, women, and even the elderly would stop what they were doing as we rode by and look anxiously at us hoping that we would wave. I learned to say Jambo! Which means hello. I waved the entire 40 minutes hearing little children scream with joy and shouting "MZUNGU, MZUNGU!" which means white person, or not from here. Some of these kids have never seen a white person before, and I am sure that seeing a pale one such as myself with crazy fire red hair was a shock. Their smiles are absolutely contagious, I did not get bored of waving and I don't think I ever would. Once you wave their entire face would light up with joy. Something as simple as a wave and a hello could have potentially made their day. All I could think about during this ride was how much opportunity there is once you get to know these sweet people on a personal and real level.

So we arrived to the school and wow, was I overwhelmed. Dennis and Michelle had a board meeting, so they let me loose to do my own thing on the school grounds. I met a staff member of the school named Lynette. She toured me around and was so very sweet. We held hands as she showed me the classrooms. We arrived at the primary school which is the younger kids and as we were turning the corner she said "Prepare to have your space invaded" and no sooner than she finished her sentence I had 30-40 little children surrounding me and just wanting to touch my skin, hair, hands. I could hardly break free and didn't even desire to. I looked down at one point and saw probably 12 hands all over my arm. So many smiles and bright eyes. I could hardly keep from crying. I finally got them off of me and was able to get down on ground level to talk to them. Since they are so young, they did not know much English. So I just told them they were beautiful, that my name was Kayla Cooper, and Jambo! I must have said that word 1,000 times today. And I tickled them, took pictures of them, and hugged so many. At times like that you just have to put aside any fear of uncleanliness and to be honest it didn't cross my mind. Even though these kids are very dirty, and some disease ridden, I realized that hugging and loving these kids was far more important than my personal "space bubble" or physical comfort. I felt so blessed even though I was blessing them.

Then Lynette and I walked over to the co ed secondary school. (By the way, I was told that I was to start teaching the health education class next week). Well Lynette took me into the freshman's classroom and said this "This is Kayla Cooper. She teach you health class. Have fun!" And she walked out the door. I heard Michelle's voice in my head "Welcome to Kenya!" and I realized that this was a time to be flexible and count on the Lord. So I said a quick prayer and attempted to spring into action. Sadly, they struggled understanding me because apparently I have a "very funny Msungu accent". So I used the chalk board to communicate a lot and one of the boys with better English helped translate. They thought I was very funny and there were many times where they would speak in Swahili and bust out laughing, but I didn't mind. I started by telling them about myself, my home, friends, family, schooling -- they loved this. Then we jumped into review! We discussed ways to make sure our food is safe and clean. We talked about keeping our bodies clean. And then the big topic was talking about sex and aids. I enforced what Michelle and Dennis have been teaching about the roles of men and women and how God intended sex to be. This was difficult, but the Lord was providing the correct words and analogies on the spot as I was speaking. I was saying things that I had never previously planned or considered. I then asked them what they would like to learn from me. Here were some things on their list -- aids prevention, self-esteem, relationships, marriage, pregnancy, abortion (sadly, it is very common for girls who get pregnant and are unmarried to wear their skirts and belts very tight in order to kill the baby), differences and similarities between men and women, self-control, being faithful, etc. So next week I will start into full lessons with the kids. I will meet with them co-ed and then I will meet with the boys and girls seperately. I really do believe that these students are beginning to be impacted by the teachings and example of Dennis and Michelle. What is great about Dennis and Michelle is that they walk out what they teach kids. Dennis loves his wife and serves her just like she serves him. This is a very foreign concept in Kenya and much of Africa. Women are expected to work in the fields, cook, clean house, do laundry, a whole lot of it and they receive very little appreciation and love for it.

This has been an amazing experience so far. I truly feel like I am beginning to understand the calling God has placed on my life and I am so excited to see what he does. One prayer request, be praying for next Friday night (12pm your time). Dennis and Michelle are going to have 10-15 of the girls spend the night at their home with me and Michelle. Pray that this will be a time where Michelle and I can love these girls and show them Jesus' love for them. I really believe the Lord desires to bring healing to these very wounded girls.

Love to you all and miss you already.

In Christ,

Kayla Cooper

14 days from now...

I received my day-to-day itinerary from the missionaries in Kenya yesterday. I was in the middle of a thousand things when I received the email, but was far too excited about the email, so I stopped everything and read through the tentative schedule. As I was reading it, I became so incredibly excited and inspired for the experience I am about to encounter. I even began to cry as I read the end of the itinerary, feeling sad that my trip was coming to a close. I wanted to share with you all some of the things I will be doing while I am there, now that I myself have a better idea.

14 days from now....

I will be getting off a plane in Nairobi, Kenya and I will have just made it through 24 hours of traveling. Unboarding the plane I will officially meet my host family that I will be living with for my months stay. Their names are Dennis and Michelle. I have been conversing with them through emails, and I know we are all going to get along great. After they pick me up, we will travel south of Nairobi to visit a Kenyan family that they are close friends with. We will stay the night there and the following morning I will begin my devotions with Dennis and Michelle at 7:30am alongside breakfast. This will be the start of our devotions together, because we will continue to do so every morning of my stay there.

After devotions, we will begin our trek to Kakamega (Western Kenya). This will be approximately a 10 hour drive of extreme discomfort...should be fun. The roads apparently are nothing compared to our smoothly-paved concrete highways. The missionaries put it this way, "We hope to arrive to Kakamega during the daylight hours but we often do not because of the delays, poor roads, construction, warring tribes, or the occasional cannibal…just kidding, not really".  :)
May 25-June 7...

During this time my schedule will change daily. Some of my responsibities will include:

1. Teaching a co-ed health education class at the Salvation Army Secondary School. I am responsible for getting the materials for this class and will be addressing some very difficult issues. The biggest concept that I am to cover is basic human rights. In Kenya, and much of Africa, girls and women are viewed as inferior and they are seen as sexual objects. In this health education class I have been asked to teach that women and men are equal and that women should be treated with respect. Then I will have multiple private sessions with the just girls to talk to them and show them that they ARE worth something, that the Lord values them and that they were created to be His precious bride. Please pray for these girls specifically..their self-esteem is very low and I want to show them Christ's love. I feel inadequate for this task, but the Lord will guide me.

2. I will teach private guitar lessons to some of the students at the school

3. I will learn how to help my host family maintain their small farm

4. I will visit an orphanage that is ran by Dennis and Michelle's friends. I will hopefully stay there for a couple of days to spend time with the children there and share my music.


June 8-18...

A team of 10-15 Christian volunteers from all over the world will join us in Kakamega! I have been getting to know some of these volunteers through email. My schedule will change at this point.

1. We are helping to host a two day medical camp, primary care outreach to the community.  At this time we will help with the medical issues or spend time getting to know the hundreds (maybe a thousand or more) of people who will come to this camp. My prayer is that the thousands of people coming will see the love of Christ pouring out of us as we serve them.

2. I will play a big role in guiding the volunteer team throughout their trip. I will be responsible for leading some of their devotions in the morning, organizing their day-to-day activities, and delegating responsibilities.

3. The team and I will then help in building additional classrooms to the primary and secondary schools (There are so many students, but not enough room for them, so this will help in allowing more students to be able to receive an education)

Wow, right? The Lord is going to do SO much on this trip. I am confident of that. Oh Lord, change the hearts of these people and draw them to You and Your salvation. And change our hearts as we serve the Luhya tribe, cause us to be more like You. Grow us in humility, servant hood, love, and may we see your power and presence throughout our trip. Your will be done.

Next time I write, I will be in the mountains of Kakamega! Love you all and thank you for your support! YOU made it possible for me to go where the Lord has called me.

May the Lord continue to accomplish His perfect will through us until the day of Jesus Christ!