Hi everyone!
Greetings from the buggy balcony of St. Anna’s guest house in Kisumu, Kenya! I am sitting in the very corner edge of the balcony outside our room mooching internet from the World Vision office across the street. I am much overdue for a legitimate update, but unfortunately, I leave Tuesday for home and am not sure yet if this will be my last post so we’ll see... I’m also not sure my internet situation up until I leave as I will be taking an 8-hour train ride from Kisumu to Nairobi tomorrow night, then flying to Dubai where I will have a 20 hour layover ugh.

After slowly getting adjusted to a new city and diving right in to working at the new home, we have been kept busy. I wanted to write a little bit more about the special needs unit at the Kisumu orphanage, I felt I didn’t do it justice before. There are currently 7 in the unit that range from ages 1 ½ to almost 6 and have varying physical and mental conditions. They are so fun. There is one in particular that is just too funny, her name is Ashley and she loves climbing all over you and is just a ball of energy.

The unit I have been in the most is the baby unit, as I think I’ve mentioned in earlier blog posts. There are about 15 babies ages 0-6 months and about 5 babies that are 6 months-1 year. They need a lot of help in this unit because the babies eat every 3 hours. With quite a few babies, it takes a good while to feed them all so I’m glad we can alleviate some of the stress of the nurses.

Apart from our time at the orphanage we have been doing some exploring in Kisumu, well, mainly just the grocery store haha. We are about a 45 minute walk from the Nakumatt “Mega Plaza.” Basically, it is a huge shopping center with a grocery store, several cyber cafes, and a Chemist (similar to a pharmacy). Tonight, my last night with Morgan and Hilary (as they are staying here until mid-July), we ate at Mon Ami for a delicious last meal of pizza.

This morning we woke up at 5:40 to go on a sunrise walk with some friends that we met back in the Atlanta airport. We walked about 2 miles to Lake Victoria. We got to watch the sun rise over the lake and it was really beautiful. The lake is really huge, it is the second largest freshwater lake in the world. Our friends from Oklahoma knew a native named Tom who we found and he informed us about the wildlife at Lake Victoria. Apparently, hippos account for the most human deaths by an animal and their four molars are made of ivory so hippo poaching has become popular. He informed us the black mamba is the most deadly snake at about 23 feet with the head of a cobra, yikes. It’s been so neat to meat other groups and form Kenyan friends, Hilary is even joking about joining the Kenyan Facebook network. It’s funny, being the minority for the first time ever, every time we see a group of white people we are asked where we are from, what we are doing, and quickly become friends with the group. We have met people from Indiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Utah, just from the United States alone.

In my last few days at the orphanage, I have definitely come to realize why I am here and why I felt compelled to fly halfway around the world when there are people in need right in North Carolina. Hilary read me a verse today from Matthew 25 where Jesus is talking about the blessed claiming their inheritance because they took care of the King when he was hungry, thirsty, etc. The righteous then ask when they were given a chance to do these things and the King answers “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” The verse hit me because a few times since I’ve been here I have felt utterly useless. I have seen so much need in Africa, but spending 7 hours a day in an orphanage isn’t exactly what I would call saving the world. I came to realize that upon coming on this trip, I expected to walk off the plane and just start saving the world (as ridiculous as I’m sure that reads haha). Merely “helping out” wasn’t quite what I expected. I came to realize, that, despite the mass amount of need I was seeing, these people are quite content. They are aware of their situation and some of them just don’t know anything other than their overcrowded shack with a tin roof - that’s completely normal for them. Thus, I certainly didn’t expect to find people to be completely content with their situation, and that was a big hurdle I had to overcome. These people continue their lives day in, day out without a lick of help. It’s nice when missionaries come, but sometimes these people don’t need saving, just a hand or a smile.

Hilary and Morgan found a couple more verses they felt applicable to our trip so I decided to post them below.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” [Matthew 19:14]

“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.” [Acts 4:32-35]

It is so weird to think that my trip has come to an end. It has certainly flown by and what I have seen here can honestly not be put into words, although I have done my best. As I expected it would, this trip has really shown me things I should be more grateful for as well as adjusted my priorities and perspectives. I’ve learned quite a bit about myself as well, I learned that alone with 2 other girls in Kenya, I can survive on my own just fine. I’ve learned that African time doesn’t coordinate to Coty’s time, waiting 45 minutes for a taxi will not kill you, it’s merely a test of my patience. I’ve learned to tolerate bugs and lizards in my living space though it still freaks me out just a little bit. As I said in an earlier post, Kenya has given me so much more than I feel I ever could give in return.

I truly am so lucky and blessed to have this opportunity. At 18, I realize that few people are given such an amazing shot at helping others and seeing a completely different side of the world. I thank everyone at Bethlehem so much for that, and am truly grateful for such an opportunity. Thank you especially to Dennis and LaRue for caring so much for me and this trip, that has meant so much to me. And I thank my parents for humoring me as I first explained what I’m sure sounded like a ludicrous idea for a summer vacation at the time. They have been more than supportive, as has the rest of my family and friends.

Honestly, I was quite unsure at times what I was getting myself into but I put a strong amount of trust in the girls I was going with and in myself that this was something I felt called to do. I realize now that there was a reason for my coming here, it had been in the cards all along.

I’ll be putting up the rest of my pictures as soon as I get back too!

“Sometimes you just have to trust an unknown future to a known God.” [Carrie ten Bloom]

Thank you all for reading my blogs, putting up with me, and for being in my life. I love you all.
See ya in the states!
Coty

PS Happy Father’s Day, love you dad!