Yama Yama Coco

Written by Elyssa A — Interning in Kenya

I don’t want to forget about today because it was a very joy filled day. We started the day off by making breakfast and taking chai together. Some of us broke off to do our quiet time. Around 10 am Coltyn, Audrey, Mikaela, Tom and I all headed to a local Manyatta to build relationships and collect data on water filters. Today we spent a lot of time with kids and we sang, dance, and shared many, many laughs. The kids are always so excited to greet us and talk. They usually go back into their homes or just sit and watch what we are doing but today the kids stuck around and wanted to teach us dances and games. We sang “Hakuna mungu kama wewe” a lot because that was the song we all knew before coming into the field. The kids taught us dances that they knew and we played “Yama Yama,” which is a game that you jump if it’s something you would eat. So you would say “Yama Yama coco” which is I eat chicken. 

The kids then wanted to take many pictures. So we took pictures with them and allowed them to take some pictures on their own as well. The children are always so full of Joy. They always have such a big smile on their faces and their laughs are so contagious. After returning to the home we were staying, we debriefed as a team and shared many laughs and many joys from our day. 

Today I also learned that we need to reapply sunscreen. I got a sunburn on my neck because I forgot to reapply sunscreen. Through that, I learned God is wanting us to spend more time in his word and with him. Yes, I start and end my day with him, but he also wants to be apart of the big and small things. He wants to walk alongside me as I’m playing with kids and talking to mamas about their filters. He wants to be apart of every part, not just the start and finish.