Next Tuesday, June 21, a team of five will be traveling from Atlanta to Canopy Life. After over two years of writing about the children, culture, and education system in Kenya, I’m thrilled to get to experience the school and its surrounding community as part of this team. Read below to learn more about our team and discover ways you can be praying and stay engaged in the weeks to come.
Brynn Kizer
Brynn just finished her junior year at Baylor University in Texas (that’s her in the middle). She’s studying social work, and has a huge heart for people. I’ve had the joy of knowing Brynn since she was in middle school and am so happy to witness first-hand how God works in and through her during this adventure. While the Whitacre’s and Gordy’s will return home in the beginning of July, Brynn will stay in Kenya for five weeks as part of her summer internship.
Why did you decide to visit Canopy Life this summer?
For the past few years, I have loved watching Canopy Life Academy grow from strong roots into an amazing community of creators, dreamers, and believers. I have always thought how incredible it would be to visit. This year, God opened doors that I could not have anticipated, meanwhile closing others. Ultimately, I decided to intern with Canopy Life to grow in knowledge, community, and relationship with God.
What are you most anticipating about the trip?
Throughout this summer, I am most anticipating the beautiful relationships I will experience. I am eager to get to know the Canopy Life family and the beautiful humans I will be traveling alongside better. I am also deeply excited about growth in spiritual relationship this summer.
How can people pray for you during your time in Kenya?
Wow, knowing that people are praying over you is such an incredible awareness. This summer, I hope that I can be present where I am. I desire to invest in the people around me and stand with arms wide open to the ways God will be shaping my own heart.
Christi Gordy
Christi is the founder and executive director of Canopy Life. She’s a romantic who loves to dance and equip others to serve Jesus. On May 21, she and Joe tied the knot. That means they’ll be boarding a plane to Kenya on their one-month anniversary.
Why did you decide to visit Canopy Life this summer?
As Canopy’s executive director, traveling to visit the staff and children are not only my job, but also my unbelievable JOY in life. To see God working among the family there is breathtaking and I love that I get to be an intimate part of it—especially when it is face-to-face instead of over thousands of miles. It’s a beautiful thing to be part of what God is doing in the world and on this team!
What are you most anticipating about the trip?
This trip, I’m especially excited because I’m taking my . . . wait for it . . . HUSBAND with me to meet the Canopy family for the first time. I’m thrilled for him to meet the Canopy-Kenyan family that he’s married into. I’m so excited I can hardly stand it!
How can people pray for you during your time in Kenya?
I’d love folks to be praying for continued wisdom as we grow the Canopy vision into what God has dreamed it to be. On trips like this, things always arise that need to be solved and I need to be present and wise. Our team also desires for God to reveal himself and his will to us in his perfect and beautiful way. Please pray that the five of us and the Canopy family will experience Jesus in a new way.
Joe Gordy
Originally from Alabama, Joe is new to Atlanta and the Canopy Life family. Don’t worry though—he’s fitting in just fine. He has a big smile and a servant’s heart.
Why did you decide to visit Canopy Life this summer?
This year, I met and married an incredible woman whose heart is tied to her Canopy Community in Kenya. I want to see that side of her and see with my own eyes the people she fell in love with and has given her life to serving.
What are you most anticipating about the trip?
I’m most excited to see another culture outside the southeastern United States. I’m excited to see how God uses it to open my heart and mind to new thinking and a different perspective of God and how others see him.
How can people pray for you during your time in Kenya?
1) To keep an open mind to what God has in store.
2) To stay relational and people focused.
3) That God would use me in some way on this trip.
Steph Whitacre
I met Christi at a dinner in 2013, and she explained to me her idea for a school in Kenya that would equip the children of Kenya to grow in character and innovation. In 2014, when I found out Tim and I were moving to Atlanta, I immediately contacted Christi and asked if I could help with her dream that was quickly becoming a reality.
Why did you decide to visit Canopy Life this summer?
This summer is Tim’s and my ten-year wedding anniversary. As we began discussing how we would like to celebrate such a big milestone, it felt like a no-brainer that we should partner with God’s bigger story and go spend time with the Canopy students, staff, and surrounding community who have been near to our hearts for several years. This is our first time traveling out of the United States together, and sharing the experience with Tim and a group of close friends is a dream come true.
What are you most anticipating about the trip?
Since 2014, I’ve been writing about Canopy’s students and community. In 2015, Tim and I began sponsoring Rose (who is in Class 5). I’m thrilled to meet the Canopy family face-to-face and experience for myself some of the stories I’ve been helping others share for the past couple years.
How can people pray for you during your time in Kenya?
I would love for people to pray that I remain clearheaded and able to see the stories that God wants to be told. Please pray that I remain present, focused, and aware of the questions God would want me to ask. I’m also a little bit nervous about taking the necessary medications, as I’ve had sensitivities to things in the past. Please pray for good health and an absence of grossness that might detract from the time there.
Tim Whitacre
Tim is a web developer who currently spends his days teaching Front-End Development at a code school called The Iron Yard. He’s the funniest, smartest, and most handsome person I know . . . He’s also my husband.
Why did you decide to visit Canopy Life this summer?
I’ve always wanted to go to Africa. The church we attended in Pennsylvania for almost a decade partners with the village of Karogoto, and for several years I’ve wanted to meet the people there, see the projects we’ve partnered with, and experience life in the village.
What are you most anticipating about the trip?
I’m most excited to meet our friends there, see our sponsor student Rose, and experience the culture. We all hear a lot about African culture, and I’m excited to see it in person . . . Also, lions.
How can people pray for you during your time in Kenya?
I’d like for people to pray for safety. We don’t anticipate anything out of the ordinary happening, but going anywhere away from home always has its risks. Also, please pray that I’ll not worry about what is happening back home (at work, with family, etc.), and that I’ll experience rest as I get away from technology for awhile.
Follow the blog in the weeks to come for updates from our team. You can also sign up for my enewsletter that I’ll be using to send updates before, during, and after our trip.