My most wonderful fiancé,

Today I am thankful. I am thankful that you are taking time out of your days to go and find the perfect house for us to live in. I am thankful that you are searching for a house that will meet our needs as a newly married couple. I am thankful that God chose you to be my husband. I am thankful that God brought me to Kenya for three months. I am thankful that God allowed me to see everything I have seen. I am thankful for each and every child He brought into my path for me to love.

I love you. I love you more than you can possibly know. I do know this much. My love for you is growing deeper day by day. An absolute answer to prayer.

As the days go by, I get more and more excited about becoming Mrs. James Stone Cooper. It is hard for me to believe sometimes that in just a few short weeks, it will be our wedding day.

I love you with all my heart!
Melody

Happy Three Months and One Day

To my most wonderful fiancé,

The 13th of every month can't help but bring a smile to my face. I pause and remember how absolutely nervous I was on July 13th, how much I was beginning to love you on August 13th, how incredibly blessed I was that you asked me to be your wife on September 13th, how much I miss you and how much more I love you on October 13th! It has been a crazy whirlwind of a relationship and I could not be more thankful for it!

My love for you grows every day. I am looking forward to our life together. It is going to be the adventure of a lifetime learning to be your wife and a missionary and a teacher and a mom and so many other things all while living most of the time in a foreign country. I am so glad that God has called me to this life. I am so glad that God chose you for me. You complete me (Yeah I know that was rather cheesy movie line reference). You make my heart beat in new ways. You have already given me some of the most precious gifts I could ever imagine. You have allowed me operate in the giftings God has blessed me with. You have encouraged me to step out and try new things. You have been my biggest cheerleader and my greatest defender. You are an amazing man of God. You are going to be the best husband and father I could ever ask for.

Tonight, I pray so many things for you. I pray that you have supernatural protection over your health. I pray that your time is productive and that you get everything taken care of that needs to be done before we go back to Kenya in March. I pray that we continue to grow closer to each other during the remaining time we have to be apart. I pray that your teaching touches the children in fresh and new ways every time you teach them. I pray that our wedding is a reflection of us and our testimonies. I pray that through our testimonies others find hope and that some come to know Christ as their personal Savior.

I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you!I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you!I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you!I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you!I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you!I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you!I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you!I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you!I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you!I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you!I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you!I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you!I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you!I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you!I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you!

Love,
Your soon to be Wife
Melody Ann

Dear Jim,

Yesterday, I wasn't able to tell you everything I had in my heart. I was just having too hard of a time controlling my emotions. However, as I am sitting here in Dubai I feel like it is time to tell you everything I couldn't last night.

First of all, thank you for choosing me to be your wife. This has been a lifelong dream and I can see it coming true right before my eyes. 

Thank you for such an amazing three months. You introduced me to an amazing group of kids. I am so blessed to call them my own and to know that many of them see me a mom as well.  I was just so sad to see it coming to an end. 

Some of my most precious memories have taken place in the last three months. From celebrating my birthday with 400 or so kids, to date nights, kissing under the stars, learning that intimate time with a man is safe and enjoyable, countless nap times curled up next to you on the couch, visiting children's homes, the start of a relationship, and an engagement,  I don't even have the words to tell you how much all of these things have changed my life entirely.

I am sitting here writing this on the airplane with just a little over two hours left before we finally arrive in Houston. I am so ready to be done with traveling for a bit. I am ready for a bed and a pillow and people that are at least friendly towards me. However, as much as I am ready to be on the ground, I miss you terribly. I miss the sound of your laugh when I come up with some dorky idea or the other. I miss the feeling of your hand holding mine. I miss cuddling up next to you. I miss you kissing my forehead. I miss kissing you! Yeah to put it simply I miss you. I do really well most of he time and then I think of something that I would like to tell you or ask you and the emotions well up heavily. 

I am getting a bit anxious now about meeting Charlotte, Scott, Addison,and Caroline. Don't get me wrong I am super excited but too many failed interactions with people make me nervous about meeting people that I don't know. Silly I know, but still, it is the honest truth about how I feel right now. I am sitting here just thinking and realizing that you can see God's handprints all over this! Your mom has totally stepped up to go do something that should have been done by my parents... Or at least my mom... And it's all I can do to not be overwhelmed with emotion. 

When you get back to Kitale, tell my kids that I love them and miss them. I suppose I have written about all that I can for right now. I need to get my emotions back under control and go get changed. I am sick of these travel clothes already. I love you so much! I will talk with you soon. Perhaps we can try to Skype this weekend at some point. 

Love you,

Melody

Aka the future Mrs. Cooper