Albert Wanyonyi, a bodaboda rider has become the subject of debate in Kenyan circles after conquering odds to marry a stunning American evangelist Carey Joy.
The sassy American woman is 35 while Wanyonti is 28 years old but he did not let the seven-year age gap come in between his love for Joy.
What’s amazing is that joy still fell for Wanyonyi who cannot communicate in English or Swahili; he only understands his native Bukusu language.
In an interview with the Standard, an elated Wanyonyi said he first met Joy in 2017 in his village church.
It was love at first sight but he did not know how to express himself due to language barrier.
“But it was hard to express my feelings for her due to the language barrier. I could not speak Kiswahili or English and she did not understand our Bukusu dialect,” he recalled.
It took Wanyonyi three months to gain the courage to approach Joy and pour out his heart with the hope of finally making his dream come true.
When she returned to Kenya in 2018, Wanyonyi’s elder brother who is a bishop in the local church received Joy at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and this helped a lot, Wanyonyi says.
Joy, on her part, said that she has revelation while praying that the young Bukusu man would be her husband.
“God spoke to me while praying and told me Albert would be my future husband. I did not know that would happen. He could not speak English and I could not attempt speaking Kiswahili or Bukusu languages,” she recalls.
She recounts that she also had another revelation that Wanyonyi would utter English words which he did one day after prayers in the church.
“I was shocked to hear him speak English after the prayers; he even brought me flowers and that is when I knew God had kept his word,” Joy says.
Wanyonyi said the feeling was mutual.
“When I told her I love you, she appeared shocked and excited at the same time. She embraced me and confided that it was something she had been waiting for,” says Albert.
In October 2018, they got hitched and went on to live in Bumula and have two kids together.
Joy recalls their first house was a one-bedroom mud-walled house with no electricity or running water.
Despite her affluent life in California, she says that life in the village is comfortable and is not planning on relocating.
Wanyonyi has since acquired a second motorbike on loan to add more income to the family as Joy considers to start a chicken rearing venture.
She has also learnt the Bukusu language – not all of it – but she can understand some things and utter a few words too.
Joy has also loved the Bukusu cuisine especially the traditional vegetables such as managu and kunde.