A seven-week travel delay, torrential downpours, muddy roads and a brief language barrier did not discourage nine Grand Canyon University students on a 10-day mission trip to Kenya.
“It was breathtaking,” said Owen Parker, who has made several mission trips to Mexico and was visiting Kenya for the first time since he was an infant.
The GCU group traveled to Kenya with Youth for Christ, which partners with local churches and groups to build relationships with young people who are often overlooked.
The students shared gospel conversations with K-12 students and teen mothers and visited a few orphanages and facilities similar to the Hope Centers in the Phoenix area. They visited communities in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, Machakos and Kibera, where they experienced big city traffic, national parks, slums – and a lifetime of memories.
“I think what stood out was the adversity that we faced ... and just seeing how the Lord used the adversity we faced to better glorify His kingdom,” group leader Mallory Lackey said. “I think YFC (Youth for Christ) also just did a really great job of shepherding us, as well, and we just really got a glimpse into all that they do in Kenya.
“It was cool to witness the different aspects of ministry they do in Kenya, and that's not something that I've gotten to experience with other mission organizations. It was cool to see a broad spectrum of what they do.”
Parker’s research indicated that 80% of Kenyans identify themselves as Christians, “but at the same time, I think many people you know call themselves Christians but maybe they don’t necessarily have a deep, personal relationship with Jesus,” Parker said.
“A lot of these kids have nothing in comparison to what we have. I made the analogy that the boots I wore on the trip were worth more than most of the kids’ wardrobes. But they have the joy of the Lord within them. And that was evident – no matter where we went – whether we were hanging out with kids that were a little bit more well off, or we were with kids that were in an orphanage.
“The joy of whether it be childlike faith or just childlike joy, it was evident and persistent in every kid that we hung out with, talked with, played games with or talked about Jesus with.”
Parker, a business administration and prelaw major, wrote on his Instagram account that he observed that roll call in every class would conclude with a worship song.
“It was beautiful.”
The GCU students shared classroom duties, from performing skits to gospel presentations to question-and-answer sessions. They also helped with homework and occasionally worked with students in pairs.
Emily Saunders, an elementary education major, taught one class with the aid of a translator because the young students spoke Swahili instead of English.
“We taught them VBS (vacation bible school) songs, the Ten Commandments and the gospel through translation,” Saunders said. “It was tons of fun.
“The junior high and high school students were completely engaged. They had so many questions about faith and how to live a godly life. It was cool to engage in that and pour into them and encourage them.”
The visits with young mothers involved purity talks that led into gospel conversations and some teen mom ministry.
The GCU students were set to perform these duties during spring break, but they learned the second leg of their trip to Qatar was cancelled only 18 hours before they were scheduled to depart Phoenix.
Fortunately, the trip was rescheduled for April 25, with a 15-hour flight from New York to Nairobi that left and arrived on time without any glitches.
This journey to Kenya was different than the one Saunders experienced as a high school graduate, in which she and a larger group commuted exclusively from their hotel to the schools.
This time, Saunders and her group stayed countryside and “got a taste of what life is like there.”
Their lodge was connected to a shelter that housed 10 young females who were either moms or pregnant.
“We’d talk to them, have meals with them, discuss life skills and share Bible passages with them,” Saunders said. “What was cool was hearing their stories and sharing how the Lord is moving through them.”
The GCU group commuted via van, but the heavy rains caused the van to get stuck in the clay roads several times. That forced the group to take motorbikes, push the van out of the mud or even walk for nearly a mile to their headquarters.
“We’re in another country, and the only thing we have to do is rely on the Lord and trust in Him and trust that, ‘OK, we have these unfortunate situations,’" Saunders said. “Just trust in the Lord, that he still called us to this place for a reason, and he’s going to move through.”
The group was treated to meals prepared by a local cook, and Saunders gained an affection for chapati, an Indian flatbread that she compared to a tortilla. She was allowed to go to the kitchen to watch the cook prepare chapati and other local dishes.
“They love their food, and they're so proud of Kenyan food.”
A recipe was only one of several mementos the GCU team brought home.
“I think a big thing that our team took away is that the Lord's revision doesn't always look how we want it to, but He's still always faithful,” Lackey said.
GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
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