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Women's Soccer Goes Global
July 13, 2018 | Women's Soccer, Beyond the Buzzer
Kaela and Gaby’s Summer Mission Trip to Kenya
In June, Kaela Dickerman and Gaby Vincent went on a nine day mission trip to Kenya. In those nine days, they spent most of their time in Kibera, one of the biggest slums in the entire world. Around 700,000 people live in small huts over the span of only 1.5 square miles.
In Kaela's words
Neither of us had seen or experienced poverty in that way, so it was a very humbling experience. One of the things I noticed about the people in Kibera, as well as Kenya in general, was the joy they had. While they might not have had much in their houses or in their lives, they had a whole lot of love in their hearts. I saw more smiles in the slum than I would see on a regular day here!
It's very difficult for me to think about a favorite moment from the trip, because in reality the entire trip was truly amazing. One day that stood out to me the most was when we visited the workshop that had ties to the local church. The goal of the church is to help the people in the slums find a job or businesslike work where they can become self-sustainable after an initial loan to get started. This workshop is the place where those people create items to sell. They made Christmas decorations out of cornhusks, sandals out of tire treads, jewelry out of rolled up paper, and they also made clothes. It was all so beautiful and impressive! Seeing the work these people did was inspiring to me, because it showed me that even though these people lived in a very unfortunate situation, that situation didn't define the effort or the beauty in their work.
In Gaby's words
I can think of a lot of memorable moments from Africa but there is one specifically that I know I will cherish forever. It was the time we visited a school. All the kids were well behaved. They looked like they were so happy to be in school and we don't always see that here in the states. We started off in prayer and then transitioned into some worship. They loved it. Heather, Sadie, and Merryll, the singers of our team, led some beautiful songs and then asked a few of students to come up and sing and it was amazing. Then Kaela and Colin (Lyman) led a rock paper scissor game and they loved that too. I shared a word for the ladies, Stephen for the men, and Chris (Morgan) for everybody. Chad (Mosteller) prayed for us and Billy Bob recorded the whole thing. Shortly after our closing prayer, it was announced that we had brought a gift. I didn't know what the gift was. I had carried one of the boxes in and didn't think to look inside. When we opened the box we found math practice sets and feminine products. My initial reaction was, "Random?" Then I looked at the young men and women that could not have been more excited to receive such gifts. Sometimes in my own life I want for so much and I don't appreciate everything I do have. But that's because I've never truly, desperately needed things. Thinking back, I'm so glad to have been in that room with all of those beautiful people. Not only did they get to receive some useful gifts, they got to hear the word of God and share in fellowship with us strangers.
In Kaela's words
Neither of us had seen or experienced poverty in that way, so it was a very humbling experience. One of the things I noticed about the people in Kibera, as well as Kenya in general, was the joy they had. While they might not have had much in their houses or in their lives, they had a whole lot of love in their hearts. I saw more smiles in the slum than I would see on a regular day here!
It's very difficult for me to think about a favorite moment from the trip, because in reality the entire trip was truly amazing. One day that stood out to me the most was when we visited the workshop that had ties to the local church. The goal of the church is to help the people in the slums find a job or businesslike work where they can become self-sustainable after an initial loan to get started. This workshop is the place where those people create items to sell. They made Christmas decorations out of cornhusks, sandals out of tire treads, jewelry out of rolled up paper, and they also made clothes. It was all so beautiful and impressive! Seeing the work these people did was inspiring to me, because it showed me that even though these people lived in a very unfortunate situation, that situation didn't define the effort or the beauty in their work.
In Gaby's words
I can think of a lot of memorable moments from Africa but there is one specifically that I know I will cherish forever. It was the time we visited a school. All the kids were well behaved. They looked like they were so happy to be in school and we don't always see that here in the states. We started off in prayer and then transitioned into some worship. They loved it. Heather, Sadie, and Merryll, the singers of our team, led some beautiful songs and then asked a few of students to come up and sing and it was amazing. Then Kaela and Colin (Lyman) led a rock paper scissor game and they loved that too. I shared a word for the ladies, Stephen for the men, and Chris (Morgan) for everybody. Chad (Mosteller) prayed for us and Billy Bob recorded the whole thing. Shortly after our closing prayer, it was announced that we had brought a gift. I didn't know what the gift was. I had carried one of the boxes in and didn't think to look inside. When we opened the box we found math practice sets and feminine products. My initial reaction was, "Random?" Then I looked at the young men and women that could not have been more excited to receive such gifts. Sometimes in my own life I want for so much and I don't appreciate everything I do have. But that's because I've never truly, desperately needed things. Thinking back, I'm so glad to have been in that room with all of those beautiful people. Not only did they get to receive some useful gifts, they got to hear the word of God and share in fellowship with us strangers.
Players Mentioned
F
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