LaKisha Harris Mission Trip: Kenya
LaKishia was awarded a Be The Good scholarship to travel to Nairobi, Kenya to work with Made in the Streets – a program that aims to get teenagers out of the slums of Nairobi, break their addictions, feed them nutritious food, care for them spiritually and physically, and train them in a skill or trade.
Why did you want to go on this trip?
I help so many kids in the Nashville area that I wanted to branch off and help kids in other countries. Also, I wanted to go back to my roots. As an African American woman, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I couldn’t pass it up.
How did you make an impact while you were there?
While I was in Kenya, I taught Financial Literacy to students at MITS. The students loved the games we played associated with financial literacy. At the end of each activity, students came up to me after class and discussed how much they learned and asked more questions.
McKala Ridenour Mission Trip: Ireland
McKala received a Be The Good scholarship to aid her trip to Newbridge, Ireland where she worked with a local church called Open Arms to host the first-ever Amazing Kids Leadership Conference and update the children’s center of the church by painting, removing and replacing carpet and making other renovations. Read more about McKala’s experience on her blog.
Why did you want to go on this trip?
I wanted to go on this trip because for three years prior to me applying, God put it so heavily on my heart to go out into the missions field. When I was looking through all the trips, Ireland immediately caught my eye. As I read the description, I saw that we would partake in the Amazing Kids Leadership Conference. I thought it was extremely fitting because I work in children’s ministry at Gateway Church, which was the church I’d be going with. Although I didn’t speak at the conference, I was able to work alongside multiple people from the church over in Ireland and talk to them about our children’s ministry back home here in Texas.
How did you make an impact while you were there?
While in Ireland, I had the opportunity to minister to the volunteers at Open Arms while we were working in the church and just hanging out. I know that they all individually touched my life in ways that they won’t be able to ever comprehend, and I believe that I did the same to them. When we had the conference, during breaks I spoke with people from surrounding churches about Gateway and their children’s ministry and encouraged them that what they were doing, no matter how small it might be, made an unbelievable difference in the children’s lives.
