This past week, Uncommon Sports Group traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, for a short-term mission trip with nine USG members and two staff. During the ten days in Kenya, USG was able to serve alongside two ministry partners in different capacities and grow together in Christ as a group of Christians working in college and pro sports. In this blog, we’ll share a detailed recap of the mission trip to Kenya!
On Friday, June 7, the team of eleven took off from the United States to head to Kenya. After nearly 24 hours of travel, the team arrived in Nairobi. The trip began on Sunday, June 9th, with a church service at a local partner's church, called Huduma Church, located in the Kawangware slum. It was such a blessing to be able to worship the Lord alongside other believers from a different country and culture!
The mission trip team began the week with the first service opportunity of the trip alongside our partners at Huduma Church. In the Kawangware slum, poverty is at an extreme, and education for children is limited. Huduma Church began a primary and junior secondary school called Huduma School to provide affordable education for children living amidst extreme poverty in Kawangware.
Our ministry with Huduma School was to provide sports equipment and school supplies for them to use. The USG team brought over soccer balls, basketballs, American footballs, volleyballs, jump ropes, writing pads, and pens.
Along with the donations, the USG team spent three days with the students for a series of sports camps. The team led the 300+ students through drills and activities pertaining to soccer, basketball, American football, and volleyball. Through these camps, our group was able to engage with each student, provide them with coaching on the sport, teach Christ-centered principles, and build relationships with the students.
After the three days of sports camps with the students at Huduma School, the team was allowed an opportunity to do door-to-door evangelism in the slum of Kawangware alongside members of Huduma Church. The team was split into groups of three and was led by members of the church who could engage with people in the slum and help translate from English to Swahili.
Each group had opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with multiple people, hear their stories, pray for their needs, and answer any questions that they had. The Lord worked powerfully and thirty-one people accepted Christ as Savior during our time in the streets, and many of these people attended church for the first time the following Sunday!
On Friday, June 14, the mission trip team headed to the southern border of Kenya near the famous Mount Kilimanjaro to visit Amboseli National Park for a Safari. The weather was beautiful and the team was able to see elephants, zebras, lions, cheetahs, giraffes, and countless other rare forms of wildlife! It was a great opportunity to see the wonders of Africa, and grow closer as a team.
The following day, the USG team hosted a sports ministry clinic for 65 sports coaches across Kenya and neighboring countries. The clinic provided these coaches with an opportunity to connect with one another on their commonalities of sports and faith in Christ. Along with the connections developed, the coaches in attendance were able to learn from our USG team. The lessons that were taught covered the traits of a successful Christian coach, evangelism and discipleship strategies in coaching, and dealing with competition as a Christian coach. This was a great opportunity for our group to see first hand how the Lord is using sports to advance the gospel in Kenya, as well as to pour into these coaches to help them continue in their ministry.
Our final day in Kenya was on Sunday, June 16th. The group was able to attend a partner’s church, KAG Kariobangi, located in the slum of Kariobangi. The church has a radio station titled “KOCH 99.9 FM” which is broadcasted to thousands of individuals living in the slum. One of the USG staff members leading the trip, Noah Weiss, was able to be a guest speaker on the radio station. Noah shared on the impact of sports ministry, a short word of encouragement to sports ministers listening, and closed with the gospel and an invitation to listeners to accept Christ as their Savior. There were a total of 4,000 people listening who were encouraged to continue in their ministries, and others who heard the gospel message for the first time! Praise God!
During the church service at KAG Kariobangi, a few of our attendees had the opportunity to share their testimonies with the congregation. This was a great opportunity for those attendees to step out of their comfort zone and testify to the work that the Lord has done in their lives! Finally, Noah was able to preach a sermon on the traits of a Godly Father, since it was Father’s Day!
After church on Sunday, the team headed to a local pool for baptisms! Three USG attendees were baptized, outwardly expressing their inward faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9, Matthew 28:16-20). Along with our three USG attendees, a number of members of the KAG church in Kariobangi were baptized as well! We praise God for His saving work in each of these individuals' lives!
The team is back safely in the United States and continues to be amazed at the many ways that God worked through them and in the lives of the people in Kenya we interacted with. A special thank you is in order to our partners in Kenya, who played a pivotal role in helping plan the trip and provide the ministry opportunities that our group engaged in.
We also want to thank donors and supporters of Uncommon Sports Group, especially those who donate to our Clean Out For A Cause program. It is only through faithful support, both financially and prayerfully, that opportunities such as these are possible!
USG looks forward to future opportunities to serve in Kenya and watch young Christian professionals in the sport industry grow in their love for Christ!
If you would like to learn more about Uncommon Sports Group, or get involved with our ministries, tap the link here!
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