Meet the Mission Team: Kenya 2024

As I prepare to embark on my first mission trip, I am both excited and nervous about meeting people in Kenya.

What will we have in common? Will the language barrier be too challenging? How will I connect with others who live in such different circumstances than I do?

As I pondered these questions, it dawned on me that Kenyans are not the only people who will have a significant impact on me during this trip.

I will be sharing this experience with 4 other members of our mission team. Together we will endure long travel days, seek to understand the local customs, try new foods, adjust to jet lag, miss our loved ones, and share our faith.

I did not know any of the other members of the mission team when I signed up for this adventure. Over the past few months, our team has met on three occasions to discuss the logistics of our trip. As we learn more about each other we are forming bonds that I can only imagine will be both strengthened and tested as we venture together into the villages of Kenya.

I wanted to get to know my mission team members even better so I decided to interview each of them to capture their thoughts before we go on this epic adventure.

Now, let’s meet the mission team!

Amy Steffy

Age: 54

Occupation: Nurse Practitioner

Amy is our trusted team leader…and we are in great hands! She has been on at least 9 mission trips (so many it is hard for her to recall the exact number!) and most of those have been to Kenya.

When traveling to Kenya, Amy got to work alongside John and Peris Keshe who run an organization that helps young Maasai girls secure sponsorship to pursue their education rather than marrying at a very young age.  Amy serves on the KCEA board (Kenya Community Education & Action) working to further the organization’s important mission even when she is back home in Indiana.

When thinking about her previous mission trips to Kenya, what stands out to Amy is how these trips have helped her better understand humanity and the fact that at our core we are all the same.  Mothers in Kenya will do anything for their children and they struggle with understanding their worth and value…just like many mothers do here in the United States.

Amy has witnessed the shock of some Kenyans as they saw a white person for the first time as well as the initial fear in the eyes of some of the children. Yet through each encounter bonds have developed and the mission teams are eagerly welcomed. Many of the Kenyan people feel that God must have sent the missionaries to them since they are willing to travel so far. And they are excited to learn what life is like in America since many of them will never leave Kenya.

Amy’s faith has grown deeper through these mission trips, but she is quick to share that our role is not to bring God to the people of Kenya.  God is already there! Our role is simply to come alongside the Kenyan people we encounter as we love on them and do life together. This is how we discover what truly connects us. And Amy knows God will be right there in the midst of those interactions.

I learned from Amy that some mission trips are about doing. Building a well, painting buildings, doing repairs, etc. Other mission trips are about being, and the latter is the focus of this particular mission trip.

While we will play a part in the dedication of a new church and assist with a workshop for young girls, our main focus will be spending time connecting with the girls and their families. (If you are familiar with the story of Mary and Martha in the bible, this mission trip is going to require me to be more like Mary, which doesn’t always come easy to me!)

While Amy doesn’t necessarily look forward to the long flights and tiring travel days, she loves the simplicity and the pace of life in Kenya as well as witnessing the beauty of God’s creation.

Amy said she doesn’t have any concerns going into this mission trip as she has learned not to worry or sweat the small stuff. God will make a way! Even the language barrier is not something that phases Amy. After all, God’s language is love…and we can all speak that!

Aaron Steffy

Age: 56

Occupation: Fire Fighter

As you may have guessed, Aaron is married to Amy…and he is no stranger to mission trips either!  This will be Aaron’s 11th trip to Kenya, and he has also done mission trips to Mexico and local ones in the United States. In fact Aaron was the one who inspired Amy to go on her first mission trip to Kenya.

Aaron was going to Kenya every year until Covid, but he hasn’t been back since the pandemic began . That makes this trip a long-awaited and very special one for him.

Aaron shared with me that after going through some personal struggles in his 30’s (before he met and married Amy), he got involved at church and realized “he wasn’t the only one screwed up one out there” (his words, not mine!).

As his faith grew and he connected with other Christian men he was invited to go on his first mission trip.  At the time he was a single father and money was tight so he didn’t think he could afford it. He was encouraged to write letters to seek donations for his trip and was blown away by people’s generosity.

He was grateful and humbled by the church members who helped support him and how people stood in the gap for him during his storms in life.  Now Aaron has a huge passion to give back what has been given to him through service to many organizations, locally and abroad.

When asked about the advice he would give someone considering a mission trip, Aaron shared that any obstacle you think might be in the way (money, time, etc.) you are shortchanging what God can do if you come up with excuses. He admits Americans are good at excuses!

But he wants people to know that when they volunteer it’s not just about giving your time, it’s about what you get back in return. And that is always way more than what you give. Aaron has seen that play out personally on so many occasions!

Bill & Millicent MacGregor

Age: 62 (Bill) and 51 (Millicent)

Occupation: Retired Fire Fighter and Paramedic (Bill); Breast Cancer Nurse Navigator (Millicent)

Bill and Millicent met Aaron and Amy several years ago through The Great Banquet. That encounter led the Steffys to share their love for Kenya and KCEA with the MacGregors, who also felt called to support this important mission. Bill and Millicent have since sponsored four girls in Kenya to be able to pursue their education.

Bill and Millicent are avid travelers with memorable trips to Scotland, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Cabo San Lucas, and many U.S. destinations between the two of them. While this will be their first trip to Kenya, Bill has completed a previous mission trip. He climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money to build water wells in Uganda through Lifewater International in June 2018.

The MacGregors knew they wanted to make a trip to Kenya at some point, but initially they weren’t sure if the timing was right. They will be celebrating their 30th anniversary during this mission trip and had envisioned a more luxurious form of travel to celebrate their milestone nuptials.

But after some heartfelt prayer, and plenty of encouragement from the Steffy’s, God confirmed that Kenya is where Bill and Millicent should celebrate their anniversary!

According to Millicent, they have both spent their lives working in the service field, and she feels this mission trip is a great way to celebrate all the Lord has done for them. They both consider this trip an act of worship for how God has honored their marriage.  And they look forward to witnessing each other’s spiritual growth and seeing how the Lord will use them on this trip.

When I asked what they hope they will get out of this trip, Bill said a better appreciation for people outside of our country and how they live and survive.  Millicent shared that both of their adult daughters have been on mission trips, and when they came back they were on fire for the Lord after seeing how some people have so little but their worship is not hindered. Millicent feels that she lives a God-centered life, but she wants to love on the people of Kenya and bring back a new and deeper spirit of worship.

The MacGregors live very busy, distracted lives and they look forward to this opportunity to be away from the busyness and noise of their day-to-day lives. And Bill is especially excited to go on safari and see some amazing animals in the flesh! They are also thankful that our mission team is a small group as that will create more opportunities for unity and intimacy that would be difficult with a larger group.

Neither Bill nor Millicent expressed any fears going into this trip (except a bit of anxiety about snakes and bugs for Millicent!). They are preparing to rely on the Lord and have been spending time in prayer as the trip gets closer. And they can’t wait to meet the two special young Kenyan women they are currently sponsoring!

While Bill and Millicent are on the same page about their faith, like many couples, their travel styles differ.  As a former firefighter, Bill is used to living in chaos and embraces the unexpected. Millicent says she is all about the control. She controls chaos, while he expects it!

Sounds like a match made in heaven…and I can’t wait to learn more from this amazing couple as we travel to Kenya together!

Tanya Shelburne

Age: 50

Occupation: Public Health Educator and part-time Travel Blogger

I guess it is only fair that I also share a bit about myself! While it was in the fall of 2023 that I made the decision to go on this mission trip to Kenya, in reality, it has been in the works for several decades.

I can remember as a high school student dreaming of joining the Peace Corps, and I looked into this possibility on several occasions. But somehow life always got in the way. Still, the idea of traveling to a foreign country to both serve and connect with people whose everyday lives are much different than my own is a desire that never left me.

As I thought about how I wanted to celebrate my milestone mid-century birthday, I realized now was the perfect time to live out that desire and go on a mission trip. I believe it was God who led me to Connection Pointe Christian Church and this opportunity to travel to Kenya with this amazing team of Christ followers.

If you have followed my blog for very long, you know I love going on road trips to small Midwest towns, relaxing at the beach, and exploring the cuisine, history, and art in Europe. So traveling to Kenya and completing a mission trip are very new forms of travel for me!

When it comes to travel, I am a planner and I actually love that part of the experience as well as the anticipation that comes with it. However, I must say that letting someone else handle all the major logistics for Kenya has been pretty nice!

My affinity for travel planning still paid off as I sought out so many books and videos over the past few months to learn everything I could about Kenya and what this trip might have in store for me. And with that research, my excitement has only grown!

At the same time, I’m learning to lean into my faith and simply trust that God has the ultimate plan for this trip and he will guide and equip our team every step of the way. (Including figuring out how to navigate using the restroom in Kenya…when there are no actual restrooms! That may be the biggest challenge for me on this trip!)

I am both excited and nervous…to leave my family and the comforts of home behind as I go off the grid…to spend 10 days with four other Christians I have only recently met…to meet and love on Kenyan girls and their families that at first glance I have little in common with…and to see how God will work in and through me on this incredible journey.

As I write this, our mission trip to Kenya is just three days away!

Will you join me in praying for a safe and impactful adventure?

Stay tuned for details of my Kenya 2024 mission trip once we return!

Wherever the road takes you, make it a joyous journey,
Traveling Tanya

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