Three Generations Embark on a Mission Trip to Kajiado, Kenya

Three generations from the Ridgetop Seventh-day Adventist Church in Tennessee, United States, traveled together on a recent short-term mission trip to Kenya. Brenda Dempsey; her daughter, Cassandra Cassidy; and her granddaughter, Cyra Cassidy, joined 52 other volunteers, including students from Madison Academy in Madison, Tennessee, to participate in a Maranatha Volunteers project in Kajiado, Kenya.

Throughout the two-week trip, the family trio helped paint five newly constructed buildings at the Kajiado Adventist School and Rescue Center and conducted Vacation Bible Schools in the surrounding communities. This initiative holds particular significance as the Kajiado Adventist School provides a haven for Maasai girls, offering them refuge from cultural practices such as child marriages and female genital mutilation.

According to Dempsey, who had dreamed of going on a mission trip abroad for years, their encounter with the local community was particularly touching. Schoolchildren expressed their appreciation by crafting gifts for each volunteer, including carved animals and personalized bracelets.

“It was amazing seeing firsthand the love and kindness of people,” Dempsey said. “You are left in awe at their enthusiasm to praise God and thank Him for what they have. I felt very blessed, especially as I shared [this experience] with my daughter and granddaughter.”

Cyra Cassidy is also thankful to have shared this experience with her family. She adds that being with them helped her to get over her fears.

“It meant a lot to me to have gone with my mom and grandma and some of my closest friends,” Cyra Cassidy said. “I was worried that I wouldn’t know what to do and worried that I wasn’t going to be able to help, but I feel like [being with my family] helped me step out my comfort zone and try something new.”

As she reflects on the journey alongside her mother and daughter, Cassandra Cassidy emphasizes the importance of taking part in God’s mission as a family. For her, this mission trip was not only an opportunity for service but also a chance to instill in her daughter a desire to serve.

“We role model behaviors that we want our children to adapt to,” Cassandra Cassidy said. “My hope is that [my daughter] will see the importance of mission work … and that she will want to replicate that when she is a mother. My hope is that she feels that reward, and that it helps her to draw closer to Christ in the process.”

The original version of this story was posted by Southern Tidings.