Students and staff from William Carey University, in collaboration with a local Christian rock band called Flight From Below, participated in a mission trip to Kenya, Africa, from December 26, 2010, to January 9, 2011. The WCU participants were Tammy Dossett, the administrative assistant for the academic affairs office; and students Stephanie Pendergrass of Hattiesburg, Whitney Hunt of Franklinton, LA, and Daniel Maqueda of Hattiesburg, who is also a member of Flight From Below. Maqueda’s aunt, Amy Hurst McKelvey, is an alumna of WCU and missionary in Kenya. She invited the band to come to Kenya to perform and requested that a team from WCU accompany them to help with the children during a Bible conference for missionaries and Christian relief workers.
The eight-member team that participated in the mission trip to Kenya pose in the airport before leaving on December 26, 2010. (left to right) Mark Wheat, Flight From Below’s drummer and a Presbyterian Christian High School student; Chandan Bangar, Flight From Below’s guitarist and a Northeast Jones High School student; Whitney Hunt, a WCU student from Franklinton, LA; Daniel Maqueda, Flight From Below’s bassist and a WCU student from Hattiesburg; Marshall McKellar, Flight From Below’s vocalist and a Belmont student; Stephanie Pendergrass, a WCU student from Hattiesburg; Tammy Dossett, the administrative assistant for the academic affairs office at WCU; and Misha Nielsen, a USM student.
WCU sponsored Dossett for the trip, and each of the other team members participated in various fundraisers to raise sponsorship, most of which involved assistance from local churches. The team served in a variety of ways in Kenya, beginning with teaching Vacation Bible School for missionary children whose parents were at the conference. Next, the team served in Maasai Land near Tanzania, by leading worship in two different churches and ministering to children at an area school. Before the team even left the U.S., they raised money for a mission project in Maasai Land, and the money was donated to a building project that will serve as a school for local children during the day and a Bible college at night.
The team also visited children at an aids orphanage before going to the last mission project in the Kibera slum. In Kibera, the group led activities for local children and met some of the children’s needs in various ways. One team member assisted a young man with medical treatment. Another team member gave his guitar to one of the music leaders to enable him to continue ministry in the Kibera children’s club. Additionally, others paid for one year of tuition for needy students, and for their supplies.