USG Community Impact: Kenya Mission Trip Testimonial (Part 1)

Uncommon Sports Group seeks to connect, encourage, and equip Christians working throughout the college and professional sport industry. A large part of how USG seeks to accomplish this mission is by funding its members to attend international mission trips that help equip them to live missional lives through their careers in sports.

This summer, USG traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, with a group of fourteen of its members and four staff for a two-week short-term trip. While in Kenya, USG served alongside local ministry partners in a variety of ways, as well as experiencing the local culture and scenery in Kenya. If you want to learn more about the trip to Kenya, you can read a detailed summary here.

Caitlyn Manning was one of the attendees on this summer's trip to Kenya. Caitlyn is a part of the USG community and has been on two mission trips with USG prior to this year's trip. Currently, Caitlyn serves as the Chief of Staff for Middle Tennessee State's football program. Below is a testimony from Caitlyn reflecting on her experience in Kenya:

There’s a common denominator in the uncommon blessings. We have the privilege of these uncommon blessings multiplying in Christ-centered communities. That’s what we experienced firsthand while in Kenya.

I’ve always dreamed of going to Africa. Since I was a little girl, it was a goal of mine to encounter the people who live across the globe with a fraction of the resources but exponentially more joy. I could identify it in pictures, videos, books, and stories. It really can’t go unnoticed, but I wanted to witness it for myself. I wanted my own stories, my own testimony. I underestimated what my future would hold.

God is so much bigger than we can grasp. He moves in ways that we cannot fathom, showing up in places we’ve never been or imagined.

Through USG, I have been lucky enough to experience Africa two times prior to this summer (Uganda ‘19 and Kenya ‘21), yet each short-term mission trip brings its own faith journey and uncommon blessings. Kenya 2025 was no exception to this.

I would be doing you a disservice if I did not begin with our team. This group, these friends of mine, they are earth-shakers. They are everything I want to be. Each one of them showed up ready to work, serve, laugh, play, and get their hands dirty (physically and spiritually). They are authentic. They are teachers and learners. They are humble. They are consistent. They love beyond measure. These are the people I got to do life with in Kenya, and for that, I am forever grateful.

Each day, we had dedicated time to invest in each other. We spent time in small groups studying Galatians, sharing, laughing, crying, and praying. As a big group, we came together and shared even more. Our cups were overflowing with gratitude for who He is and how He has chased our hearts through the ups and downs that this world thrusts us into. What an uncommon blessing it was to learn and grow with my new best friends.

This team is the best of us. They pushed me to be the best me. Because of them, I will never be the same. As a team, we walked into a lot of unknowns together. AST (African Stretch Time) will always come with a learning curve. (Just because it has a start time, doesn’t mean it will start on time. It’s merely a suggestion for arrival.) Timing was flexible, so we learned to be that too.

Each day brought new faces, new conversations, new challenges, new Kenyan massages (bumpy drives to our destination), and new uncommon blessings.

Some of my favorite faces were at the Huduma School. The teachers and administrators pour into those kids with everything they have, and the kids love bigger than anyone I know. Their smiles are contagious, and their willingness to dive into whatever was next came from a place of curiosity and gratitude. They have so little, but they know where their hope comes from. They are blinding lights of the Lord’s love, faithfulness, and goodness. They laugh at you. They laugh with you. They humble you. They encourage you. They love without caution. They fear nothing. While we had the intentions of loving on these kids, they loved on us even bigger. They were the definition of uncommon. Each moment with them was its own blessing.

Huduma is located in a large slum in Nairobi where all the students live. It’s likely that their parents don’t have consistent jobs and have multiple kids to feed and clothe. They live in homes that are, at most, a few hundred square feet; one room that serves as a living room, bedroom, dining room, and kitchen.

On Friday, June 27th, we were set to do door-to-door evangelism. This will never cease to give me anxiety, but it will also never cease to amaze me. Our team had the privilege of walking through the slum with church members to share the gospel with anyone who might welcome us in. And, boy, did they welcome us in. I was in awe of how the Lord worked through and around us, sending family after family simply wanting to hear about Jesus and receive prayers for a variety of circumstances. They chased us down with the confidence that they might receive a slight glimpse of hope in the Good News we were sharing. They had childlike wonder that I admired.  That’s not something we see every day, nor is it something we practice every day.

The common denominator in these uncommon blessings is where they come from. The light that shines through these experiences. The fire burning in His people. The love and laughter of His children. It’s all Him. We are simply vessels for His works. We have an opportunity, an instruction, an obligation, to share that love and light with others and grow His Kingdom. The God we experienced and walked with in Kenya is the same God we have at home. Who are we not to seek and share Him always? Who am I not to be in awe of Him, His people, and His works every day? This feeling is one I hope I never lose sight of, one that I want to hold onto and live in forever. It’s a fire for Him that feeds the eternity of others. It’s the greatest gift we’ve been given. Why not share it?

To the Kenya 2025 team - Thank you for saying “yes” to taking this journey together. Thank you for showing up as you are, for meeting each other right where we needed to, for not having personal agendas, and for embracing the unexpected and uncommon experiences we were blessed with. I can’t wait to see where the Lord takes you. Love y’all forever and ever.

To our partners in Kenya - Thank you for treating us as lifelong friends and family. You shared your lives with us, allowing God to shine His light in an unfamiliar way. Your posture of gratitude and grace did not waver. You changed us forever.

To the USG staff - “Uncommon” does not do your impact justice. You walk beside us on our best and worst days, challenging us and resourcing us to grow in our faith. You provide us with avenues to share the gospel in our work and social communities. Thank you for believing in us and equipping us to grow His Kingdom. Thank you for walking with us and creating a community that aims to glorify the Lord in everything. We are forever grateful for how well you love and lead. Thank you!"

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Seeing the impact that the Lord brought about from this trip, both in Caitlyn's life and in the individuals we served in Kenya, has been such an encouragement! We are grateful to have had the opportunity to serve the Lord in Kenya with this group of Christ-centered leaders of the sport industry.

If you would like to learn more about the trip to Kenya, click here to read a detailed summary. If you are interested in learning more about becoming a part of USG's growing community of Christian sport industry professionals, click here!