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Kelly yang， co-founder and Marketing Director at Vericant， had a life changing experience eight years ago when she became a Christian. Many things have happened to Yang over the past eight years - a missionary trip to Kenya in February 2014 being one of the highlights.
It all started last summer when a good friend emailed her explaining that she was going to Kenya on a two-week missionary trip and that she wanted Yang to join them.
At first Yang was against the idea as she didn’t have time for two weeks in Kenya. Yang started up a company called Vericant with her friends three years ago， with the business growing and expanding every year. She realized that she hadn’t taken any vacation since starting the company and that this could be a great opportunity to do so. After plenty of encouragement from her mentor and partners， she made the decision to join the team. Yang was part of a team of 12 for the trip， the rest being from a church in Kentucky， the United States - she would be the only one flying from Beijing.
After a lengthy 20-hour flight， Yang touched down at Nairobi Airport and was met by her missionary who started his own infant rescue center with his wife in Kitengela near Nairobi.
Working wonders
The whole trip was planned for 13 days： 10 days of work and three days on safari. The first 10 days were spent on a number of projects： The infant rescue center， Vacation Bible School （VBS） at four different children’s homes， Farming God’s Way seminar， and Greenhouse building and worship with Maasai Church.
The group went to the infant rescue center to feed and play with 14 babies every day， and give them some physical therapy. Some of the babies were abandoned on the streets， sold to illegal markets or abused by their parents. The rescue center won their custody at court.
The group also visited Heshima Handicapped Children’s Center near Nairobi. Heshima takes handicapped children and provides training and support to help them live as normal a life as possible. The center also provides jobs for the moms of the children to show society that these moms are not cursed and that they have dignity.
Another place the group visited was Ndugu Children’s home. The children there are either street kids or kids who had committed crimes and then released from juvenile prison. They eat and sleep at the center together with teachers and volunteers. After three months at the center， the children’s lives will be transformed and many of them go back to their family and find a job， with some sent to local schools by the children’s center. Growing influence
While helping organize games at the school， Yang was surprised that a lot of them had basic knowledge about China. Some of them knew about Jacky Chan and Jet Li， and most of them could speak a few basic Chinese words. Yang believes this is due to there being more and more Chinese people living in Kenya. The group attended a seminar about Farming God’s Way. Farming in Kenya is very difficult as there is not enough water. The group visited local missionaries and tried very hard to help the local people improve their farming skills.
The final main area where the group worked was at the Maasai Church. Recently the community around the church helped build a borehole so that they could have cleaner drinking water. This time， the group built a greenhouse for the community right next to the church， which is also the center of the whole community so that people have easier access to vegetables.
On the last Sunday in Kenya， Yang and the rest of the group worshipped the same God together with the Maasai Church. Yang shared her stories with everyone， preceded by the church singing and the pastor from the Kentucky Church giving a sermon. After the service， gifts were exchanged and they had lunch together. Yang felt like she was in heaven， as that Sunday people from three different countries worshipped one God in four different languages.
“I’m so grateful to have experienced what I did in Kenya and am certain it’s the most rewarding trip I have ever had，” said Yang. Alongside previous trips to Pakistan to help with flood relief work and volunteer teaching in China’s Qinghai Province， she has gained an incredible amount herself. She has made many close friends along the way and an American couple on the trip， who have three daughters back home， told Yang they now have one more in Beijing. Yang feels blessed to be their number four！
It all started last summer when a good friend emailed her explaining that she was going to Kenya on a two-week missionary trip and that she wanted Yang to join them.
At first Yang was against the idea as she didn’t have time for two weeks in Kenya. Yang started up a company called Vericant with her friends three years ago， with the business growing and expanding every year. She realized that she hadn’t taken any vacation since starting the company and that this could be a great opportunity to do so. After plenty of encouragement from her mentor and partners， she made the decision to join the team. Yang was part of a team of 12 for the trip， the rest being from a church in Kentucky， the United States - she would be the only one flying from Beijing.
After a lengthy 20-hour flight， Yang touched down at Nairobi Airport and was met by her missionary who started his own infant rescue center with his wife in Kitengela near Nairobi.
Working wonders
The whole trip was planned for 13 days： 10 days of work and three days on safari. The first 10 days were spent on a number of projects： The infant rescue center， Vacation Bible School （VBS） at four different children’s homes， Farming God’s Way seminar， and Greenhouse building and worship with Maasai Church.
The group went to the infant rescue center to feed and play with 14 babies every day， and give them some physical therapy. Some of the babies were abandoned on the streets， sold to illegal markets or abused by their parents. The rescue center won their custody at court.
The group also visited Heshima Handicapped Children’s Center near Nairobi. Heshima takes handicapped children and provides training and support to help them live as normal a life as possible. The center also provides jobs for the moms of the children to show society that these moms are not cursed and that they have dignity.
Another place the group visited was Ndugu Children’s home. The children there are either street kids or kids who had committed crimes and then released from juvenile prison. They eat and sleep at the center together with teachers and volunteers. After three months at the center， the children’s lives will be transformed and many of them go back to their family and find a job， with some sent to local schools by the children’s center. Growing influence
While helping organize games at the school， Yang was surprised that a lot of them had basic knowledge about China. Some of them knew about Jacky Chan and Jet Li， and most of them could speak a few basic Chinese words. Yang believes this is due to there being more and more Chinese people living in Kenya. The group attended a seminar about Farming God’s Way. Farming in Kenya is very difficult as there is not enough water. The group visited local missionaries and tried very hard to help the local people improve their farming skills.
The final main area where the group worked was at the Maasai Church. Recently the community around the church helped build a borehole so that they could have cleaner drinking water. This time， the group built a greenhouse for the community right next to the church， which is also the center of the whole community so that people have easier access to vegetables.
On the last Sunday in Kenya， Yang and the rest of the group worshipped the same God together with the Maasai Church. Yang shared her stories with everyone， preceded by the church singing and the pastor from the Kentucky Church giving a sermon. After the service， gifts were exchanged and they had lunch together. Yang felt like she was in heaven， as that Sunday people from three different countries worshipped one God in four different languages.
“I’m so grateful to have experienced what I did in Kenya and am certain it’s the most rewarding trip I have ever had，” said Yang. Alongside previous trips to Pakistan to help with flood relief work and volunteer teaching in China’s Qinghai Province， she has gained an incredible amount herself. She has made many close friends along the way and an American couple on the trip， who have three daughters back home， told Yang they now have one more in Beijing. Yang feels blessed to be their number four！