Chapter 2: Hearts Aligning

I hit the ground running on Day 1! I first started off the day by going to World Concern’s office in the center of Nairobi. World Concern has been working throughout Kenya for over 40 years, so it was such a pleasure getting to meet the staff and hear all about the current work they’ve been doing throughout the country. After meeting the staff, the Kenyan National volleyball team including head coach Paul Bitok joined me and World Concern to make a proper introduction to one another! It was special to all gather in one room and share our faith and missions which align so well; to transform lives through the power of sport!

After the meeting, all of us packed in vans and headed off to visit the office of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya. Here at the office, I had the privilege of sitting down with World Concern and the Kenyan National Team to meet the President, Paul Tergat. He was a marathon runner for Team Kenya and won silver in both the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games. When I first saw Paul, his presence screamed “Love.” He walked in and made his way around the room, extending his hand to each person while giving the warmest smile. That handshake turned my nerves into excitement to share my vision with him.

After talking and explaining why I was drawn to Kenya and its people I could see that we were aligned on many things. Paul and I share a genuine love to win and compete in sports, but we further understand how truly fulfilling it is when we live a life of giving back and serving others along the way. I chose to come to Kenya to give back, and to show that sport has the ability to change many lives. It acts as a bridge to connect and give hope where there is no hope.

It was music to my ears to hear his same desire to give back to the sport which had given him so much in his own life.

We both have been blessed throughout our careers to compete at the highest level of our respective sports but we both further believe sport has so much power beyond the field of play. I personally believe true fulfillment in life is when we can take our eyes off ourselves for a minute and put it on others, and put it on people that need it most. True joy comes when we choose to serve others. I hope to give back to the sport of volleyball by growing it here in Kenya. And bringing the Kenyan team together with World Concern to meet the president was a great first step!

As I was walking out of the office, I was overjoyed at how the meeting went. Paul was the most joyful, loving, genuine man. As I shook hands to say goodbye, with that big, warm smile of his he said to me, “Well now we have to get you a Kenyan passport.” And I immediately smiled and said, Paul, I would gladly accept it!

Now as smoothly as the day was going, I would never have guessed what would have happened next. As all 10 of us piled into the elevator to go down to the ground floor and grab some coffee we all felt a big jolt. I’m still young enough to know a jolt in an elevator is not a good sign. I’ve ridden enough elevators and watched enough scary movies to know that hahaha. It turns out the elevator broke. We were stuck for a good 40 minutes, packed in there like sardines. While profusely sweating and awaiting freedom I was thinking to myself, “I know this trip is to create connections and grow our partnership, and what better way to do that than to get close and comfy in an elevator?! Hahaha.”

As we climbed out of the elevator, I was able to TASTE freedom, fresh air never felt so good! As we checked a couple of to-do’s off the list for the afternoon we ended the day by going and visiting one of the best indoor clubs in Kenya called KCB. I was able to watch these girls train in preparation for their trip to Tunisia tomorrow to defend their African Volleyball Club Championship! I haven’t played indoor volleyball since my old college days back in 2017 so seeing these girls play brought back lots of great memories I had with my own teammates.

The team ended up stopping their training and lined up to make formal introductions. After meeting the team and introducing myself and World Concern they gifted me with my very own Kenyan jersey, with my name printed on the back. I was blown away and honored to receive such a gift. As I put my new Kenyan Jersey on, I gave them a gift in return; a USA Volleyball signed by me and the whole Kenyan Beach National Team. As they went back to warming up for practice, of course, like any normal athlete I got this urge to get on the hardwood and touch a ball again! The coach paired me up with one of the setters on the team and we had an absolute blast peppering together! After finishing our fun pepper sesh, next thing I know I’m setting for them in hitting lines! I couldn’t stop smiling!

Moments like this make me realize how special sport is and how no matter where you’re from, your background, religion, or ethnicity, the barriers drop, and you get to just go out and play together! As I sat down with a big smile on my face absolutely drenched in sweat, I just thought to myself, never in a million years would I have thought I’d be in Kenya playing volleyball and setting in practice for one of the country’s top teams.

Right there shows the power of sports and how it can bring people together.

Day 1 ended with my cannonballing into bed. As my mind raced through all the great people I met and memories I made today, I couldn’t help but dream about what day 2 awaited me.