ATLANTA – Lauren Hovis, 16, had always dreamed of going to Africa, and in August she lived her dream.

It was a dream that took Hovis from her Winston-Salem, N.C., home to the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, where she and 99 other high school students gave street children bags of school supplies. Without uniforms and school supplies, a Kenyan child can’t attend school. What Hovis and her friends really gave children was an opportunity.

"When my group of kids received their bags, they were overwhelmed with joy," she said. "They ran up to me with tears in their eyes. It was quite moving. I had never felt so close to God than at that moment."

Hovis, a member of Fellowship partner Ardmore Baptist Church, went to Kenya as part of a cross-culture experience co-sponsored by CBF field personnel Melody and Sam Harrell and Passport, Inc., a Fellowship partner that sponsors youth and children’s camps. She was among 50 American youth that spent a week of camp with 50 Kenyan youth to learn about and from each other while they served together.

For more than 10 years, the Harrells have been facilitating trips like this in Kenya. It’s more than just a mission trip; it’s a missions experience that often transforms participants. Over the years it’s included members of Fellowship partner churches, students from four Fellowship partner theological schools and two Baptist universities, and high school students with Passport, Inc.

In 2006, the Harrells named these experiences Kutana, which is Swahili for "to meet, encounter or come upon." It represents a mutual relationship, recognizing that both Kenyans and Americans have something to offer one another, said Sam Harrell.

"The old assumption is that we are going [to places like Kenya] to do mission to others who receive what we have to say, tell and teach," he said. With Kutana, "Our assumption is that we may indeed have something to share, but we have a great deal to learn together – about each other and about God."

In Kutana, there is equal ground – Americans work alongside Kenyans, not for them. The experience is also not solely focused on serving, but includes substantial opportunity for self-reflection and awareness.

"This is a soul-searching trip," said John Williams, a member of Rosalind Hills Baptist Church in Roanoke, Va., who first went to Kenya in 2005. "It became a part of my life. Things changed for me. What seemed important at one time wasn’t important anymore. The things that didn’t bother me much started to bother me."

Williams has led two trips to Kenya since his inaugural journey and advocates for the Harrells’ ministry. He’s also more aware of how God gives him opportunities to serve in his own community, which is exactly what the Harrells hope for.

"We realize that someone gets it when they get back to the States and begin to make different lifestyle choices as a result of what they experienced here," Harrell said. "Kenyans get it when they realize that they have something to offer the world."

Like Williams, Hovis made some changes when she returned home. The high school junior now wants to major in international studies and study abroad in Kenya during college. She’s also hopes to help the Harrells with a project to supply Kenyan children with uniforms so they can attend school.

"Kutana creates a unique environment where God can be heard and we all can be transformed," Harrell said. "Transformed people will live transformed lives if they are obedient to God’s leading and not numbed by the voices and temptations of their home culture."

Even after three trips, Williams insists he can’t adequately describe how Kenya and Kutana has touched and shaped his life.

"You can sit here and talk about it … but until you’ve gone and experienced it, it’s going to be something you read about," he said. "Until you’ve been there and looked in these deep dark eyes [of children] … and they tell you, ‘When you leave don’t forget about us’… then you know this is what it’s all about."

The Harrells host Kutana experiences for groups year-round. For information on how your church can become involved, contact Chris Boltin at (800) 352-8741 or cboltin@thefellowship.info.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.