Summer Abroad 2026 - Kenya

The Kenyan experience has enriched both my Dominican life and my human life in numerous ways. I have become more aware of the world and its suffering. I think that, as Dominicans, we must be men of great intellect but also men with a heart for the people we preach to.

Through this experience, I have had the chance to encounter the lives of many suffering people, the poor, and those who serve the suffering people of Kenya. Also, this experience has given me more opportunities to preach publicly than I have ever had in my roughly 2 years in the Order. It has also helped me see how our Dominican life is lived differently, especially in its Kenyan context. Each Dominican has core fundamentals that are always the same, but how preaching is done and which ministries are dependent on the needs of the church and the people of the area. I think, above all else, I have grown as a Dominican who desires to share the good news I have received from God. We are preachers above all else of grace and hope. The world is in dire need of good news and to know that God is still here and loves them, and not to despair in times of trials, tribulations, and suffering. 

The experience of the poor here will forever shape how I view my future life as a Dominican. Seeing the poor more than anything helped me recognize my own deep poverty of a sort. Yes, I am not nearly as materially poor as the people in the slums of Kenya, but rather I have a real deficit in many things. Each and every one of us is poor in some aspect. We carry heavy burdens that can enslave us and even make many despair or lose hope. The poor showed me that this is a real burden that cannot be set aside; rather, it makes us depend on something greater than ourselves. The studies I do should ultimately be at the service of the poor and give clarity to the truth, reality, and goodness of God, life, and, most importantly, the Truth, the Way, and the Life of Jesus Christ. 

The first experience I never want to forget is getting Malaria and receiving the brothers' love, care, and the gifts of the sacraments. When I had malaria, I had the first-ever experience of actually thinking I could die. This, of course, sounds a little extreme in hindsight, but in the moment, I faced my own mortality more than I had ever experienced before in my life. So many people who are sick and dying have the same fear, anxiety, and discomfort. The experience of having the brothers by my side, and especially of receiving the sacrament of the precious body of our Lord, gave me real comfort, peace, and serenity. I think this has led me into deep prayer and discernment about doing some sort of ministry to those who suffer physically, and hospital work bringing the sick to our Lord. 

The second experience I never want to forget is seeing the children and the special longing in their eyes. We went to a village school that took over 6 hours to reach and met the village children. It was the first time I had ever been surrounded by children, and it was a real Jesus moment. They just swarmed me and had a sense of longing for something and almost hope of some sort. I didn’t know them or know their problems, but it felt like they were lost and didn’t have the love they so desperately needed. It reminded me of Jesus having pity on the crowd. So I prayed to the Holy Spirit to just do something and work through me. Then, out of nowhere, I spoke words of encouragement about the very nature and gift that God was. Who he is, how he never changes, and how he loves everyone more than they could ever imagine. It was a real moment of grace, and I was not speaking, but I felt that God was truly speaking through me to them. 

The last experience I will never forget is the whole spirit of hospitality and generosity of these people in Kenya. A very striking example was when I went into the slums of Kisumu; a lady welcomed us into her house, which was smaller than a tiny bathroom. Yet she gave us what little money she had saved up and said she was so happy that we visited her and prayed for her. She gave probably everything she had earned that day to us. Random strangers and men who represented the church in her eyes. She wanted to thank God, and giving us something was the offering of thanksgiving. I want to be as generous as she is, give to those who cross my path, and be a blessing to others.