Over the summer, many people go on trips, but not many people get to travel overseas. Lindsey Rivers, a senior this year, got the chance of a lifetime to visit Africa. In mid- July, Rivers and her group, which consisted of seven teens and four chaperones from her church traveled to West Africa where they would stay for nine days. When asked about the reasoning behind the trip, Rivers said, "I had wanted to experience what missionaries have to actually do on their trips, and I felt like I should go and do this program, 'M2414,' with my church."
While in Africa, the group held a children's camp that the students planned themselves. The camp consisted of about 90 kids everyday from the ages of three to thirteen. Every afternoon the kids would get to play a game that ranged from "Sharks and Minnows" to an obstacle course using only benches and soccer balls. The group would later move to arts and crafts where paper plate sheep were made. A story was told and the children would use the crafts to interact with the story. Since the children's camp took place in the afternoon, Rivers and the group were able to go and adventure into the city during the day. The Senior told a story of how one day the group rode a horse cart back to where they were staying after a long day of exploring.
When asked what Rivers’ favorite part of the trip was, she said she loved learning about the culture and their way of life, "I learned how different they are from our country and how to appreciate the things we normally have, i.e. air conditioning." While traveling, a must do is to get souvenirs, and Rivers said she got plenty of them. Some examples include a little lion carved out of wood and a sand painting she gave to her family. Lindsey Rivers enjoyed her trip greatly, and said she would go back in a heartbeat if she could.