Local missionary making strides to get back to Rwanda
Micki Seger wants to go back to Africa; she has a mission waiting for her there.
This 26-year-old Jasper-native was surprised to find herself in Africa in the first place teaching at Kigali (Rwanda) International Community School (KICS). But this was just the culmination of her experiences that would fill her with a passion for the Christian youth outreach group, Young Life.
Micki’s journey to Young Life began in middle school as she bounced from cliche to cliche searching for where she fit in. Then she found cheerleading. “Once I got to high school I started cheerleading and that changed my life,” Micki said. “Belinda Nelson was my cheerleading coach and she was highly invested in Young Life. One of the reasons she was into cheerleading was to invest in teenage girls’ lives for Christ.”
It wasn’t until she went on her first mission trip to Jamaica that Micki knew she was planning on working on Christian outreach. “I think this was the beginning of my need to be involved in missions.”
She said it was eye-opening to see the children in Jamaica happy in spite of being without shoes and having to struggle to find food. “It was right before I was going to go to college and that trip changed me. I decided I wanted to have an impact for Christ.”
She could have went to Indiana University Bloomington as a cheerleader for four years, but Micki dropped cheerleading and became a Young Life leader as she pursued a degree in art education.
She graduated in 2009 but before that she had heard about a group called Builders Without Borders and their missions in Rwanda. “John Baptiste spoke to our group about the genocide and his experience there,” Micki said. “He just believed the youth were the key to the rebuilding of the country.”
Micki wanted to go on a mission the group was forming but found several roadblocks in her way and eventually had to drop the pursuit. Rwanda stayed on her heart though and she became more and more convicted to go there until, in 2010, she heard from John Baptiste again. “He asked if I could go over,” she said, “and I raised $3000 in a month to get there.”
Micki had contacted Kigali (Rwanda) International Community School before going on the trip because she had decided to interview for a teaching position there. “They were surprised to be able to conduct the interview in person,” Micki said. “He told me they usually are Skyping interviewees.”
Micki learned she would be taking a position at the international school about five months after the interview. The international schools service the children of citizens that have returned to the country after fleeing during the genocide. These children and families are acclimated to western culture and the schools provide a western-like education.
Micki arrived at the school in July of 2010 where she would be teaching art for grades K through 12 for two years. Young Life was still on her heart but she didn’t feel she could start a group by herself. But, soon after she arrived another teacher approached her about Young Life and by February the next year, they had formed the beginning of the Young Life group at the school.
The Young Life group grew through some tribulation and during her final year the need for Young Life became very apparent. “I was coming up on my final year of school and I really wanted to expand Young Life in the area,” Micki explained. “I was trying to work Young Life and still teach but I was running into conflicts between both positions. I kept praying and interviewed with Young Life and was asked if I would consider going full time.”
Micki said it was just one of those moments and she decided to go for it. She committed to the position full-time and joyfully told her boss at the school she was going to work for Young Life.
Suddenly Micki was faced with no job and a new commitment to raise the money necessary to build Young Life in the area. “I have a three year commitment with Young Life and I have to raise the money to sustain myself and the mission there.”
Micki has to raise $70,000 a year and around $27,000 in start-up costs that pay for her housing and transportation while she is there. Currently she has commitments covering about 60 percent of the yearly costs and about 25 percent of the start-up cost.
Recently, Micki worked with Young Life and Fit Together to have a Zumba for Rwanda at the Cabby O’Neill Gymnasium in Jasper. “The Zumba event went well. We had between 50 and 60 people come and raised $312,” she said. “It was certainly the most fun way I have attempted to raise funds. I love having events like that because it gets more people involved and invested in the ministry that God put on my heart all the way over in Rwanda.”
Micki is striving to return to fulfill her commitment to the area because Kigali is a place that has a population heavy with physical needs. “There are people from all over the world coming to cater to those needs and help build the economy of this once fallen country,” Micki explained. “These people come from all different backgrounds and the school fulfills the kids educational needs, but there are still spiritual needs that aren’t being met.”
“They need stability in friendships. They need a model of how to have deep relationships with people,” she explained. “They need a positive atmosphere where they can have fun with their friends outside of school that doesn’t involve drinking alcohol or doing drugs. They need to know that the God of the universe cares for them and wants to have a relationship with them.”
Through Young Life, Micki plans on providing all of these things for the kids. “The dream is to be able to share our lives and our hope in Christ with these kids in hopes that they will become disciples of Jesus as well as become a part of the Great Commission all over the world.”
To support Micki Seger in her mission to get back to Rwanda, contact her at 639-9576, or e-mail mickiseger@gmail.com, or go to www.younglife.org, search by “A Young Life Area Ministry”, search X8190 – YL Rwanda – Seger. Micki maintains a blog about her mission at mickilovesrwanda.blogspot.com.
