Friday – Day of tourist stuff

Friday began early with a trip by boat out to sea to Stingray Bay.  The women held stingrays in waist deep water in the Caribbean.  Some kissed em.  Snorkling was also a hit with sights of Konk and even a small (very small parents) Baracuda.  Lunch back at the hotel then off to Rum point for some hang out with some of the national team members.  The night ended with a huge BBQ at one of the WNT’s players home where we were treated to not only great rice and beans…..but Brazilian BBQ, konk and turtle!!

Tomorrow we fly back home and say good-bye to our new best friends!  Life sure has taken an amazing course!  God has been so faithful during this trip!!  We all are blessed to have taken part.  Thank you to all who have been committed through prater and financing.   Loving God and being a baller has never been so real!!!

Thursday – Match Day #3

Thursday was filled with excitement!  Match Day #3 ended with yet another stellar performance from Grace!!  Grace won a good contest 4-0 in a match played in back to back days with Match #2.  This third match up was against a handful of more mature WNT players, some U20 WNT players who returned home for spring break and a select group of  20-28 year olds from the island.  More to come!!

Wednesday Pictures

Wednesday – Match #2

Today was game day #2! The day started off with breakfast, as usual, with our favorite servers. They really have become our friends and they are always willing to chat with us about what we have been doing here in the Cayman Islands. We also had some other visitors at breakfast: pesky black birds, which Emily and Shek have starting feeding, so they stay around and cause trouble.

After breakfast, we had our Bible Study as a group. Today’s topic was A Game-Changing Moment. We began the study by talking about some of our favorite game-changing moments in different sports and then more specifically Grace College Women’s Soccer. We got to reminisce about some of the times that have really stood out in our program’s history. I didn’t share about mine with the team, but I will share with all of you lovely readers at home! My favorite GCWS game-changing moment was during my freshman year when we won the NCCAA Regional Championship. There were many amazing things that happened in that game, but the true changing moment was at the end – celebrating with my teammates and realizing what our team was truly capable of. We transitioned from sports to life. Many girls shared of the game-changing points in their lives and those ranged anywhere from being in a state of depression and God lifting them out, to realizing the true power of prayer. At the end of the study we were challenged to really ask God to give us the courage and determination to change what needs to be changed in our lives.

After Bible Study we had some free time, and I personally spent my time reading for fun, since that is something that we don’t get to do very often during the hustle and bustle of school. Some people just took the time to relax in the hammock. After free time, it was time for another meal. Sometimes I feel as if we eat ALL the time (Side note: Mom, I have been doing really good eating Gluten-Free, so don’t worry!). After lunch, which was actually at 3pm, we talked about the game and got to talk through the positives and negatives of the previous game.

GAME TIME.  I am never shocked by the amount of excitement that surrounds our games. There is a wide variety of people and they are of all different ages. We are beginning to see some familiar young faces that like to hang out by our bench. They are all so loving and supportive of futbol. We got to do the FIFA walk out again, which was much more organized the second time around. J The final score of the game was 5-0 and we won.  At the end of the game, everyone on the other team received a Grace College t-shirt, a US Soccer pin, and a Mission Ball, which Jalisa explained about before. The girls are truly grateful for those gifts and we are so happy to be able to give them away.

After the game, Liz was able to talk to both teams about her struggles with her back surgery and about how she called out to God to disrupt her life so that she could focus more on Him. He did just that, and through her back surgery she was able to one, learn guitar, and two, learn to play futbol for Him. It was a great reminder to thank God for the gifts he has given us, and to use them as worship to Him. The other girls really seemed to respond to her. I also noticed that many of the ladies that we met on our high school visit made it to the game, so it was awesome to see them!

After the game, we returned to the hotel for dinner, only to find out that Wednesday night at the Blue Iguana is KARAOKE night. It was a lovely surprise, and I am sad to say that I don’t think any one of us picked up the mic, but there was some dancing that took place. After that: ice baths, showers, and lights out!

We are so thankful to have been given this opportunity to be here in the Cayman Islands, and it is so amazing to see the way that God is moving in our team and in the ladies around us. Since being here I have been constantly reminded that God is such a forgiving God. His grace is amazing and we will never, ever be worthy of it.

Tuesday Pictures #2

Tuesday – Pictures – #1

Tuesday – God is in control

Today was an incredibly busy day! After breakfast we loaded the bus and set out for what we thought was going to be a morning at a primary school (or elementary school). We were ready to share with some kiddos and we were already planning a few soccer games we could play with them. However, when the bus pulled up…we were at a high school! Ok, time to switch gears. We had no idea that we would be expected to stand in front of a gym full of high school girls to share about our team. Even as we walked in we had no idea who was going to share or what we were going to talk about. We quickly huddled up and I (Vic) asked if anyone had anything on their heart to share. Thankfully God had put something on Kristin’s heart just that morning!

Sam gave an intro about our team. Then I (Vic) came up with an on the spot comedy act based on my lovely shot that I scored AGAINST our team my freshman year. That story never fails to break the ice and get some laughs. But it also led to a quick discussion on how we all make mistakes in soccer and we all make mistakes in life as well. I was able to talk about the penalty for our sin and mistakes and how Christ took that upon himself and paid the price for our sin by dying on the cross. Then Kristin shared a little of her testimony and how there is a difference between joy and happiness. She talked about a time in her life when she had nothing around her that could make her happy but she had the joy of the Lord which never fails. God was speaking through Kristin so strongly and we all just listened in amazement as she gave an invitation to the girls to know Christ as their personal Savior. Somewhere between 10 and 20 girls responded to the invitation by raising their hands and praying with Kristin. Praise God!

I am still amazed at how God orchestrated this morning. We had nothing planned. I guess all it takes is a willing heart to share His truth and the ability to watch Him at work. Shek, Voss, Thiago, and Nikki also shared. Nikki plays for one of the Cayman Islands team (she was the “cusser” of the group). But we have watched God change her heart before our eyes and it almost brought me to tears to hear her share with former classmates about what God has done in her life.

The high school girls gave each of us a personal tour of the school. This allowed us to get to know them better. One girl asked me, “Do you ever feel like giving up on your faith?” This opened the door for me to share my testimony from last year about my doubt and frustration with being a Christian. But I also got to share how God loved me through all of that.

It was hard to leave these new friends after we had just met them and connected so deeply. The afternoon was filled with fun at the Turtle Farm!! A couple of the Cayman Island girls went with us. We went snorkeling, met Sparky (the HUGE turtle), and got to hold baby turtles.

Then we went to Hell.

If you have not read our previous blogs, you should, because then that last statement will make more sense.

After that we went straight to the girls’ U17 game. Of course, we made a grand entrance with our signature “Olay” chant. Then it was back to the hotel for dinner, immediately followed by our new friends coming back to the hotel with us to hang out. You never know what will happen when all the coaches leave for an important dinner meeting…

We started off the night by sitting in a circle by the pool and…worshipping? Nope. Scaring our teammates to death with a fake spider. As each new person would join the circle, we would ask them to talk to the video camera about the turtle farm. Then Hannah would slip the spider right by their foot. All of us would scream like the world was ending, and we would watch our poor teammate jump and run and roll and scream and even…cry. I believe we did this 5 times without anyone catching on. The last one was Nikki (our new Cayman Islands friend). She was by far the funniest! Other funny events followed, such as Hannah allowing a starfish to suction itself to her face. We also got to have several serious conversations with our new friends. We could not get rid of them tonight even though they have school in the morning!

I have already written soooo much…but I am so overwhelmed by how much this trip has been directed by the Lord. Just from my own perspective, I remember being hesitant about coming on this trip, until I felt God tell me, “You’re going and it’s not about you. It’s about the girls that you will be playing against.” Then God put on my heart to share about him as our Father and how much He loves “His girls.” He totally gave me that opportunity to share on Saturday. Finally, I have felt led to pray that we will not just plant seeds, but that we will see the harvest. Well…we have already seen the harvest! God is drawing His daughters back to Himself. At the same time, He is building our faith, giving us boldness, and opening doors we never thought possible. I cannot believe how quickly we have connected with these girls. They are our Cayman sistersJ I look at their faces and realize that these are the girls we’ve been praying for. These are the girls that need to know how much their Heavenly Father loves them. We’re thankful to be His hands and feet. Thanks for the support and keep those prayers coming!! God is doing great things!! (Victoria)