Thank you GCWS family for praying for our trip! After 27 hours of travel we are happy to report we have arrived safely back to Grace. Please continue to pray for all of us on the trip that the deep convictions of faith would gain strength and grow us and Gods kingdom.
The adventure
“The Adventure”
We left Sunday for the adventure. This was a surprise for the women. 4 hours by bus, a 30 min 4×4 ride and a short walk took us to our Ranch in the Somoto Canyon, similar to the Colorado River. We hiked, swam and adventured this canyon. We slept in tents on the porch of this ranch. Several milked the cow! We had a bonfire under an amazing sky filled with stars. It was a fantastic end to our trip. We left at 930 pm arriving at Managua airport at 3am. Got to eat has station food which was decent by the way. The women lived the mission all week to Love God and be a Baller! This was an amazing trip, smashing all expectations and driving the women forward to attack the world for Christ.
Soccer Saturday
For the men’s soccer tournament we had the privilege of playing two different village teams. For the first game we started in our usual formation, but due to the ground being so hard and making the ball bounce like crazy We could not gain control of the game and they scored making the game 1-0. Therefore, we soon changed formation. This formation worked extremely well for that game and we ended up scoring two goals, winning the game 2-1. Jenn, our missionary, told us it was good that we beat them because they were really arrogant and us winning would only help them grow. The next game was a bit more difficult. We could not find the net and ended up losing that game, along with Faith receiving a red card, which just so happened to be on her birthday. Then after lunch, we went back to Pantanal and played a village women’s team. This was extremely different than playing the men. The women were not as fast or organized as the men, but it was good for the women to play us and see the joy because we play for God; as well as us seeing them play with joy and laughing around. We ended up winning that game. After, we played the women two really good men’s teams played. It was an extremely close nail biting game. The game went on to penalty kicks to determine a winner. Overall, it was a great gathering if villages with the Word being preached consistently.
JMH
Modrono Women
On our final day we made the effort to connect once more with the kickball team of Modrono women with whom we have competed against and lived life with the last week. As we went to the house of women they greeted us with love, hugs, and a delicious dessert called atole. For a Nicaraguan family with little money, this is a huge gesture. They were so happy to have met us and played a simple game against foreigners. Our goal of loving people well, seems to have been accomplished. And I can honestly say I believe both our team and theirs walked away feeling blessed and honored to have met the other.
MPR
Kick ball Friday
For the kickball tournament we were split up into 2 teams, and there were 4 other Nicaraguan teams there. We had already met a few of the Nicaraguan teams, so it was fun to see some familiar faces and continue joking around with them. Both teams won their first games, and I know that at least in our game there were a lot of laughs when people dropped the ball or mis-hit/threw it. In between games we got to talk to some of the woman and play with the kids, which was a really good way for us to build on the relationships we had already formed. Then, both teams also won the second game before we had to play each other. Grace 1 ended up winning, so we moved on to the championship game. We played the same team we had beat in the second game. The cool thing was that some of our team had showed them how to kick the ball properly earlier since a lot of them used their toe before, and you could already see the improvement between the 1st and 2nd time we played them. We ended up winning, but it was still a really fun game. The competitiveness and joy that the Nicaraguan teams brought to the afternoon as a whole was a real encouragement to all of us that had the privilege of interacting with them!
APS
We’ve landed in Houston
We had no internet these past few days. We landed safe in Houston. We will be catching up on the activities from Friday to today. Everyone is doing well. We are experiencing serious lack of sleep from our “adventure” Sunday until now. Women are looking forward to their own beds and getting on their phones with you!!
Storm
Driving rain storm
Kristelle began to share her testimony and the heavens opened!! Everyone went to cover and it was tight quarters for her to share!
Madrono training with Voss
A few of us played with some of the guys from Modrono. It was really different and interesting because we were trying to teach them some drills and patterns of play. A lot of them understood the concepts really well, but they were saying that it was hard to actually do it. They struggled through the drills but we were trying to let them tough it out and just talk through it without much instruction. They did really well with it and I think they actually learned something. They were very receptive and you could tell they really appreciated us helping them. They want voss to help them tomorrow in the tournament or at least just sit on their sideline and coach them a bit. After all the drills in the rain, we just played with them and they loved it. We all had a ton of fun playing while rolling around in the mud and poop. It was definitely an interesting experience and I was glad I had the opportunity to hang out and play and talk with them. They’re already trash talking us for when we play tomorrow, but it’s all in good fun. Today was a really fun experience and I think this team of guys really has the potential to be really good with a bit of discipline, which is what we’re trying to show them. I’m really excited to play them tomorrow and they are too because they know we’re good competition.
Marina
Kickball Tournament Friday
For the kickball tournament we were split up into 2 teams, and there were 4 other Nicaraguan teams there. We had already met a few of the Nicaraguan teams, so it was fun to see some familiar faces and continue joking around with them. Both teams won their first games, and I know that at least in our game there were a lot of laughs when people dropped the ball or mis-hit/threw it. In between games we got to talk to some of the woman and play with the kids, which was a really good way for us to build on the relationships we had already formed. Then, both teams also won the second game before we had to play each other. Grace 1 ended up winning, so we moved on to the championship game. We played the same team we had beat in the second game. The cool thing was that some of our team had showed them how to kick the ball properly earlier since a lot of them used their toe before, and you could already see the improvement between the 1st and 2nd time we played them. We ended up winning, but it was still a really fun game. The competitiveness and joy that the Nicaraguan teams brought to the afternoon as a whole was a real encouragement to all of us that had the privilege of interacting with them!
Abby
Grace College Women's Soccer 