Day 7-8...Recapping the Last of Camp

The past two days have been so busy, it was hard to find time to write. As I sit in the hotel room on the last night of the trip, it is exciting to look back and see where God has been at work.

Thursday was the best day of camp for both the Middletown and Newburgh site. The soccer stations were well-run and the players had developed relationships with the kids. I loved getting to sit back and watch the girls love on the kids in their group. One of the coolest parts of the day was sitting under the tent for lunch and listening to Meredith Ury answer questions for a boy about God, Jesus, Heaven, and Hell.

Today I ate lunch with a couple of the boys whose team I’ve been leading at the camp. It started out with some silly conversations, but then one kid, Ronaldo, started asking me some serious questions about Jesus. To be honest, they were some pretty hard questions to answer. For example, “Who rules the world?” “Why does Satan have power?” “Why will God destroy the earth?” “Who lives in Hell?” and many more. Maybe for you those are easy to answer, but when you’re trying to spark someone’s interest in Jesus and want them to know Him and love Him, I don’t just want to give them Sunday School answers. Mostly I was just excited that Ronald cared, and because he is an incredible player the other kids respect him and wanted to listen in too. We talked about his love for soccer and how he wanted to play on an international team when he turns 13 and then for the MSL, and I asked him if soccer was the most important thing to him. He of course answered “yes”, but then I got to look him straight in the eyes and said “Ronald if you combine your love for soccer with your love for Jesus you will be unstoppable, and He will bless you and honor you for putting Him before fame and soccer” and he listened so intently and looked off in a deep gaze contemplating everything I had just said. We talked a little bit longer, and then he ran off to play. I’m hoping that the Lord will use anything I said to continue to speak into Ronald’s life, because his potential is unmatchable. I love opportunities that come out of unexpected times and unexpected conversations. Thank you Jesus for being so faithful!

Meredith Ury, Senior Captain

Thursday evening we all headed to a Newburgh safe center to hang out for the night. We were in a very rough part of town as two of the top 5 murder streets in the nation were in this area. The evening was spent eating pizza, playing basketball, playing cards, and having intentional conversations.This experience created lots of great opportunities for conversations in the van on the way to get ice cream.

 

Friday was a challenging day of camp due to being tired and the kids had being really comfortable with us, but it was a good last day. Good byes were hard, but we were excited about the opportunity the Lord had given us to serve and speak truth into players lives. We also got the opportunity to be a part of 12th Rock's first Baptism...Ronald, the same kid Meredith was talking to the day before.  To God be the glory! I hope to have pictures and a video on the blog tomorrow.

Closing of camp at Newburgh

 

 Closing out the week with all the local volunteers

There is so much to share about this week! First and foremost – what a blessing it is to be able to travel here to New York to serve as a soccer team. Not many college athletes have the opportunity to experience a mission trip. How awesome it is to worship the Lord together in unity.

A lot of the kids at the soccer clinic have never heard of Jesus Christ. To be able to share Christ’s love with them has been a heart felt experience. At the camp, we have a Bible craft and Bible story mixed in with soccer stations. We also sing and dance to worship songs at the beginning and end of camp.

Overall, the mission trip experience has encouraged me to grow in my relationship with God so I can share my faith with others. I have also grown closer to our team through the Bible studies at night. The freshman are awesome and have come into our family quickly. At the end of each day we gather together and reflect on the day. Then Coach gives us an opportunity to share what God is doing in our lives.We can be vulnerable with each other and support one another through personal struggles. There is never a dull moment with our team. Laughter and joy is so evident among us.

-Breanna Smith, Senior