teammates translate the message of the
gospel whenever it was required. It was
a great blessing, and seeing the people
smile while translating was priceless!”
On the field, the Rams played
professional teams, sharpening their
skills and building relationships with
the opposing players. Team members
took turns writing updates on the CIU
athletics website
www.ciuathletics.com.
Chandler wrote: “Our first full day
here in Guatemala was an awesome
experience. In the morning, we
traveled to Guatemala City and had
the incredible experience of playing
USAC, a first division professional team
here in Guatemala. USAC has several
international players on their roster,
including guys who have played for
their national teams and in the English
Premier League! We held our own for
a while and played a really good match
against this great team. After the match,
Tyler Smith shared the gospel with all
the guys on the team, and we also heard
a testimony from USAC player Tyson
who has played for his national team in
Honduras.”
The team also made time for fun. They
rented horses and rode steep slopes to
the top of a volcano. The sun set while
they were enjoying the scenery and they
had to make the treacherous trip down
in the dark. Still, the team didn’t pass up
the opportunity to share the gospel with
two Guatemalans who accompanied
them, leading the men to trust in Jesus.
“It was cool to see how something so
fun could end up in someone crossing
from death to life,” sophomore Luke
Brooks said.
The team also took advantage of
opportunities to share what the Lord
was doing in their hearts and lives.
“While there were many highlights of
the trip, probably the part that I enjoyed
the most was when we would gather at
the end of the day and talk about what
we had experienced that day,” Coach
Whitaker said. “It was awesome to hear
our players talk about what they had
seen, what God had done, and how He
was working in their own lives through
the experiences on the trip.”
“It was cool to see how
something so fun could end up
in someone crossing from death to life.”
–Sophomore Luke Brooks
19
SOCCER GOAL: SPREAD THE GOSPEL IN GUATEMALA
CIU Today
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