The Dallas Baptist University Women's Soccer and Volleyball teams traveled to Peru for a Spring Break mission trip from March 7-14. Joining the 10 DBU volleyball players and 18 DBU soccer players were coaches, trainers, administrators, and other DBU students, as well as representatives from Buckner International. For several years, DBU has partnered in mission trips with Buckner, visiting orphanages in Guatemala and Russia, as well as a previous trip to Peru in 2006.
The Peru trip marked the first time that the Women's Volleyball and Soccer teams traveled outside the country to participate in a mission trip of this nature. In the fall of 2007, the DBU Patriot Baseball team spent a week in Guatemala, partnering with Buckner and ministering in orphanages, hosting baseball camps, and competing against the Guatemalan National Team. This year, it was the Lady Patriots' turn.
“It was a blessing and truly amazing to watch these young women love and serve the less fortunate and share their faith in Christ,” stated Ryan Erwin, DBU director of athletics, who helped organize the trip. “They were able to use their God-given talents to minister and spread the Word to orphaned children and abandoned mothers. Our student-athletes are definitely living and serving as champions for Christ abroad.”
The group began their Peruvian adventure in the capital city of Lima as the Lady Patriots were greeted with much fanfare. Television reporters interviewed the players, little girls rushed up to them for autographs, and posters around town highlighted the upcoming games against the “USA Patriots.” This attention shocked many of the players, but they soon discovered that it allowed for many opportunities to explain about their true mission over the course of the week.
Throughout their time in Peru, the Lady Patriots made it their goal to share the love of Christ with whomever they met, especially those in the orphanages and single-mother homes. The teams traveled to many different locations and encountered a variety of souls. In fact, over the course of just one day in Lima, they spent time with over 700 orphaned children.
“We were worn out every night,” reflects Jordan Vick, sophomore soccer player and psychology major from Kerrville, TX. “But the opportunity to give to these children gave us renewed strength every day. We have all been so richly blessed, and it was so energizing just to bring some happiness into others' lives.”
In addition to their work with orphans, these young women spent time with single mothers in two separate government-sponsored houses. Through small group conversations, games, dances, songs, and various other cultural interchanges, they embraced scores of victimized women. The group purposefully included performances of Gospel-based skits, and several players shared personal testimonies of their lifelong walk with God. The young mothers were especially responsive to a special time of musical praise sung in their native Spanish dialect.
“It was so rewarding for us to see that our efforts to love these girls had such a strong impact,” said Amanda Emmert, junior volleyball player and marketing major from Keller, TX. “They seemed so happy that it was hard to imagine the incredible hardships they must have endured.”
Wherever they went, the Lady Patriots sought to leave more than just DBU memorabilia—duffle bags full of shirts, balls, air pumps, jerseys, CDs, and games. The faces of the Peruvian orphans and the abused and abandoned young mothers revealed that they were overcome with long-awaited and unspeakable joy at the realization of receiving the undivided attention and love of strangers who had traveled so far for their sake.
“When you look into the eyes of orphans,” explained Dr. Blair Blackburn, DBU executive vice president who accompanied the students on the trip, “your heart pounds for the love you want to share, and at the same time, your heart breaks for the loneliness you know these kids feel.”
While the time with the mothers and children served as the primary motive for the trip, the Lady Patriots still had other matters at hand—namely competing on the court and on the field.
The Volleyball squad twice took on the Peru Junior National Team, with all the proceeds from the game going to help build a much-needed gym at an orphanage in Lima. One of the games even took place in a remote Amazon village, a location that rarely had the chance to see any national team compete. Both matches proved intense, but in the end, DBU was unable to capture victories.
“I have never played in an atmosphere like that,” said Lauren Zegarelli, junior volleyball player and kinesiology major from Arlington, TX. “It was so loud I could barely talk to my teammates. I will always remember it as one of the most motivating and fun experiences of my life.”
On the soccer field, the Lady Patriots faced the top team in the Lima region in front of a sold-out crowd of over 2,000 fans. The rowdy crowd provided the Peru team with a great home-field advantage, and the Lady Patriots unfortunately came out on the losing end.
From the memories of competitions in front of thousands of roaring fans to the personal, one-on-one conversations in small village orphanages, it was a trip that will not soon be forgotten.
“Our trip to Peru has totally changed my world view,” stated Lauren Secord, senior volleyball player and psychology major from White Oak, TX. “Now I know how much this world truly needs the love of Christ, and it has given us joy to share that love not only by our words and actions, but also through God-given athletic abilities. This has been a once-in-a-lifetime trip, and we thank God for this amazing opportunity.”
