Day One Blog: From DBU Head Basketball Coach, Blake Flickner
Saturday, October 5, 2013

We left the Dallas Baptist campus on Friday, October 4^th around 5:00 pm to head to the airport (about 7 pm in Chile). We flew overnight from Dallas to Santiago, then after negotiating customs and finding all of our bags, we boarded another plane to Antofagasta, Chile. Roughly 4:00 pm the next day, we arrived at the Antofagasta Baptist College (K-12 school, not a university level school) in Antofagasta, Chile. For many, their first Chilean experience was finding lunch (with menus only in Spanish) at the airport in Santiago, but the cultural experience was only warming up.

Antofagasta, I'm told, is part of the driest desert on the planet. From the airplane and as soon as we stepped off, the arid climate was very unique. Browns dominate the landscape and it seems that there is nothing that is able to grow naturally. Only in pots or small areas that are obviously watered did we see anything green at all.

At the airport in Antofagasta, we were met by Miguel and received yet another significant change in our schedule. We had thought that our first basketball game would be Monday night, but now things were adjusted and we will be playing our first game against the Antofagasta University….tomorrow (Sunday).
From Antofagasta Baptist College, we were divided to up to go with a host family for the night. For many, I believe this created a bit of nervousness. While all of the students were paired with at least one other teammate, both the cheerleaders and basketball players were a bit unsure of what to expect when they would be leaving the group and entrusted to the hands of a Chilean family (almost all of whom spoke no English) for the night. (And to do it without cell phone coverage and the ability to easily communicate with others as they are used to.)

I must say though, that staying with a host family far exceeds the experience of staying at a hotel. This is how to experience another culture! My host family is overflowing with hospitality. We have made the language barrier work thanks to translate.google.com. The power of technology is amazing!
My family took me on a driving tour and we got to see an amazing coastline. There are huge cliffs that drop right off into the ocean and they are entirely made out of sand. How do they not collapse into the sea? I have no idea.

The weather was cool and a welcome relief from the Texas heat, and out by the ocean, it was almost cold. The air is fresh and I could smell the salt from the ocean. It is beautiful to see the landscape of mountains side by side with the ocean, but everything is brown. Many of the homes are painted with bright colors, but all of the natural landscape, roads, beaches, hills, mountains, and valleys all appear to be various shades of brown.

The people are just amazing. Even when I don't understand what is being said, their zest for life and joy is contagious. There is no social shyness here. Kisses on the cheek, hugs, exuberant laughter and welcoming hospitality of all kinds overflow. It's hard not to have fun around others who are enjoying life so well.

After a little soccer on TV with a Chilean University team, I was able to watch a little news in the background of our conversation. Today marks the 25^th anniversary since the end of the dictatorship of Pinochet. It was a topic of celebration during the news. I did not see it, but I was told that our visit to Chile has been on the news and that our team photo has been highlighted in the city's newspaper. When I receive a copy of the article, we'll share it here.

On Sunday, Jay Harley, Jesus Aranda, Luis de Jesus and Blake Flickner will all be preaching in different local churches, while our cheerleaders and basketball players will spread out to several different churches in the morning. In the afternoon, our coaching staff will host a coaching clinic for the basketball coaches in the city. In the evening, we will tip off our first game of the trip at Sokul Stadium against the Antofagasta University team. The game is currently scheduled for 9:00 pm our time here (7:00 pm CST).


Day Two Blog: From DBU Head Basketball Coach, Blake Flickner
Sunday, October 06, 2013

Today began with church services. We split into various groups to visit different churches. Jesus Aranda, Jay Harley and Blake Flickner all preached a sermon (Jesus Aranda without a translator!) Thank you Luiz de Jesus for being my translator at the Nueva Jerusalen Baptist Church. He has been such a huge blessing and so much fun to be around. Thank you Luiz! After our first service, almost all of us came together to experience communion and sing some more songs at the same church, Amisadai Baptist Church. They sure love to sing in Chile. Their theme seems to be, "one more song!" But definitely one of the highlights of the day, was a special song they prepared for us in English. "Oh Happy Day," an 18^th century hymn sung in the modern gospel style (recently portrayed in the movie "Sister Act 2"). It was excellent, a very special treat after 2-3 hours of music in Spanish only. It made me emotional. I know how much work it took for them to learn that song in English.
 
After that, we again had a meal with our host families.  Around 3:30pm, we headed to Sokol Stadium where we would spend the rest of the day. First we led a basketball coaching clinic for about 25 youth level coaches from the area. Then we interacted with many of the young people from the community who had come out to the Sokol Stadium. The cheerleaders did some stunts and attracted many new fans and posed for many photographs with their new friends. Some of the basketball players started a giant pick-up game with many kids. It was fun to watch these students interact so well with the community.
 
The first game of the tournament here in Antofagasta began a little after 6:00pm (everything here is "mas o menos"). In the first game, Club Cexaec defeated Club Sokol. After the game, the cheerleaders demonstrated some of their cheers and stunts in front of the growing crowd. I would estimate there was about 700 fans there to watch the game. What a great experience.
 
In our basketball game against the Universidad Catolica del Norte, we got off to a good start. Our players executed well for the most part considering we have only had two weeks to practice. We were able to get some good looks at the basket, but it was not our best shooting night. However, as the game went on, our defensive pressure really began to wear them down. At halftime, we held a 39-26 advantage thanks to a big 3 from senior Cory Carden just before the end of the half.
 
At halftime, the cheerleaders performed and Cory Carden shared his testimony. It was a great opportunity for him to present the gospel to the 700 fans as well as the opposing team. He did a great job.
 
The second half saw our opponents make a push and midway through the third quarter and they were able to trim our lead to a mere eight points. However, our depth became an advantage and some fresh legs were able to increase the pressure to get some separation. By the end of the third quarter, we had stretched our lead to 57-36 thanks to some great defense that created some easy baskets in transition. The game ended with a victory for the Patriots and a final score of 78-45. Junior Wesley Gipson led all scorers with 12 points, followed by Sophomore Charles Allen with 10, Sophomore Jonathan Perry with 9, Senior Cory Carden and Freshman Alan Zahn both had 8, Sophomore Jason Gentry and Freshman Myles Johnson had 7, Freshman Jordan Pratt had 5 points, followed by Junior Jordan Walker, Junior Christian Scofield and Freshman Stratton Williams who all had 3, and Junior Chris Strong had 1.


Day Three Blog: From DBU Head Basketball Coach, Blake Flickner
Monday, October 7, 2013
 
We are the Champions of the Antofagasta Baptist College Basketball Tournament! The final score was 80-50, but that is very misleading for how difficult this game was. At half time, the score was tied, 33-33 after a late put back by Sophomore Charles Allen. DBU trailed almost the entire first half and only led by one point briefly. However, it was a magnificent defensive effort in the third quarter when we held CEXAEC to only two points that the game was blown open. Maybe it was the words that Sophomore Jonathan Perry shared at halftime that turned the tide. Jonathan was able to share his testimony with all the fans that were on hand after the cheerleaders led the crowd in their cheers.
 
This day started with an early morning after a late night as we gathered at the Antofagasta Baptist College (K-12, not "college" as we use the term). After an encouraging devotional from Cheer Coach Michelle Grose, we entered and were escorted into the gymnasium. It is hard to describe the feeling of walking through that tunnel into the gymnasium this morning. As we approached, a low rumble began to be felt, but once we were able to see inside, it was truly breathtaking to see the gym absolutely packed with students who erupted with huge cheers at the sight of us. You would have thought we were the Miami Heat. The students were so excited to see us, and the welcome reception was only the beginning.
 
First, a string quartet of students performed two songs, including one from the musical, "The Fiddler on the Roof." Then two dancing partners came out to perform a traditional Chilean dance. After that, they asked us to do an "exhibition" for them. The cheerleaders did some lifts and stunts and tumbling, and then the basketball team did a few drills and threw down a few dunks. Then when the students were released for their classes, the students rushed to our DBU students for pictures, autographs and more. It was quite the scene and unlike anything I've been a part of before. For a good deal of the morning, we were navigating taking pictures and signing autographs. It is strange how humans lift up as celebrities for admiration those that we really know so little about. Being on the receiving end was a unique experience. I think all of us would say that it was a great deal of fun to interact with the students and to see the smiles on their faces that our mere presence brought them (of course it also meant they were not in class!). However, we did later on try to readjust so that we could interact in other ways too. It was a good reminder for me that I need to repent of times when my heart tends to elevate other people to a status where they don't belong.
 
Members of both the cheerleading and basketball teams were then able to practice English with students in their classrooms. In the afternoon, we played games like pato, pato ganso (duck, duck, goose) with the kindergartners. The hospitality of the Antofagasta Baptist College was amazing, and I think it will be a day that will not soon be forgotten by each one of us.
 
After dinner at the school, we drove back to Sokul stadium for the championship game of the tournament. Before the game, I met the President of the Basketball Federation in Antofagasta. He praised our team's efforts from Sunday night and the enthusiasm we showed in doing little things, like helping one another up off the floor, and cheering for each other when a new player subs in or out. He also said that the intensity we played with was very eye opening for the players, coaches and fans from Antofagasta. This was encouraging to hear, and the guys carried that same spirit through tonight. I gave the President a special coin that we had made just for this trip as a keepsake. The front of the coin says DBU Basketball – Chile 2013, but the back has Scripture verses explaining the gospel of Jesus Christ. He asked me what it meant and so I had the privilege of using the coin to help walk him through the message of the good news of salvation as proclaimed to all who believe in Jesus Christ. Already our players and cheerleaders have been afforded so many opportunities to share their faith with others. It has truly been a blessing.
 
Thank you to the cheerleaders for all they have done as we have partnered together this week. It's amazing all we have done in only two full days here so far. Tomorrow, we do not have any games scheduled, but we will be visiting two more schools to interact with the kids there (the next game is Thursday night, 8:00pm in Chile – 6:00pm CST. The game will again have live Tweets @DBUBasketball).
 
Once again, it has been a long day, but it is good to know that we have been busy. Would you continue to pray for health and safety and for God to strengthen our faith through our experiences and for Him to use us to plant seeds of spiritual truth in those we interact with of all ages? 


Day Four Blog: From Head Basketball Coach, Blake Flickner
Tuesday, October 08, 2013

Today started a little bit later which was nice. We did not have to be at the school we visited until 9:30am. Because our nights have been very late with games, and time with our host families, this was a welcome opportunity to sleep in a little more. In Chile, the families eat much later in the day normally and our games have not been ending until after 11:00pm. By the time we meet to debrief and then go with our families to eat, it is very late.

We met at Harvest Christian School and began the day with a devotional and some singing led by one of the administrators of the school. Some of the students had been there for church on Sunday and I think for them it was especially fun to be back where they had worshipped and prayed for the students just two days ago. Then we broke into smaller groups and each went into various classrooms to interact with the students and allow them to practice English. This provided a great opportunity to explain why we had come and to weave the gospel into our discussions. Although Harvest Christian School is a private Christian school, a great many families with means send their children there for the quality of education, not because of their faith. We were told that most of the students are not believers.

Then we had a chance to teach some students and play some games. The cheerleaders had some students on a turf soccer field for some cheer lessons, and the basketball players did some passing and ball handling drills with others. The basketball rims were unique. They were noticeably too high and they had two rims. Not two rims, side by side, as we have seen before, but two rims, separated by about 4 inches. It was like shooting on a goal at the State Fair. There were no easy makes.

After lunch, we came back to the basketball court and many more of the students gathered around for an "exhibition." This amounted to us trying to entertain them. We played a little basketball for fun, and had a Harlem Globetrotters type game (or for the younger generation, an "AND1" game) which we were able to include some of the students from Harvest Christian School in. The Chileans love music and so while we played, one of the administrators was blasting dance music as well. After the game began to lose its excitement, we had a dance competition which I think they really enjoyed and gave us another chance to interact and involve them.

After our time with Harvest Christian School was over, everyone split up to spend time with their host families. This was special. These families have meant so much to us while we have been here. They have housed us, fed us, chauffeured us, and loved us well. Truly they have become like family. Some DBU students ended up at the mall, others went sight-seeing at the beach, and I was able to visit a museum on the mining industry that drives this area and tour the city. It was a great time. We have enjoyed our time in Antofagasta very much. We have to be at the airport by 7:30am tomorrow, so it will be an early morning before we fly to Santiago and then go straight to Grace College for a chance to witness to and share with another group of students.
Day Five Blog: From Acting Athletic Director, Connor Smith

Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Day five began with an early rise as the group prepared for their departure from Antofagasta to the country's capital city, Santiago, Chile. En route to the Antofagasta airport, we discovered that the airport had announced a temporary closure due to a plane crash involving a fighter jet. We spent nearly seven hours at the airport before we were able to board our departing flight to Santiago at 1:30 (11:30 CST).
 
We landed in Santiago around 3:30 (1:30 CST) and were greeted by staff members of Grace College and a large charter bus that would transport us to the college for our afternoon activities. When we arrived to Grace College, we were welcomed by many young students and their parents and were directed to a room where we could leave our belongings for the afternoon. We were very thankful for the meal that the school had prepared for us upon our arrival. Much like Antofagasta, the young girls and boys treated the basketball players like celebrities. Alan Zahn signed nearly 20 autographs in a span of ten minutes as girls stood in line to have their arms or hands signed by the 6'9'' freshman. The young girls had their phones out taking group pictures of both the basketball and cheer teams and even asked for Coach Flickner's autograph a few times as well.
 
Our afternoon activities began with a "meet and greet" with many of the students in a cement recreational basketball gym in which we would later find out was the proposed sight of Thursday's challenging game. Coach Flickner, Coach Curran, and the DBU Basketball players conducted several ball handling, shooting, and passing clinics, while Coach Michelle Grose and the Patriot Cheer Team conducted fundamental cheer clinics with nearly 30 young and enthusiastic girls. Four Patriot Basketball and Cheer members had the opportunity to share their personal testimonies with the young boys and girls, each with a Spanish translator. It was great not only to hear each of their personal testimonies, but to see the faces and the reactions from the
Chilean students as our students shared the Gospel.
 
One minor setback that evolved during our day was the cement recreational gym that stood as the proposed location of Thursday night's game against a very good local Santiago college team. After some discussion, it was decided that the proposed site of competition would be moved across town to another gym. As the evening came to a conclusion at Grace College, we had the opportunity to meet our host families that we would be spending a lot of time with over the next 48 hours in Santiago. Several of the host families had large dinner gatherings with lots of food as others held small Bible studies with neighbors. What a blessing it was to witness people of another continent studying the Word of God, just as we do in the states, with such passion and love.
 
Thursday will be spent conducting more basketball and cheer clinics to the local Chilean community, fellowship, and the opportunity to share the love of Christ through personal testimony. The Patriot Basketball Team will square off against a challenging and highly respected collegiate opponent in Santiago, Chile.
 
Please pray for the group on Thursday and as the team prepares to depart Chile on Friday.
Follow the DBUBasketball Team (@DBUBasketball) and Patriot Athletics (@DBUAthletics) for live updates of the Chile mission trip.
 

Day Six Blog: From Acting Athletic Director, Connor Smith
Thursday, October 10
 
A six o'clock a.m. alarm, a Chilean breakfast consisting of bread, avocados, salami, and juice, and a special Chilean dance ritual and presentation by Grace College staff and administration began our full day in Santiago, Chile. 
 
Coach Flickner, Coach Curran, and Coach Grose began the day in reflection with their squads, encouraging the Patriot student-athletes to be bold in their faith, never hesitating to share their personal testimonies with the Chilean students of Grace College. What an inspiration it was to hear Coach Curran present a word of spiritual motivation to the Patriot Basketball Team prior to the day's activities. 
 
The Patriot Cheer and Basketball teams jumped right in to instructional clinics with the students, with small breaks for members of each squad to share their personal testimonies.  Coach Flickner, Coach Curran, and Coach Grose have demonstrated the true meaning of the Patriots Athletics' Global Sports Mission Initiative, integrating faith and sport in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. "Our time in Chile has been wonderful for each of our girls and for the program as a whole.  We have been able to love on these students and share our love of Christ and our personal testimonies through our life experiences and through cheer," stated Coach Grose. "God has truly blessed our time here in Santiago and I know the girls feel the same."
 
These young men and women have poured out their hearts and souls each day, loving on the children of the Chilean community, and have demonstrated intentional efforts in sharing the Gospel.  "Being in Chile has really encouraged me in my faith as I have seen some of these young kids grow spiritually in such a short time.  We have had several neat moments where we have been able to share the Gospel through our personal stories, providing relativity through experiences we encountered in our lives, much like they have experienced in theirs," shared Graduate Student Assistant Coach James Erger. "This has been a humbling experience for me personally and for many of our players," added Erger.
 
As today was a full day at Grace College, the administration provided a great opportunity for all of the students to join together at once in the cement recreational gymnasium. It was during this time, that the Patriot Cheer and Basketball teams would put on an "exhibition", or also known as the time to showcase our basketball and cheer talents. Backflips, music, cheerleaders flying through the air, first-class ball handling demonstrations (Carter Trent and Jason Gentry), downtown three-point shooting (Jonathan Perry and Jordan Walker), and high-flying dunks (Remy Ndiaye) erupted the little cement gymnasium of 870 students at Grace College Thursday afternoon. To conclude the exhibition and performances, the Patriot Basketball and Cheer teams invited each of the students and their families to the competitive matchup that would take place at the Olympic Center of Chile at 8:00 p.m. (6:00 CST). 
 
After a light dinner at Grace College, we boarded a charter bus that would transport us across Santiago, Chile (about a 45 minute commute) through the rolling hills, to the Olympic Center – an unbelievably large building housing several different Olympic sporting facilities including volleyball, handball, fencing, Olympic weight lifting, karate, ping pong, and more. The team took several pictures outside of the facility in front of the Olympic rings and artificial torch.  We had time to spare, warm up, and relax for a while before Catholic University of Santiago (CUS) would arrive. Prior to the start of competition, we had been informed that our opponent for the night was considered the second best team in all of Chile. CUS consisted of players that ranged from 16 to 30 years of age and also players that had played professional and semi-professional basketball all over the world. 
 
Nearly 600 fans gathered to watch the Patriots and CUS at the Olympic Center, providing a great atmosphere for the players, coaches, cheerleaders, and the opposing team.  The game was physical and exciting as the Patriots remained within 10 points throughout most of the first half to CUS.  Senior Remy Ndiaye had the opportunity to share his personal testimony at halftime to the 600 fans and the opposing team, whom which provided a large applause concluding his motivational testimony for all.   
 
The Patriots cut their deficit to only four points in the fourth quarter but CUS proved why they are the second best team in all of Chile as they defeated the Patriots 82-74.  Coach Flickner, Coach Curran, and the Patriot Basketball Team performed exceptionally and took many good things away from the positive experience.  Coach Michelle Grose and the DBU Cheerleaders also performed exceptionally as they rooted on the men throughout the four quarters of play.  Following the game, many players were interviewed from Chilean and Grace College news crews and greeted by their host families for pictures. 
 
Friday in Santiago will consist of a morning at Grace College as we say goodbye to the students and administration, a tour of the capital city, and a departing flight back to Dallas, Texas. Please pray for the group as they conclude their time in Santiago, Chile, on Friday, October 11.


Day Seven Blog from Acting Director of Athletics, Connor Smith.
Friday, October 11

Day seven, our last and final day in Santiago, Chile. By now, most members of our trip have developed a unique form of "Spanglish," as our Spanish has improved from day one in Antofagasta, Chile.  Most of our host families have had trouble with English, much like we have had with Spanish, so conversations are challenging, some funny, but have provided a great experience for all.

Much like day six, day seven began with a team reflection and prayer time as we awaited two separate Grace College groups of 80-100 young boys and girls in what seemed like the theater or presentation room at the college.  Amelia Johnson, Sam Wheeler, Cory Carden and Charles Allen shared their testimonies to the groups, followed by exceptionally delivered sermons from Dean of Students Jay Harley and Graduate Student Assistant James Erger.  Following this time, a few students and staff members provided a special and pleasing message of thanks to our group for visiting their school, bringing some of our students to tears. 

Shortly after, we had a special time with the 100+ kindergarteners of Grace College in the gymnasium as Jonathan Perry, Jason Gentry, and Carter Trent displayed their flashy ball-handling talents. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhh" and "Ahhhhhhhhhh" were the reactive sounds from the young boys and girls as this was clearly something they had never witnessed before.  The Patriot Cheerleaders performed a normal cheer for the young kids before we said our goodbyes to all of the students and staff members at Grace College before departing for the afternoon.  We were all a little bummed to say goodbye to the young boys and girls who had provided such a great experience for all members of our large group.

The afternoon provided a great opportunity for the group to experience the nation's capital city, Santiago.  We boarded a double-decker tour bus from Grace College to the Chilean government building, La Moneda Palace, similar to the White House in Washington, D.C., where we would take a private, hour long tour from one of Chile's government officials. On this tour, we were shown where the Chilean President's office was located, where he and other international presidents and diplomats gather for important meetings, and also where U.S. President Obama was sitting when he made the official decision to invade Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan in May of 2011.  We also gathered in the same Presidential chapel that the President of Chile and several other members of the Chilean government would come each day, for 17 straight days, and pray for the Chilean miners that were trapped in the mountains after the infamous mining accident in northern Chile in 2010.  In addition, we had the great privilege in meeting and taking pictures with Chile's Secretary of State or Ministro Secretario General de la Presidencia, Cristian Larroulet Vignau (the second-most powerful individual in Chile, behind the President – much like our nation's Vice President).

After we concluded our private tour at the Chilean government building Friday afternoon, we loaded up on the double-decker bus and headed down to the Central Market - a very populated and energetic city center full of shops, restaurants, food stands, souvenir stands, and other forms of trade displays. We stopped and had lunch at a unique, and really good restaurant located in the heart of the City Center.  This was a great experience for all of us as were able to witness the true, everyday culture of Chile's capital city. Shortly after, we headed back to Grace College to gather our luggage before we would head the Santiago airport for our flight back to Dallas, Texas.

Our time in Antofagasta and Santiago was an experience that we will never forget and allowed for each individual to realize what it means to be an athlete at Dallas Baptist University.  "Chile was an incredible experience. I never imagined I would be sitting in a home in Antofagasta sharing my testimony, in Spanish, with my host family, or spending a Wednesday night in home group Bible study in Santiago that was so similar to our home group in Dallas.  I was so proud of our players and cheerleaders and I pray that God will use this experience to deepen their faith and give them more boldness in talking about Christ with people here in the U.S." shared Associate Head Basketball Coach Brandon Curran. 

Head Coach Blake Flickner added, "This trip has been such a wonderful experience.  Living in the host homes really gave us a chance to truly experience what the Chilean culture was like.  Their hospitality was very humbling and will be a memory I don't think any of us will forget.  I pray that the Holy Spirit will use this little window of opportunity we had to intersect with their lives to do His work there.  I have no doubt that we have all been impacted through them." Flickner would add on the competitive basketball games, "The basketball experience was perfect as we were able to be challenged and pushed.  We saw some things that we need to work on, but we also had some success and had a lot of fun.  Winning the trophy in Antofagasta was a great thrill."