“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” – Dr. Seuss

Hello friends and family! Today was our final day of the sports clinic. We started our beautiful day with breakfast that consisted of PB&Js and oatmeal – thanks Mama C! We ate with the boys today since they spent the night, which was a blast! The team then set-up for the final day of activities and then we met in the worship center for another spectacular session after the campers arrived. Today’s activities were more competitive than the previous days. Courtney had created 8 different teams that had a mixture of all ages and genders which also included the Hope athletes! The stations were 100-yard dash, soccer ball accuracy, softball toss, Mato-Mato (a Zambian balance game), and broad jump. After those stations had finished and the points were calculated, we played a “winner takes all” all-sport relay challenge – shout out to Lance! Team Vikali (a.k.a Team Power) took home the crown and then we had rice and eggs for lunch! The teams then showed off their creative cheers and headed back to the worship center for the closing celebration. The magnificent Linda announced the winners for the final day’s events. The 12 of us Hope athletes were given the opportunity to watch throughout the week for campers who had exemplified great leadership, encouragement, sportsmanship, or energy throughout the week; Campers who left a special impact on us throughout the clinic. It was very special to experience the campers feeling “seen” and the room was filled with happy tears and smiles. Once we said goodbye to our campers, we had downtime until dinner so we decided to stay active by playing soccer and volleyball with some of the Poetice staff. We then had dinner which consisted of chili, sweet bread, and salad. The team then attended Poetice’s Worship and Word service that their church family is invited to each Thursday night to worship together! Kids from our sports clinic attended and the fun continued. The night was full of heavy hearts as we had to say some final goodbyes, but also filled with joy as we prayed over one another during the service. Abby’s talk challenged several of us, and the worship inspired us. We then had our nightly debrief which ended up being a lengthy discussion as we unpacked the day and the ways our faith has been impacted so far this week. So it ended up being a “de-long” not a “de-brief” (according to Libby). After great reflection, we played a game called, “Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza” – or TCGCP for short! We are ecstatic to help out around the base by completing various service projects and having a family fun day tomorrow with Poetice’s staff.

Yabba Dabba Doo!

Reece and Delaney

So Many Good Things

Friends and Family! Today was day two of the sports camp and it was even better than the first. We started off the day by eating breakfast, which was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and oatmeal. The girl campers who spent the night joined us and afterwards we went to Poetice’s Wednesday morning prayer set. Prayer set is when their church family and community are invited to the Ministry Center on Wednesday mornings to worship through music, scripture, and sharing together. Violet shared scriptures with us about our identities. That we are Jesus’ friend, we are each a new creation, and we are his masterpiece. As that was finishing, the boy campers started to trickle in and we played a bunch of games before Lance gave our devotion today. Once we rallied the campers by having all the girls sing “When the Dutch” (which they prepared the night before) and everyone did our camp chant “Be Strong, Be True”, we went to our six stations for the morning. For lunch, we had egg salad sandwiches to fuel us up for our afternoon games. The four games that we played today were volleyball and soccer for the boys and relays and ultimate frisbee for the girls. The girls wrapped up early and we had the chance to talk in small groups together and then we finished up camp. Today was the day that the girls on our team got to bring water filters to the camper’s families in the nearby community while sharing God’s word, and the boys stayed on the base for their overnight. When we got back we had nshima again for dinner before the girls on our team went over to Nikkie’s to share our experiences so far on this trip and in our faith. The boys kept the fun going by playing ultimate hide and seek and having a bonfire. We just finished up our debrief of the day with lots of good reflection and laughter before going to bed! We are so excited for the last day of camp full of competitions and celebration!

Ta-ta for now!
Libby and Mia

Sports Camp – Day 1

Hi everyone! Today was such a fun and busy day. We started with breakfast, where we had the same delicious meal as yesterday and shared stories amongst our team. Then, we began to set up for our sports camp that we were leading on base today. After that, the kids from the local communities began to check-in and we had some free time to play a few different games. After check-in, we went into worship. Coach V led a devotional and we sang a few songs with high energy and so much joy. Then, the kids participated in 6 different stations where we worked on skills for certain sports. For lunch we ate rice and beans and got to have great conversations with the campers. Following lunch, we divided into four different groups and played kickball, netball, volleyball, and flag football. When the games ended, the men on our team did water filter demonstrations. They had the chance to walk some of the male campers home and set up water filters for their families while sharing the Gospel. It was an amazing experience for all. The female campers are sleeping over at Poetice tonight! The girls made friendship bracelets, painted nails, and the campers showed us countless dances, songs, and chants. For dinner, we had nshima, which is the national dish of Zambia! After dinner, the boys on our team went to John and Abby’s house and spent time in fellowship together. The girls continued their various games and activities well into the night. Once our team was reunited again, we had a short debrief of our days before heading to bed. We are thrilled to invite the campers back tomorrow for another day of fun!

Until tomorrow,

Greta R. and Conner

Community

Hi everyone! This morning we started with a pretty traditional breakfast (eggs, oatmeal, yogurt, toast, cereal, coffee) then we met with some of the Poetice staff (shoutout Abby & John), we learned about the heart of Poetice and how / why they minister. We also had some cultural training, learning more about the culture of the communities around us, and had some delicious muffins as a snack. We sat down for lunch together and had chicken lo mein, and talked some more as a team and with the Poetice staff. After lunch we had a tour of the base, and saw many works in progress and the vision for the future of Poetice’s ministry. In the afternoon, we had a chance to prepare for our next 3 days of camp, and you can see the plans in the pictures below. We then went on a walk through the community next to us, Mwapona. We were greeted by many excited little kids wanting to say hi and give us hugs. During our walk we visited a market and were treated to “fritters” which is a fried dough ball that was very yummy. When we returned from our walk, Mrs. Katete came to us with handcrafted clothing, bags, journals and more. Many of us were able to buy souvenirs for ourselves and loved ones. We ate a great dinner of spaghetti, salad, and sweet bread, and headed into the worship room for a short night worship session. Meg led us in a word about hearing the Holy Spirit’s voice and we were able to get some practice listening to him with our teammates. The team just finished up our nightly debrief, and now we are going to hangout, play cards, and make friendship bracelets before heading to bed. We are excited for our first day of sports camp tomorrow!

Be Strong. Be True.

Greta G and Tilly!

Hello from Zambia!

The past 48 hours have been a whirlwind. We just received a warm welcome from everyone on the Poetice staff. We arrived at Heathrow smoothly and had an 8 hour layover. We explored the airport, played some Uno, ate lunch as a team, and took much needed naps on the floor. Our flight out of London was delayed by an hour and a half, however we made up the time on the flight. Once we arrived in Johannesburg we got breakfast as a group at a local coffee shop in the airport with some great food. We boarded for Livingstone and began our last leg of the journey. The flight cruised at a much lower altitude than our previous two, so we were able to take in the African countryside from the air. After arriving in Livingstone we boarded a van with some Poetice staff members and drove to Choma. We spent the 2 and a half hour drive telling riddles and laughing. Once we arrived at the Poetice base we spent time getting to know the staff and worshiping with them. Worship was followed by dinner and some great conversation, continuing to bond with each other and the staff at Poetice. We are all exhausted and ready to sleep horizontally, but very happy to have arrived safely and begin our adventure with Poetice.

That’s all folks!
Graham and Maggee

Zambia 2023: LET’S GO!!!

Hello from the Chicago airport! We have had an eventful day and a half being back on campus. Yesterday (Thursday) we had our pre-trip training where we learned how to use the Sawyer water filters, participated in icebreakers, and prepared for the next week and a half. The team was able to get to know each other better as we bonded over conversations, laughter, and packing. We are so excited! We started today (Friday) with meeting and sharing our stories over DeBoer Donuts (thank you Lance!!). After a great time of sharing, we ate lunch and soon left for the airport. It’s only day two and we are having so much fun together. The bus ride was filled with laughs and games as we made our way to Chicago. Once we arrived, we navigated a few bumps with check-in and made our way to our gate where we would soon board a double-decker airplane. So cool! We also had the joy of experiencing Tilly’s first ever plane ride – he will be a flying pro after our 8-hour ride over the pond to London. Overall, we have been blessed with a great day of preparation, great travel and even greater company. We can’t wait to see how God will continue to show up during our time together. Looking forward to what adventures lie ahead.

Cheers!

Jonathan and Delaney

Almost home

A 4:15 am wakeup call shocked all of us, but seeing our leader John and fearless bus driver Javier brightened everything for today. We made it safely through Customs in Miami and then landed in Chicago. The bus is just through rush hour traffic and we have a couple of hours left until we make it back to Holland. Thank you to Coach V for the dinner food (the homemade Rice Krispie treats were amazing) on the bus so we didn’t have to stop. We are grateful for the angels that protected us this entire week and for the impact a trip like this can have. We pray that the seeds that were planted may multiply and help to transform the world. Special thanks to our friends at Go Ministries (what an outstanding organization) who are doing amazing things that are literally changing the world for people. Check out their work at gomin.org/ We also want to thank Sawyer (https://www.sawyer.com/products/international-bucket-system) who financially supports these trips for Hope Athletics. Click the link above to learn more about the opportunity SEED trips are given to help bring clean water to communities who still live without safe water to drink. Providing the chance for student-athletes and staff to be a part of experiences like this is truly life changing and transformational. If you would like to hear more about what Hope Athletics is doing to create men and women who transform the world, please reach out to us. Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes. We are grateful for what we have, what we are able to do and for how God has blessed this trip.

God Bless and Go Hope!

Last Day in the DR!

Final Goodbyes and Chocolate

Hola everyone! We started this morning with a bright and early sunrise on the beach. We used this time to soak in beautiful views and God’s greater calling for us in our own life back home. John (our missionary host) prompted us to think deeper about our experiences and how we are going to bring them back home. After the sunrise, some of the squad went back to sleep while others worked out.  We all then headed to breakfast and probably ate a little too much. A few of us left the resort and checked out a few of the souvenir shops where we practiced our bartering skills and then we soaked up the rest of our time in the sun at the pool or beach. A few beachgoers attempted to snorkel, and at the pool, people enjoyed the juice options and volleyball. We indulged in one final meal at the resort and climbed onto our carriage where trusty Javier drove us to the Del Oro chocolate factory. We toured the organic factory and learned about their process of making chocolate, sampled chocolate cashew butter, hot chocolate, brownies, and some pieces of chocolate. If you’re lucky you might get to try some too! We got to experience the beautiful country on our drive home for the last time. A few of the guys worked hard on their newfound skill of friendship bracelet making while others napped. We packed our bags to get ready for our early departure tomorrow before GO’s closing ceremony with the three other teams that GO has been hosting this week. We were served a delicious meal of tacos, worshipped, and heard a lovely message to sum up GO’s ministry and our work this week on planting mustard seeds in our own community. Our teammate Christian shared with everyone how he has seen God’s kingdom come to earth this week in the joy that came with playing with the kids at Batey Nueve. Our intern Maddie compiled a video of various clips from our week, which we watched before saying adios to our other intern Daniel and John. We wrapped up the day with powerful life-stories from our three leaders and each student received an individual blessing. It’s time for our long-awaited euchre tournament, so we need to sign off! Please pray for safe travels as we head home and keep the GO ministries team in your prayers, especially Javier, John, Maddie, Daniel, Mike, Brett, Marie, and Maria who have all served us in different ways this week. Adios!

Jess and Lucas

Church Day at the Hole

Hi Families, Happy Dominican Father’s Day! Today we went to a local church where our bus driver (Javier) is the pastor. Although we couldn’t understand the pastor’s message, the music created a great loving environment. After church we visited some of the members of the community. We then took a two-hour bus ride to our resort. On our way we stopped at a local fruit stand and got a very large bag of limoncello. When we arrived at our resort we checked in, ate some lunch and hit the pool for some much needed relaxation. We followed this with an intense volleyball game (which we won), and a dip in the ocean. After the ocean we had an all you can eat dinner and then went down to the beach to debrief our trip. Today was a good time of reflection on takeaways and things we can implement in our lives back home. Overall great day of bonding with our team. Can’t wait to see you all soon, even though we are sad it’s coming to an end.

Teagan & Nile

Grateful for a great day!

Day 5

Hi everyone! Greetings from the Caribbean! We started our morning with a run for Shae and the XC folk and omelets for breakfast for everyone else! We also tried dragon fruit for the first time (it kinda tastes like a kiwi) before heading off to the Go! Sports complex across town in Tamboril. The guys played basketball against a mix of club athletes and 18U athletes while the girls did a quick English lesson with some of the baseball athletes. After that we got to tour the facilities (which were awesome) and we got to see the plans for the new women’s facilities and the additions they have planned for the next few years. The plans included new stadiums for basketball, volleyball, and soccer, a new weight room, athletic training space, women’s dorms, and new community facilities including two new baseball practice fields. Once the tour was over we took our siesta break, which was held at headquarters at Calle Dos. Siesta is a time to eat lunch, rest, play cards, shower, etc. during the work day from about 12-2 where no work takes place. We theorize that it’s a time given to workers due to the extreme heat in the middle of the day. Following siesta we played with children at one of the planted churches in the city. We brought balls, jump ropes, bubbles, supplies for making bracelets, nail polish, and other fun things to play with local kids with. The kids loved the bracelets and the balls and never lost an ounce of energy. After an exhausting few hours, we returned to Calle Dos to shower and get prepared for dinner. For dinner tonight, we had a special treat of local empanadas from a stand downtown and enjoyed conversation beneath the Domino’s Pizza sign and to the tune of the local passersby. Following dinner, we took a field trip to Bon Ice Cream where we practiced ordering in Spanish and enjoyed a cold treat. The group’s (Shae & Jess’s) favorite has been Don Alfonzo, which is chocolate, coconut, and coffee flavored ice cream. We returned once more to Calle Dos to debrief and heard the lovely testimonies of Tanner (Twigs), Janie, and Jess. Now we will probably wrap this up and go dance in the streets because of the awesome (and SO loud) partying tactics of the Dominicans (JK we will probably play a cutthroat round of Euchre and go to bed). We look forward to church tomorrow and a relaxing night on the beach with each other.

Shae & Cole

P.S. Don’t worry Moms, we’re okay! We love ya! Enjoy a photo from today (if it loads)!