WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAM RETURNS FROM SOUTH AMERICAN MISSIONS TRIP

Spartans in Red in Paraguay

WOMEN’S SOCCER (ANNOUNCEMENT)
TUESDAY MAY 11, 2010
MISSIONS TRIP

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAM RETURNS FROM SOUTH AMERICAN MISSIONS TRIP

LANGLEY, British Columbia – The Trinity Western University women’s soccer team returned from their South American missions trip Tuesday after spending the last two weeks (April 28-May 11) in Paraguay and Argentina both playing soccer and serving the local communities.

While the team played in a number of competitive games both in Paraguay and Argentina, including one against the Paraguayan U21 National side, the focus was largely on serving in soup kitchens and orphanages, running soccer clinics and being a Christian witness in developing nations.

The team took 25 athletes, three coaches and an outreach pastor from California to South America with the intentions of building relationships in local communities and furthering previous work Athletes in Action began a few years ago.

Using the phrase, “Better than any Trophy,” women’s soccer coach Graham Roxburgh led the team in organizing several soccer clinics, a five-on-five tournament and another soccer tournament that involved more than 300 underprivileged children.

The team was also involved in training about 80 pastors and volunteers in how and why to run soccer clinics in their communities.

The trip was an opportunity for many of the players to develop bonds with each other and bring the players even closer together as a team.

Through the soccer clinics, and actual games, many of the players on the women’s soccer team were able to share their stories of faith and discover the avenues in which soccer can be used to spread the word of God.

The team also had the opportunity to attend one of the biggest local soccer games of the year, the El Classico, in Paraguay’s 40,000-seat national stadium.  

For Roxburgh and his team, the South American missions’ trip was an invaluable adventure that wasn’t so much about the scores of the games but rather the relationships developed and the messages both learned and conveyed.

If you would like to donate money to help offset the costs of this missions trip go to http://impact.twu.ca/project/project.aspx?asset=121
 
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Last Updated: 2010-05-11
Author: Mark Janzen