FYI...our itinerary

Sorry it´s a bit messy and it doesn´t really fit on the page all that well, but Aaron thought everyone would like to be informed about what we´ll be up to. Enjoy.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE FOR THE MESSIAH COLLEGE TEAM   May 15-27, 2011

Sunday 15	Monday 16	Tuesday 17	Wed. 18	Thurs. 19	Friday 20	Saturday 21
PM. Arrival and get settled.	7am  Breakfast 8am  Worship with soccer staff 8:45  Devotional—in charge of Messiah 9:15am  Introductions—getting to know each other 10am  Snack 10:30-12  Teaching and sharing time Messiah 12noon   Lunch 2pm  Out on the field with coaches—Messiah leads practice 3:30pm  Pick-up games (divide up into 4 teams) 6:30pm  Supper and relax	7am  Breakfast 8-11:30am   Work on site. 12pm  Lunch 1:30pm  First game —Group B (Messiah vs Boca Jun) 3:30pm  Second game of tournament—Group B 5:00pm Light supper 6—9pm  Soccer practice at Acevedo 9:30pm  Snack before bed	7am  Breakfast 8-11:30am   Work on site. 12pm  Lunch 1:30pm  First game of tournament—Group A 3:30pm  Second game of tournament—Group A (CDUC vs Piscimol) 5:00pm Light supper 6—9pm  Soccer practice at Granizal 9:30pm  Snack before bed	7am  Breakfast 8-11:30am   Work on site. 12pm  Lunch 1:30pm  Third game—Group B (Messiah vs Selecc Juv) 3:30pm  Fourth game—Group B 5:00pm Light supper 6—9pm  Soccer practice at Acevedo 9:30pm  Snack before bed	7am  Breakfast 8-11:30am   Work on site. 12pm  Lunch 1:30pm  Third game—Group A 3:30pm  Fourth game—Group A (CDUC vs Barrio San Ferrn) 6:00pm Light supper in Granizal 7pm  Soccer game at Granizal 9:30pm  Snack before bed	7am Breakfast 8am—12 Attend soccer games of our league 12noon  Catch the Metro and lunch somewhere in town 1-4pm  Tour downtown Medellín—shop, etc. 6pm  Supper on the way back to stadium or order pizza
Sunday 22	Monday 23	Tuesday 24	Wed. 25	Thurs 26	Friday 27
8:30am Breakfast 10:30am  Attend church (divide up in 4 groups) 12  Lunch at churches 3pm  Leave for pro-soccer game  Nacional vs. Itagui 6pm  Supper out someplace	7:30am  Breakfast 9:30am  Fifth game—Group B 11:30am Fifth game—Group A 1:30pm  Sixth game—Group B (Messiah vs Alexis Garcia) 3:30pm Sixth game—Group A (CDUC vs La Academia) 6pm Supper with Board members	7am  Breakfast 9am  Visit San Cristobal Prison and play “micro-fútbol” with inmates 12 Lunch at stadium 2-5pm Lead soccer practice with our all-star teams (U-15; U-20) 6pm  Supper 9:30pm  Snack before sleep	7am  Breakfast 8-11:30am   Work on site. 12 lunch Semifinals: 1:30   1 A vs 2 B 3:30   2 A vs 1 B 6 pm Supper 9:30pm  Snack before sleep	8am  Breakfast 9-11am  Last minute work on site… 12  Lunch 3pm  Championship game 6pm  Supper and get things ready for return to States	AM:  Leave for airport and States.

Possible work projects:         

1)  Dig trench and pour concrete drain for synthetic grass soccer field; 

2)  build small “social hut” for camping area, and pour slab for camping area bathrooms; 

3)  dig trench and plant 400 plants that will become a  special hedge along the edge of our property.

Some video of the first day...

Our First Day

We are here safe and sound! We landed last night, met up with Marcos (Director of CDUC) and his family, then drove a bus through the winding mountains of Medellin and arrived at the CDUC stadium.  Our team is staying in a bunk room on the second floor of the stadium... this was just finished before we got here and we are the first to use it (I think they got it done quickly just for us!). We woke up today and jumped right in. We had a time of devotions and worship with the CDUC staff and coaches and then spent some time getting to know the coaches and staff here.  The language barrier was a new experience for many of us. It was a very evident obstacle for some and not so much for others (Kent and Brian, haha).  We then got a quick snack (nothing like soda at 10:30 in the morning) and then met again for a coaching clinic lead by Coach McCarty for the CDUC coaches.  We grabbed some delicious lunch from the CDUC´s cafeteria and we are about to start a practice session for the coaches here, where Coach McCarty will run through some Messiah drills with Messiah players and show the CDUC coaches some new and different drills and things.  Then we´ll play some small sided soccer with the coaches and hang out some more.  I believe we are going to visit the brownie factory later on today, which is part of the CDUC´s mission work here(we had some brownies last night and they were amazing).  It´s been an amazing day so far and it´s only just begun. Right off the bat I was struck with the realization that God´s love transcends all languages and cultures.  It was awesome to see English and Spanish Bibles opened up while listening to English and Spanish words proclaim the love and glory of God. 
Brushing up on my Spanish,
Sam

Updates will probably not be this frequent while we are in Colombia, but I thought I'd take advantage of my phone while it still works. The team is in Miami, next stop, Colombia! I think we get a meal on this next flight, which is cool for me because I've never flown internationally and never had a meal on a plane. - Sam

Posting from my phone... In Reagan Airport, made it through security, and hanging out by our gate. On our way to Miami, then on to Medellin!
Love, Sam

Time To GO!

In about 9 hours Messiah Men's Soccer team will embark on our 2011 Trip to Colombia. Guys are really excited, but I'm pretty sure guys will fall asleep pretty quickly considering that for the last 5 hours we've been vigorously cleaning our dorm rooms and packing our bags for the trip with RA's and RD's breathing down our necks.  It's hard to believe that it's finally happening, we're going, there's no turning back, the time is now! This time tomorrow we will be in Medellin, Colombia.  Next time I write on the blog it will be from the CDUC's computer.  Thank you for your continued prayers and support!
God Bless

Trip Preparation

Here is a short pre-trip preparation recap from the last few days:

Tuesday: Exams ended….finally!

Wednesday: Practice in the evening, team time and dinner

Thursday: Morning practice, afternoon practice, ran clinics for local soccer clubs, team dinner

We’d like to thank Carlisle Area Youth Soccer and Dillsburg Area Soccer Club for allowing us to run soccer clinics with their teams.  This gave our team an opportunity to practice working with young soccer players in a way similar to what we will be doing in Colombia. Messiah players ran 1.5 hour long sessions with girls and boys teams from u-9 to u-12 and they were set up in a way that mimicked they types of sessions we will run in Colombia.  Teams also donated gear and money to support our trip. Thank you players, coaches, and parents for being a part of our Colombia experience!

I cannot say it enough times to those who have supported us, Thank you! From the bottom of our hearts, we are truly appreciative of all the support given to us by friends, family, neighbors, churches, and teams.  God Bless.