Weekend Player Retreat!

Buenos Dias, amigos.

A few days ago the team took a bit of a break from the normal schedule to have a players retreat with the CDUC U-20 team. This overnight retreat provided our players a great way to build relationships with the future leaders of the CDUC. Many of the kids on the U-20 team also help coach at different sectors around Medellin and will become full time coaches in the future. It was a great way for our players to try to positively impact and encourage these future leaders and in turn be impacted by them.

The retreat started off with a fun game of tanks, a Messiah soccer staple. After some fun we split into groups and just had some discussion time. With enough bi-lingual speakers the language barrier wasn't a problem. This was a a chance for young men from different cultures to bond and learn about each other. It was really awesome to see connections being made and relationships being started between our players and theirs. The discussion time ended with a lot of rain and a little bit of Messiah mud wrestling on the field, which the CDUC players were quite entertained by. After dinner and some more conversation, we took to the field, somewhere we all felt comfortable in no matter what language we spoke. The hours of eliminator and 6v6 scrimmages flew by. That night a few of the CDUC players shared their testimonies with a group of our players. Some of their lives were very different and much harder than most of ours. They offered such a different and unique perspective on how God has helped them in such a hard city to grow up in.

The next day we concluded our retreat with a trip to a local waterfall where the players had a great time swimming and beating the heat. After a little swim, Ben Page, one of our favorite Charlotte Eagles, lead us in an interesting and challenging discussion. In this discussion, Ben challenged us to think about what our specific talents and gifts from God are, and how we can use them to carry out God's will in soccer and in life in general. Ben really tied up our retreat and our trip so far with a great message and discussion.

It was so awesome to see our players bond with the CDUC U-20's throughout this retreat. It wasn't just a chance for our players to take a break from coaching and manual labor. It was a chance for us to encourage these guys who are already making an impact in Medellin and sharing God's glory with so many kids who really need it. Medellin is a hard place for these players to stay on track in, so it was important for our players to take some time to let them know how awesome it is that they are taking so much time and effort to make a positive impact and encourage them to keep it up. The CDUC players also had a really positive impact on our players. Through relationships, discussions, and testimonies they provided a different and unique perspective that was challenging and inspiring to our players.

Dios De Bendiga!

MMS

Update from yesterday

Today the team split up into two groups- one went to a prison in Medellin to share testimonies and play a game against the inmates, and the other stayed at the stadium to do some work on the new field and then play against some guards from the same prison.

Marcos, the director of the club, gave us some background on the prison we were visiting. In the 80s and 90s, during the height of the drug wars, this prison was filled with the worst criminals from the various cartels, specifically their hitmen. Violence in the prison was out of control, with an average of 9 prisoners being murdered every day. The prison warden eventually gave up trying to keep peace in the prison and decided to basically let the military into the prison and let them clean it out, allowing them to do whatever they wanted to the prisoners.

Alvaro, one of Marcos’ closest friends and founders of the club, heard about the warden’s plan and went to plead with him to prevent such a loss of life. He asked for just one month to change the culture of the entire prison and stop the killings. He started going to the prison every day and talk to the prisoners about the love and forgiveness of Jesus. Bags of urine were thrown at him, and he received multiple death threats. But he refused to give up on the men in the prison and continued to return day after day. Eventually a full revival swept through the prison, and countless prisoners gave their lives to Christ and turned away from violence. Tables were filled with guns, knives, clubs, and every kind of weapon imaginable as prisoners chose to trust God to protect them instead of trusting in weapons and violence. By the early 2000s, the death rate in the prison had fallen to 2-3 a year. This was the prison we were allowed to visit and share our personal stories along with our love of soccer.

Friday afternoon through Saturday evening, we will be on a retreat at the stadium with the youth players (ages 15-20) from the club. Today we spent some time talking in small groups and getting to know each other as much as possible with broken Spanish and English, and after that we played some games indoors until the rain stopped. After that, we ate dinner and then played some pick-up soccer on the turf before bed. In the morning, we’re planning to go to a swimming hole a little ways up the river from the stadium and spend some more time together with the guys from the club and have a short devotional as well as share some testimonies with each other.

Many of these guys are assistant coaches of youth teams in sectors across the city of Medellin, and they give up hours of their day every week to coach young kids and love them like their coaches loved them when they first joined the club. Eventually some of them will join the club as full time coaches, completing a life-giving cycle that gives the kids of Medellin a chance to turn away from a life of drugs and hopelessness and find true joy in Jesus and in fellowship with other kids who encourage them to choose a better life than many of those around them.

Each player in the club has a different, beautiful story about how God brought them to the club and changed their mind about life, soccer and their future, and it’s a privilege to hear them as we get to know each other on the retreat.

Again, thank you so much for your prayers and support. God is doing amazing things here through the club, and you have been a huge part of it even though you are thousands of miles away.

Messiah Men’s Soccer

Nacional Game!

Y Gana Nacional !!

The whole city of Medellin seemed to come to a standstill as the sun finally set and the hour of kickoff all too slowly approached.  Televisions lined the street leading up to the CDUC complex, and friendly sidewalk shop owners passed out crates and stools for arriving fans to sit on.  Our team spread throughout the block as new amigos waved us over to join them for the long awaited game of the year.  Chants and fireworks seemed to be 100 times magnified as they echoed between the surrounding mountains. 

                A game comparable to Yankees vs Redsox, Nacional (the favorite in Medellin) was playing their longtime rival Boca Juniors, and were already down one goal on aggregate.  But any doubt of the possibility for victory was shredded within the first five minutes as the Nacional heroes managed to clinch an early golaso. The streets erupted with horns, chants, fireworks and flags.  But the celebrating fans were soon humbled as a Athletico Junior winger connected with a forward to tie the game 1-1, putting the opposition ahead 2-1 on aggregate. 

                The second half was filled with just as much excitement as the game began to open up and Nacional pushed harder and harder to find an equalizing goal.  Gasps and shouts of frustration could be heard simultaneously throughout the streets as shots were fired just wide or into the Boca goalkeeper’s hands.  Minutes ticked by like seconds as the green and white team struggled to find the back of the net.  And then, in the 90^th minute of play, Nacional was awarded a corner kick.  All of the team, including the keeper, flooded into the Athletico Juniors eighteen for a final attempt to equalize the game.

                All of Medellin fell silent in anticipation.  The ball was whipped in and SOME DUDE WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT THE NAME OF headed the ball with the force of the entire city of Medellin behind him.  The goalie had no chance, and Nacional had equalized the game!

                Penalties followed and the Nacional keeper was inches from saving Athletico’s first shot. Nacional pocketed their first as well.  The second Boca attempt was robbed away as (KEEPERS NAME) managed to get a hand on the ball to make the save.  Another Nacional goal followed.  Boca stayed in it, making their third, and again Nacional answered calmly passing yet another into the back of the net.  The fourth penalty for Boca was just of center, and the Nacional goalie was all over it, making the biggest save of the game.  As the fourth Nacional player approached the penalty spot it seemed the win was all but definite.  A few slow steps and then…GOLASOOO! Nacional had come back from a 2-1 deficit to win the title!

                What followed was one of the purest and strongest celebrations our team has ever seen.  The streets were filled with celebrating fans.  From little children to grandmas and grandpas everyone had become united in cheers and dancing.  Flour rained down from windows and fireworks lit up the sky.  The party lasted long into the twilight hours of the night but the sky was filled with light and the people of Medellin lit up the town.  We danced, popped Columbiana, threw flour and hugged amigos.  Victory was theirs, and we were along for the ride.

                It was an incredible experience to be a part of this event that means so much to the people here, and it meant a lot to us that our new friends here welcomed us and let us be a part of their victory and celebration. I don’t tend to think that God influences the outcomes of sporting events, but I couldn’t have prayed for a more miraculous ending to a game or a more memorable experience.

Thanks for keeping up with what we’ve been up to and for supporting us with your prayers.

-Lago 

Day 4 Update!

Buenos Dias!

We had another great and full day yesterday!

In the morning, half of us spent a couple hours working on the soccer field. We used shovels and pickaxes to dig a trench on the far side of the field, moving a lot of rocks and dirt. It was a great time of hard work, and our impromptu trivia game helped the time go by quicker (Benji was the clear cut winner, and it featured a lot of good Disney princess questions from Coach Faro). A group of us are preparing to go back out there and continue the trench today.

As we were doing that, some of our guys were helping coach in different sectors or neighborhoods, and a group was at the stadium helping coach the academy. There are over 3,000 kids in the club, and it has been really cool to get to work with some of these different groups.

We played another really tough game in the afternoon versus a team called Ferrarbula. The game ended at 1-1, but that doesn't begin to tell the story. We missed a handful of clear cut chances in the first half that could have really put the game in our control. In the second half, we took the lead about midway through, and were disappointed for our opponents to be given a penalty kick in the last 5 minutes to even up the score. Despite the result, it was a great learning experience for our team in a lot of different ways. It was also an honor to see the resurrection of Coach Faro's playing career at right back. He played great and almost had both of his legs broken from a late challenge from an opponent. Sawyer Nick also got into the game late, and looked great in the Messiah white! (former Calvin College player)

We rested throughout the evening, enjoying the company of many new friends we have made around the stadium. With the implementation of the new turf field, there are always a lot of different people around the complex and it makes it easy for us to interact with them, play soccer together, and practice our Spanish!

The original plan was to go to Zamora to coach a clinic at night, but that was cancelled due to a huge event in Medellin. Nacional, the main professional team in Medellin, was in the grand final versus Boca Juniors. The whole city would be heavily invested in watching this game, including us. Our team, and everyone from the stadium went just down the street to the local family shops to watch the game in the streets. It was an unbelievable cultural experience, and Ryan Lago is going to share more on this later this afternoon, so be on the lookout for that......

Glory a Dios!

MMS

A Quick Update from Danny Rowe and the Team!

Yesterday, Coach Samwell, Brandon, Robbie, Will, Coach Faro and I (Daniel Rowe) went to a clinic at one of the barrios in Medellin.  Even though we all stuck out like sore thumbs and the language barrier was present we still had a great time with the ninos. We started our clinic with a short devotional lead by Brandon West based on Jeremiah 29:11 and God's love for us. Brandon also talked about how God will never leave or forsake us and is always there for us. God has a plan for us and that is to prosper us and not harm us. God loves everyone and will never stop loving us. After the training session, we ended with Robbie sharing his player cards and prayer and it was amazing to see the kids leave with smiles on their faces.

As soon as each group returned from their clinics around Medellin we had to hurry into the locker room to play out first game in the Sawyer sponsored tournament. We faced a tough opponent in Antioquia Seleccion, and lost 2-1. After leading at the half, it was tough to see that lead go and for them to score the game-winner with two minutes left to steal all 3 points. We look forward at the opportunity to face another good team today, and get better as a group. 

In the evening we went to another clinic in Acevedo and trained with a lot of kids. This neighborhood has been transformed by the work of God through the CDUC and soccer. We worked with the younger kids for the first hour and a half and the older kids for the second hour. Mike Kovach was able to gave his testimony to the older group and Brian Ramirez gave a short message to the kids about how important they were in God's eyes and how much they were valued by him. We spent some time praying for the teams at Acevado, and after that, they put our team in the middle of the circle to lay their hands on us in prayer. What an encouragement to our team's spirit. We came back exhausted and content with a day well spent!P

Today, a lot of our guys are continuing to work on the new soccer field at the stadium, and a couple groups are running training sessions for different teams. We have a big game this afternoon versus a tough opponent again. Tonight we will go as a big group to a sector called "Zamora" to run a clinic, but more importantly to share the love and joy of Jesus! 

Please pray for our tired bodies today! We want to keep bringing the juice being an encouragement to everyone we interact with!

Muchas Gracias!

MMS

P.S. More pictures to come soon! 

Update: Days 1-2

Leaving Messiah early Sunday morning, we traveled all day, arriving in Medellin in the evening. The bus ride from the airport to the stadium complex in the suburb of Bello was jaw-dropping. As soon as we rounded the mountain and the city came into view, everyone’s eyes were glued to the window for the rest of the trip. The lights of the city at night were mesmerizing, rising up the steep mountains surrounding the city, eventually blending in with the stars that could be seen through the thick clouds. Once we got to the stadium complex and were welcomed warmly by Marcos, the director of C.D.U.C, several of us played a pick-up game under lights on the new synthetic turf field.

After eating a delicious breakfast made by the cooks here at the stadium, we had a time of worship and prayer with the C.D.U.C. staff. It was an awesome experience to sing worship songs we know well in English, instead sung in Spanish. It was a great reminder of how the church of Christ is global and that we have so much in common with Christians in an entirely different continent, despite countless differences in culture, language, and life experience.

Later in the morning, Coach McCarty lead a coaching clinic for the C.D.U.C. staff, beginning by talking about the importance of team chemistry, relational investment in players and coaches, and creating buy-in in the members of a team. After the talk, we demonstrated some of our foundational drills at Messiah and learned some new ones from the coaches at C.D.U.C. After the clinic, we began work projects at the stadium. C.D.U.C. is planning on building a new soccer field on the complex, so we cleared rocks and weeds from the field site and began work on drainage ditches and a rock retaining wall surrounding the field.

After a little break, we split up into 6 teams and played a round robin tournament on the turf stadium field, with Messiah players and C.D.U.C. staff intermixed. Everyone was pretty exhausted after a long day of work in the sun, but the competition was still great, and we played until after dark. After an excellent dinner, we walked down to some of the shops down the street and sampled some of the favorite local sodas, Postobon, Quatro, and Colombiana.

This morning several groups are heading off to different sectors of the city to help coach the various C.D.U.C. coaches with their youth teams in the morning. Once we all gather back at the stadium, we’ll get ready for our first tournament game at noon versus the top team in Medellin, Antioquia Seleccion!

Here are a few pictures from the first couple days: 

Getting the bus loaded upon arrival in Medellin

Checking out the new synthetic turf field at the stadium with the city lights in the background...followed by a pretty serious game of pick-up under the lights. 

Monday morning devotional with the CDUC coaching staff...a great time of singing, prayer, and a message from Coach McCarty on "Amigos y Amor" 

Coach McCarty and Coach Faro led a coaching clinic throughout the afternoon featuring demonstrations from the Messiah and CDUC players. 

Beginning to work on the new field going in above the stadium, Marcos down in front giving us our assignments. 

Making some new friends and showing off some of our skateboarding skills

Hanging out in some of the shops right outside the stadium, enjoying some snacks and drinks

Thanks for your prayers and support. We wouldn’t be here without you!

God bless,

Messiah Men’s Soccer

4 Days Until Departure!

The team assembles on Friday morning for 2 days of training prior to our departure.  Stay posted for more updates.

Here is a link to our prayer calendar if want to lift up the team throughout our trip.  We have set aside 9:19 pm
 each night to pause in prayer for the trip and invite you to join us throughout the coming weeks!  Our prayer comes out of Daniel 9:19 where Daniel calls out that God would be honored by his people.  This is our prayer as well.

To take a look back at our trip in 2011 as well as the small group of 4 that returned in 2012 scroll back through the blog.

Thanks for your support and encouragement!