The trip to Medellin went smooth and we were again welcomed by an excited group at the airport. We are adjusting to our living conditions here which have posed a few challenges. But I’ll save those details for you to hear in person.
Medellin is much different that Cartagena as it sits in a mountainous area. It is cooler and we are staying much closer to the downtown area. There is constant commotion outside, music, maracas, singing, traffic and noise. This week is the annual fair/ holiday here in Medellin so it is exceptionally “buzzing”.
This morning we had a shoot around and the Teleantioquia Local News (3 million viewers) had reporters to film and interview a couple of our players. Erika shared her story and Alisha shared about the mission of AIA. Along the TV reporters a journalist for the El Mundo (1/2 million readers) interviewed the team as well. It is dumbfounding that being able to dribble a basketball provides such a huge platform to share the truth of Christ in a relevant way.
Tonight was our first game in a 4 team tournament against other universities. Again the TV reporters were there doing a sports special as well as the university paper, Angulo Deportivo, which circulates to the 15,000 students at this specific university. It started out back and forth until about 12 points into the game and then our press proved to be too much for the University of Antioquia to handle. In the second quarter we ran away with the game and ended up winning by almost 50.
Becca did an awesome job of as she shared her testimony at halftime of the game in front of the whole coliseum as the girls handed out evangelistic brochures to the fans. Oh and she shared it in Spanish! It is fun to watch fans as they listen intently especially when and athlete they are coming to watch play basketball shares in their native tongue.
After the game, (which is typical) our team met with the other team and Shelly shared her testimony. Eyes were glued to Shelly as she shared about how she used to feel alone even when she was in a group of people. She continued on to tell about how Christ changed her life and filled the emptiness that she had once known. We gave them each a gift which consisted of a sports Bible study and a DVD, Struggle and Triumph. (If you would like you can get a copy on www.aiagear.com.)
During our discipleship/ team time we are leaning more about having a personal quite time with the Lord and what that looks like for different people. It is so encouraging to hear real conversations as the team has built a high level of trust. The questions and answers are not the “Sunday school” ones.
Praise:
1. Before we left Cartagena, Ellen, Alisha, and Luke had breakfast with William. We had the privilege of sharing the gospel with him and from my limited human perspective he seemed very responsive as he prayed with us to receive Christ!
2. We had a safe trip to Medellin.
Prayer Request:
1. Pray for the physical, mental, emotional health of our team as well as spiritual growth.
2. Pray for the clinic and games that are still to come that they would be a way to share our love for Jesus.