Audience of One

Our AIA girls won their second game of the tournament today. They played the team that is hosting the tournament, UDLAP. It is neat to hear the players talking about how God is changing their attitudes of the game. They are not playing basketball for themselves, rather for an Audience of One. The AIA principles that were taught throughout the last week are being reviewed and applied on the court.

 Karli puts it up for 2.

 Jessica played on the AIA team two years ago with Katie, Marnie, and Erica. She agreed to play with the girls again as they lead this tour from the Mexico-end.

 Erica loves this game and it shows! :)

We have really gotten to know many of the UDLAP players. After the game five of them joined us for supper at Monchis. A few more showed up when we were getting ready to leave, so they came back to the apartment with us to hang out.

 The burgers and sandwiches were HUGE. Shelly's not sure what to do (below). 

There was quite a few spiritual conversations/Gospel sharing today! Praise God! Thank you so much for your prayers. The girls that came home with us after supper joined in praise singing in our living room with Katie playing the guitar. After singing the song "Audience of One" by Big Daddy Weave, Katie and Erica shared the meaning of the song and the reason behind AIA bringing a team to Mexico. It is so encouraging to see the girls take every opportunity to share their faith!

We're finding that our most successful outreaches have been the impromptu hang out times. God has been organizing these and opening up conversations that are directed toward Him. It's such a privilege to be a part of His work. :)

The Tournament Begins

Today was the first day of the tournament, our main outreach event. We had time in the morning to be tourists. The team had their first bus riding experience as we rode the bus to the entrance of the pyramids in Cholula. However, everyone was able to sit down on the bus, so they didn't quite receive the full experience. :) We slowing made our way up the pyramid to find a magnificent view of the city and a beautiful church.

The team gathered in prayer before their game against Tec (below). Seven gringas and two Mexicans make up the team with quite the mixture of basketball backgrounds (ranging from no experience to college experience).

It was a fun game to watch! The score was always close, but AIA came ahead in the end. Ganamos! The following is text from Katie's blog for a player's perspective:

We won our game, in a pretty exhausting 65-71 victory.  It is such a blast playing with these girls against some really tough competition.  We are all attempting to transform our minds into thinking about sport as an opportunity to worship.  We have talked a lot about a “thank-you” response: playing with a broader purpose in mind, for eternal glory, and giving our 100% all the time because God has given us the ability and passion to play this game.

We stayed around to cheer for the teams playing the second game and mingle with the girls from Tec. 

We had girls from each of the three universities in the tournament join us for dinner. Abbey and Katie were able to share the Gospel with three Mexican athletes! We also handed out some bracelets with the Gospel message and were able to explain their significance.

After flautas, we gathered at a common area in our dorm to watch the Lion King. It was Abbey and Karen's first time seeing this Disney classic. Despite the glitchy internet and thunderstorm, the evening was a success! It is so nice being so close to campus. It's easy to invite girls over. Also, each opportunity we get, we walk across the street to campus to see if we'll run into anyone we know.

This glorious view is looking down the street we live on, Camino Real. God's Creation never ceases to remind me of His glory!

Today was a pretty full day. The team's time here in Mexico is winding down. Please pray for energy as we keep up this sprint to the end. It was so encouraging to have so many girls come to our outreach event today. We plan on having something each night. Pray for continued boldness in having spiritual conversations and for girls to come to our outreach events. Thank you!

Victory Beyond Competition

Popo decided to finally show face today. What a glorious sight!

Today was the last day before the tournament. In the morning we had breakfast and team time in the caf. Katie spoke on the last AIA Principle - Victory Beyond Competition. This principle focused on living with an eternal perspective and using our talents for the Lord completely and immediately.

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I wouldn't have a single bit of talent left and I could say, 'I used everything You gave me.'"
                                                                                                       --Erma Bombeck

The girls practiced with the UDLAP basketball team and then joined most of the team for lunch in the caf. At 4 o'clock we left to go help at a basketball camp. Two girls from UDLAP were able to join us.

We partnered up with a missionary family who focuses on reaching a poor neighborhood in Puebla. They organized a 2-hour basketball camp that we led. 

 (above) Katie and Marnie lead the kids in a cheer as they get ready to switch stations. 

The kids cycled through five different stations, played dribble tag, and participated in a dribble relay. Amy is leading the kids through some defensive drills in the picture above.

I (Mandi) shared my testimony, and Marnie translated. The kids sat attentively, and the rain held off until after the story. Praise God! The kids wanted to keep playing, even after the scheduled 2 hour camp was over. They were so precious. :)

Week 2 Begins

Time sure has flown by! This is the last week that the basketball team is here. We have many outreach events planned and want to be very intentional with the time that we have left.

After morning practice with the UDLAP girls and grabbing Subway at the school caf, we dispersed throughout the campus to enjoy lunch with Jesus. It was a good time to review the last week and what God has been teaching us. The pic above is a view of the pond on campus.

Today we moved into the UDLAP dorms. We're in an 8-person suite with four bedrooms, a common kitchen/living room area, a bathroom, and a washer and dryer. The dorm is right across the street from the main campus. It is going to be a huge blessing to be able to walk to campus rather than the 30 minute commute from our apartment.

Katie was sick today, so Natalie stepped in as the team's coach for the evening scrimmage with UDLAP. Natalie has never played basketball in her life, but she gave the coaching position 100%. Sarah commented on Facebook, "Natalie just gave the best pre-game talk known to basketball: don't let them score, stay on your man, and get it in the hoop. Go team." Our team won the scrimmage...maybe Natalie has found a new calling. ;)

After the evening scrimmage, we went out for tacos at La Suprema Salsa. Three UDLAP girls came. What a great way to end the day!

Domingo (Sunday)

Today was a pretty relaxing day. We went to El Puente, a small bi-lingual church. The pastor spoke on 2 Samuel 11, the story of David and Basheba. He reminded all of us that sin is deceitful. Even David, the man after God's heart, fell into sin. Everyone is susceptible. We need to keep our hearts in check, realize that we are not above a fall like David's, think through the consequences, and find an accountability group. We are in battle with the flesh until glory; therefore, take heed. We may be in battle, but it is a comfort to know that the victory has already been won.

"Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall." --1 Cor.10:12

"But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." --1 Cor. 15:57

 Singing English and Spanish praise songs at church.

 Karli enjoying her freshly squeezed juice drink at lunch. Mexico has the best juice!

We went to the market for some fresh fruit and souvenir shopping. The rain slowed us down a little, but we had a fun afternoon buying gifts and spending quality time together.

It's been a challenge getting the basketball girls to come to our outreach events. Hopefully, being in the dorms this week will give us more opportunity to get to know them. Please pray for boldness in conversation and opportunities to hang out with the basketball girls.

Man Overboard!

Before the rooster crowed early this morning, we lined the streets in front of our house to catch a cab to Tec. We were off on a Saturday excursion! We met up with our friend Carlita, her brother, and two friends. Her brother, Beto, is a rafting guide in Hacomulco and served as our guide for the day. He was not only one of our rafting guides, but also gave us historical lessons on the bus ride and led us on a hike to a swimming hole.

Pics from the day:

Gearing up to get in the rafts. we listen to the safety instructions. The Spanish words for forward, backward, and stop will forever be ingrained in my mind: adelante, atrás, alto.

Concerned expressions were displayed throughout the group while the guides explained to us the different safety positions and paddling commands.

Each guide had a video camera attached to his helmet to document the rapids experience. We were on the water for about 2 hours conquering 18 rapids!

Two guides stayed close to us in kayaks, especially during the class 4 rapids. In the picture above, there is a blue helmet in the water beside the boat. Abbey fell out when the boat was pushed up against the rock wall by the rapids. She was quickly rescued and pulled back into the boat.

It was a beautiful day for rafting. It was neat to look up and see the trees and mountains lining the river. God's Creation is breathtaking!

We survived and loved it! :)

During the safely lesson, we learned that if you fell out of the raft and could no longer see the raft, you were to take the safety position (lift your feet up and float on your back) and wait for a rope or kayak. The roar of the river would be so loud that you would not be able to hear your rafting guide's commands. This, however, was not necessary since we had spent time learning the commands, situations, and responses. Even without the visual and audible presence of the guide, we would know that he was working to reach us. 

This reminded me of my walk with Christ. At times I am in the raft with other believers, paddling hard, responding to a clear voice. Then a big wave (trial) comes, and I am washed away from community. Things become rough, I feel alone, and it's hard to see that God is working. If I know the safety instructions (i.e., the Bible), then I know that God is at work. Even if the only thing I can hear is a distant whistle, I know that a rope is coming.

"For He has said, 'I will never leave you, nor forsake you.'" 

Hebrews 13:5b

It's important to be familiar with the Safety Instructions for when the waves grow high and we lose sight of the Guide.

This adventure concluded our first week with the AIA team. The "training camp" part of the trip is over. We will now be focusing more on ministry opportunities and outreach. Thank you for your prayers! I'll keep you updated. :)

Basketball and Relationships

This morning we went to Tec for the second day in a row to practice and scrimmage with their team. Tec has an interesting set up for the basketball gym. They have three courts in a row under a huge tent/dome area. One would not expect a basketball game to be rained out or mosquito spray to be a necessary spectator survival item, but at Tec this is a reality.

The white worm-like canopy is the gym with tennis courts in front and the weight room in the building on the far right. All of this is situated in a valley by a river, thus the mosquito problem.

Morning practice. The girls have been doing great! The altitude is still a challenge for some, but the team is starting to gel. :)

In the afternoon, we once again piled into two taxis (we are becoming experts at loading into small vehicles) and joined the Casa Verde (campus ministry at UDLAP) in visiting an orphanage. A few basketball girls from UDLAP joined us. For a few of them, it was their first visit to an orphanage. The Moms of the orphanage were going out and took all the girls with them to church once we arrived. So our group of 14 girls were left to play with the boys of the orphanage. Not quite what we expected, but it turned out great. Marnie led crafts with the younger boys, and many of us joined in on a soccer game played on the basketball court with the older boys. The kids were very interactive and loved having people to play with.

This pic was primarily UDLAP girls, us, and Heith (he works with Casa Verde) until the boys noticed a picture was being taken. There was a quick stampede and all of a sudden the group had doubled! They were quite the photogenic group!

Shelly shoots to score, definitely in her element. She played soccer throughout college, but is putting on a basketball jersey to help the AIA team for the upcoming tournament.

To end the day, we went to John and Natatlie's house for a great meal of chicken casserole (made by Katie), a watermelon & blueberry lettuce salad, garlic bread, asparagus, and Natalie's famous banana bread cupcakes. Yum! We arrived in time to interact with the kids before they went to bed. Then Natalie gave an hour and 45 minute talk on relationships. She covered topics from how God views women to what a husband/wife relationship looks like as the years go by and kids come along. As eyes were drooping and energy fading, we ended the session by asking John and Natalie relationship questions. Only a group of girls can talk about relationship stuff after a long day until 11:30 pm at night!

Reason for the Hope

Today was a day full of basketball and more basketball. We joined Tec for morning practice, scrimmaged with UDLAP in the evening, and watched the NBA play-off game to end the night. Lots of basketball!

Here are some pictures from throughout the day:

 The scrimmage against UDLAP

 The AIA girls in a huddle. They have had many opportunities in the various practice and scrimmages to work at applying the principles Audience of One, Inside Game, and Holy Sweat.

 After the scrimmage, everyone headed across the street to the Casa Verde to watch the NBA play-offs on a projected screen. We served pizza, brownies, and ice cream as a treat.

 During half-time Amy shared her testimony. She didn't even need a translator!

 Here are some UDLAP girls listening to the Gospel presentation.

Katie explained the Gospel, the reason that there are many gringas around playing basketball. Abbey was translating.

This was the first major outreach event. Please pray for the hearts of those who heard the Gospel that God would do a mighty work in their lives. Also, pray for energy as the team is still getting use to the high altitude and a new culture. Thanks! :)

Flautas and Holy Sweat

Wednesday morning was filled with worship and team time. Katie and Marnie led a talk on the Holy Spirit. We talked about the characteristics of the HS, and His role in our lives.

 Abbey and Katie led worship first thing in the morning.

  Marnie gave an illustration of what it looks like to walk in the Spirit using a bottle of water and some oil. 

After lunch at the mall food court, we headed to UDLAP for another team time. Erica led the talk over the third AIA principle entitled 'Holy Sweat/Wholly Surrender.' This principle focused on how to grow. Basically... it takes sweat. It takes hard work and discipline to memorize Scripture, to get in the Word, and to submit your life to God daily. Also, in this, remembering that we can't live the Christian life on our own. It requires each day relying on the Holey Spirit to be your strength for life and sport. 

Some verses that relate:

1 Timothy 4:7-8  "...Train yourself for godliness, for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come."

Psalm 73:26  "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my hear and my portion forever."

In the evening, the our girls practiced with the UDLAP basketball girls, and then we went out for flautas!

Please pray for deeper relationships with the UDLAP and Tec girls. There will be more and more interaction with them as the week goes on.