This summer, the Mobilization Office sent 45 teams to countries all over the world, and three teams had the responsibility of using sports as a way to share love with people.
Currently there are 68 sovereign nations and non-sovereign dependencies in the 10/40 Window, the part of the world that is most unreached. Three teams went overseas for the purpose of reaching people through sports. One team was sent to the 10/40 Window. Two were sent to Spain.
California Baptist University’s two-time National Cheerleading Association champion cheerleading team was the only team whose members were comprised only of CBU athletes. While in Spain, their task was to teach cheer to young girls.
Dulce Velasquez, junior business administration and sociology double major, was part of the cheerleading team and she said being in Spain to teach cheer was a challenge.
“Being a cheerleader from the States was probably the best way to engage in conversations with people, especially when there was a group of nine of us,” Velasquez said. “It was a perfect time to build relationships.”
The Spain recreational sports team was also in-country during the same three-week period as the cheer team. Their job was to teach a variety of sports to children ranging between the ages of five and 18. The two teams even got to work together on many different occasions.
In the updates every team sent home, both teams emphasized what a great opportunity it was to get to know one another and work together.
Even though each team’s task was to teach children how to cheer or play sports, the teams did not lose sight of the bigger picture of sharing love and compassion.
Katie Liddell, junior kinesiology major and member of the rec sports team, said that her time in Spain was used to solidify love in her heart.
“No matter the race, religion, language or gender of any group of people, love always finds a way to break through any barrier and form an eternal bond,” Liddell said.
Velasquez said she also learned a valuable lesson while teaching the sport she loves so much.
“I learned to let (God) take charge,” Velasquez said. “Things came together, and the fruit that our camps produced was probably the best experience I was a part of.”
