June 23, 2017 LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE Baylor Bears Fruit From 3rd Mission Trip to Brazil By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
For the previous four years, whenever he was asked about going on the Baylor Sports Ministry trips to Africa or Brazil, Taylor Young's standard response was, "Nah, that's just not me."
And even though he signed up this time, the fifth-year senior linebacker from De Soto, Texas, thought several times, "No, I'm not going to go."
Now, after last month's trip to Maceio, Brazil, Young is ready to go back . . . now.
"I built a relationship with the pastor there, and I'm for sure going back," said Young, part of the 46-person ministry team that included 41 student-athletes and five leaders representing seven sports.
"TY and I had a conversation like the last day, and I said, `Could you see yourself coming back here and doing this for like a month?''''junior offensive tackle Patrick Lawrence said. "And he said, `Man, I could see myself doing it for a few years.' It was that type of thing, where we were just really passionate about what we were doing."
I went on this trip not knowing what I wanted, not really sure what I was going to do to contribute to the trip. You know, maybe I was here to change lives or leave a huge impact. Instead, I came here and experienced a transformation.
- Young (from May 22 blog entry)
That's been the common theme in each of the Baylor Sports Ministry's mission trips over the last nine years, including the last three to Brazil. They go to try to impact and change lives, and it's their lives that are changed and impacted the most.
"It's such a wonderful opportunity for our student-athletes," said David Wetzel, Associate AD for Football Operations, who joined with Wes Yeary, Kim Scott, Tierra Barber and Dr. Ted Phipps as leaders on the trip. "It was great for me. It was very eye-opening for a guy like me. As I've told a lot of people, I feel very spoiled with all the comforts of the world that I live in. I've got everything I need. These people live in a whole different world. They have nothing, but they are thankful and they're OK with it."
Working with pastor Jonson Henrique of Igreja Batista no Trapiche, the group did sports clinics and gospel presentations at area schools and the after-school program at the church each day. The student-athletes, particularly the football players, were like rock stars with the children.
"I'm sure they were saying all kinds of jokes at first, just because we don't look like them," Young said. "But, by the second or third day, they don't want to let you go. Whenever it was time to leave, those kids were crying and telling us, `Don't go!' And they had all these personal notes, in their language and translated into English. It was a huge deal for me."
Senior guard Kristy Wallace from the women's basketball team watched the mobs of children swarm around sophomore Natalie Chou.
"Every kid wanted a photo with her and a signature from her," Wallace said. "And she dove herself into that, didn't hold back. She gave everything, which was really special to see."
One of many first-timers, Chou said it helped having Wallace on the trip with her, because "Kristy's like a celebrity when it comes to student-athletes. Everybody knows who she is, and she's really friendly with everyone else. So, people would just come up to her, and I was always with her."
Each athlete felt like a celebrity, because everyone had lines of kids waiting to sign their Bible or take `selfies' with them. The amount of joy that these kids hold for some of the simplest things is quite amazing to me. Many of the kids took girls' hair ties and others necklaces, one even cried she was so excited. I pray that the kids back in America can learn to appreciate the simple things in life as these kids do. Brazilian kids don't need a TV or cell phone or even a ball, just a little bit of space and an old water bottle will do just fine for their games of soccer.
- Maddie Chenowith, equestrian (from May 18 blog entry)
At the end of some particularly long days, Wetzel, Yeary and the eight football players on the trip put the Maceio Marechais football team through practices that sometimes didn't end until midnight. With players aged 18 to 30, the team had to practice late because of conflicts during the day with jobs or school.
"They play out of a pure love of the game," Yeary said of a team that went from "worst to first" last year. "They have to find their own equipment and pay their own way to get to places. They work together to help each other and even share equipment. They have such a hunger to learn and to grow, both from a football standpoint as well as spiritually."
Lawrence, who was working with the offensive linemen, said the language barrier was a struggle the first day. Portuguese is the native language of Brazilians, with most of them learning only limited English through television, movies and music.
"I'm trying to teach them a six-man protection, and I'm drawing in the sand, trying to use my fingers," he said.
"It was straight charades," Young said.
What helped break down those barriers was when Wetzel came in during the middle of the trip and was joined by a football coach from another part of Brazil, Alexandre "Alex" Ribeiro.
Out of the blue, Ribeiro had sent Wetzel an email, asking if he could talk football and maybe come visit at Baylor.
"I told him I was going to be in Brazil three days later," Wetzel said. "And as I've learned, Brazil is a huge country. He was as far away from us as Florida is from New York. . . . So, he flies up and meets us at the hotel the night I get there. And he basically became our translator. Now, that's a God thing, for sure."
The Baylor players also discovered that coaching isn't that easy.
"Our guys were able to learn that it's a little frustrating sometimes when you tell somebody something and they don't do it," Wetzel said.
Speaking to Yeary, Young revealed, "This reminds me so much of my freshman year. I know Coach was telling me what to do, but I also knew I wasn't getting it all. I can really see that now."
Because of the football connection and the difference in ages, Lawrence said there were bonds developed with the Marechais football players that you couldn't get in short sessions with the children.
"You grow close to the kids, but I felt like I couldn't have a meaningful conversation with them about anything," he said. "You can't really have a meaningful conversation about God or their lives or things going on with them. But, with the football team, I could. I felt like I grew a lot closer with them."
On one of the last days, the Marechais played a scrimmage game in Pele Stadium against a higher-level, basically professional team and lost, 28-14.
"It was like the JV going against the varsity," Lawrence said.
But, Young said, "It was just a great experience, because these guys really wanted to learn. I would be dead-tired going to practice, but I would see their eyes and see how they were just glowing. They were so excited to learn from guys that are playing at a higher level, so they wanted to soak in everything."
While American football is relatively new to Brazil, its roots and passion are in futbol, or soccer. The Brazilian men have won five World Cup titles, captured the gold medal at last year's Olympics hosted by Brazil and are currently ranked No. 1 in the world.
"Whatever ball you take out there, it becomes a soccer ball," Wallace said.
It helped that this year's group included nine players from the Baylor soccer team, including native Brazilian Aline De Lima.
I was able to share my testimony about my journey from Brazil to the USA and Baylor and how I've grown my faith. For me, that was a scary moment, but also a great opportunity to tell those kids that God has a plan for their lives and that their dreams are possible, too. . . . I was in their spot when I was young, and now I am doing what they dream to be doing, studying while playing the sport that all Brazilians love, soccer.
- Aline De Lima, soccer (from May 23 blog entry)
Yeary ended a nine-year run as Baylor Athletics Chaplain on May 31, but hopes that the mission trips will continue in the years to come.
"I think the mission trips have had as great an impact on the lives of our students as anything that we have done," he said. "I just know the value and have seen God at work in the lives of those we serve, as well as the lives of our students that go. I just think it's an amazing experience for them to get to share in during their time here at Baylor, and feel like it's part of who Baylor is. I'm just thankful to have been a part of it."
Young certainly echoes those thoughts, saying, "I would tell anybody to go, like anybody, because it's just a great experience. It made a huge impact on my life." To read more of the blog entries from this year's trip, go to http://www.baylorbears.com/sportsministry/
Here is a list of the Baylor Sports Ministry team that went on the 10-day mission trip to Brazil:
Soccer (9): Jackie Crowther, Aline De Lima, Haley Foster, Ariel Leach, Jody Lee, Caitlin Schwartz, Halee Sowinski, Sommer Stanley, Camryn Wendlandt
Football (8): Quan Jones, Dalton Justice, Jarrod Koym,, Patrick Lawrence, Blake Murphy, Wyatt Schrepfer, Trevor White, Taylor Young
Acrobatics & Tumbling (8): Alexsis Amrhein, Camryn Bryant, Makenah Cotner, Molly Gibbons, Kati Horstmann, Gigi Mendoza, Hannah Schumacher, Allison Steele
Equestrian (5): Maddie Chenowith, Alicia Gasser, Samantha Howell, Maddie Johnson, Julia Rodriguez
Volleyball (4): Hannah Fluegel, Camryn Freiberg, Amanda Lesikar, Tara Wulf
Track and Field (4): Anatalia Ashcroft, Eva Morrison, Katy Parsons, Lindsay Walton
Women's Basketball (2): Natalie Chou, Kristy Wallace
Club Soccer (1): Victoria Rydelski
Trainer (1): Shani Thompson Athletic staff/leaders (5): Tierra Barber, Dr. Ted Phipps, Kim Scott, David Wetzel, Wes Yeary
