Serving Beyond the Team: Part 1
By: Kacie Morgan
At George Fox University, there is more to being a student-athlete than simply morning workouts, long film sessions, and weekend competitions. As Christian competitors, we realize the platform we’ve been given to excel in our sport is merely the medium by which Christ is shown to all who are watching. This, however, is not limited to merely the playing field or the gym.
Spring break of 2017 was an example of one of the many ways the athletes at George Fox were able to serve in a greater capacity than just their commitment to a team. Seven athletes representing the school’s football, women’s soccer, volleyball, track, and cheer teams took part in a medical missions trip to Haiti.
Travel and Arrival:
Before leaving, each student was given a large bag of medical supplies to pack underneath their own clothes, in order that we would not be questioned when we arrived in the country. We then sprayed our clothes and sleep sacks with bug repellent and were on our way.
Our schedule consisted of about a five-hour flight to New York, a short 40-minute layover, and another two-hour flight to Florida. We had a couple hours in Florida to get adjusted to the heat and the ever-so-foreign sun before our last quick flight left for Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
We really cannot begin to describe to you the emotions of flying over Haiti, or arriving in an airport where everyone was clamoring to take our bags, and our business. There were many different men dressed in a variety of strange uniforms directing us in opposite directions. It wasn’t long before our group had gotten separated.
Eventually, with the help of our host, we reunited and made it to our van. We were finally able to take a breath. Well, only for a moment. Once driving, I believe half the group was holding on for dear life while the other was attempting to record the chaos going on around them. If there were rules of the road, they were not adhered to. Cars were driving on the wrong side, while others were passing within inches of oncoming traffic, and still others would constantly honk merely to get one car in front of the other.
A short 10 minutes later and we had arrived at our guest house. Driving up to it, one would never have guessed its size or the charm of the hosts due to the 12-foot walls surrounding it, and the unpaved road leading up to its driveway. Dinner was waiting, hot and ready when we arrived. There were fresh-steamed vegetables, roasted goat, potatoes, mangoes and rice. It was certainly a welcome sight, after a long day of Pringles and airplane coffee.
After an incredibly satisfying meal, we unloaded all the medical supplies and sorted them into their respective bags, counted medication, and assigned roles for the following morning. Everything was prepped for the next day, except us. We may have told you we were ready, but nothing could have prepared us for what God had waiting at the little church just up the road.
