Europeans have been bruised by the church. The church, meaning the people. Here, the church has taken advantage of the people – spending money on building beautiful buildings, allowing people to sin as long as they pay a tax and literally abusing them.

One night, as always, we were sitting on the huge couch in our hostel, just chatting away about anything and everything. We’re all spread out throughout the room and our hostel owner comes over and asks me a simple question. “What exactly is Athletes in Action?” A little background on the relationship with him. I have been emailing him, probably since March or April when I was looking for housing for our group. Through emails, I got the impression he was a great guy and I was looking forward to meeting him when we got to Leuven. Although I did not really know him, I did through the emails and it would be nice to actually “know” someone in a foreign country. Then we moved into the hostel and our group kind of took over the place (there’s 15 of us). Each morning our group would have our quiet time spread out in the room or outside. He watched. How we interacted with each other, he watched.

So when he asked his question, he already had some preconceived notion about who and what we are. Apparently he had gone to our website before we came and had been wanting to ask that question since we arrived. Well, that simple question led into an hour and a half conversation, which covered a lot of stuff, but mainly the difference between religion and a relationship with God. A few people in our group were able to share parts of their story and the Gospel.

But seeing the hurt in his eyes when he talked about how a member of his family had been abused by the church, it broke my heart. That is not God. God is love, God is grace, God is mercy. God may allow us to go through challenges and trials to strength us and allow us to grow closer to Him, but He doesn’t take advantage of us. He may use us to accomplish something for His glory, but He doesn’t abuse us.

There are a lot of barriers we have to fight through. It’s not that the people of Europe don’t want to hear what we have to say – it’s just that they don’t know or don’t understand. What they’ve heard and experienced their whole life is so different from what we have to share. We’re not fighting against people, we’re fighting against years of hurt and pain.

Paul’s words in Ephesians fits perfectly with this situation:

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Please be in prayer for our hostel owner, that with the time we have remaining in Leuven, we are still able to make an impact on his heart. And please pray for the people of Belgium, that what they have seen the church to be, is not how God is.

Yesterday we became very European…we rented bikes. It has been many years for many people since they’ve ridden a bike…I LOVE it! I feel like we just upped our status from mere pedestrian to cyclist

The ministry has been good. Everyone is having lots of conversations with people. It’s hard not to when people hear we’re from America. Our team unity has gotten better (thanks for your prayers!) I really believe that being in one place and being able to stick to a schedule has helped a ton. Our team times are going well and I love how the conversations are going. God also provided a room for us to meet in for team times…we had been meeting in a park and it’s been hard to hear the music. We get to check this room out tomorrow.

Rachel and I explored the city a bit again today…saw a HUGE statue of Mary and baby Jesus. I know, I know, I really need to upload some photos. I promise to do that soon.

Thanks for your prayers…God has been answering them.

As with most trips, nothing goes as you plan. We technically didn’t have a SPECIAL for this tour, but the last four days seems to qualify as one. For our first day, my thought was to fly into Brussels, go to the track where our first meet was going to be held to shake out and see the facility and then get up to Gent where we were staying for the first two nights. We did all of that eventually, but a bus, a train, another bus, lots of sun, lack of sleep and lack of food later…we made it to the hostel. Needless to say, we had some unhappy campers, but they were troopers and I was proud of my team for pushing through and being flexible (at least on the outside).

We toured Gent a little bit and I had a chocolate waffle…delicious! Extremely rich, but extremely delish! On our second night there was a little music festival going on outside our hostel and we made a friend. A few people met a guy named Philip and we’ve kind of adopted him into our group. I don’t know his full story, but he is an interesting fellow with a HUGE servant heart.

Our first meet was held in Oordegem and the team did really well. Colin placed first in the disc, Mary placed first in the disc and third in the shot, Zara took second in the shot, Jazzy won the high jump and Katie, Matt and Blake all had decent runs (considering we’re still fighting jet lag and lack of sleep and too much traveling). There were about 900 athletes in this meet and the team was able to connect with both European and american athletes. It was fun to see some familiar faces.

I was able to finally meet the meet director who I had been emailing the past two months. It was good to put a face with a name. Another highlight of the trip for me was seeing all the beer at the meet. For some reason, it just cracked me up! One gentleman brought out beer to one of the workers (when usually it’s water).

After the meet, we caught a train to Brussels. Again, our “SPECIAL” continued. After we got to Brussels, I thought a 10-15 min walk would be okay. Well, I forgot to factor in the facts we were tired, we all had our luggage…and it was all uphill. Bless my team’s hearts! They’re amazing.

The only problem with Brussels is our team had to split up – ladies in one place, the gentleman in the other. Not ideal at all and it has caused lots of problems I didn’t foresee. Lots of confusion, lack of communication has caused a lot of the team to become frustrated. I pray our time in Leuven will be much better. We will be in this place for the next 20 days and we will all be in the same location.

Today is the 4th of July. Instead of getting a blanket, heading out to some park or my family’s cabin to watch some fireworks. I spent the day playing tourist in Brussels. My one thing I wanted to see was Manneken Pis. I know, I’m a weirdo, but I saw it and it was as I expected it…a statue of a little boy peeing. Then Rachel, our trainer and I played in down town Brussels while the rest of the group went where the Tour de France actually was being held. Being in a big crowd really isn’t my forte, so I much more enjoyed touring the city. We walked to the Royal Palace (kinda got lost, but took lots of fun pictures on the way). Then we went back to the Grand Place to watch the Tour de France. They had a big screen set up, so Rachel and I got some ice cream and popped a squat on the cobblestone and watched the race with a smaller crowd. I loved it!

We did some more walking around and came back to the hostel. While I was sitting talking with our director, out walks Philip. This guy came down to Brussels to hang out with us. Blew me away, but he must see something in us that is attractive to him that he would come all the way down from Brussels. Crazy!

Tomorrow we head down to Leuven.
Prayer requests for our team:

Team unity
The frustration clears up
Travel to Leuven
For Philip as he hears the Gospel multiple times and he hears over and over that Jesus loves him…that this seed would be planted in his heart and take root.

For more of a description of what’s going on in the first three parts, check out my latest newsletter here

Training Camp:

The SPECIAL:

Team USA Clinics:

Random Funny Stuff:

The kids were fabulous! With such small numbers, we were able to get to know them a lot better. The clinic was held at Northwood University in Midland, MI. We stayed in the dorms there and had a lot of down time – more family time. I think the highlight for me from this trip was Saturday night. One of the moms invited us out to their house for a bonfire and roast hot dogs and marshmallows. I was in heaven, because they had three little kitties! Valerie, our host for the weekend, brought her little dog, Duke out, so there were animals running all around. Another family from the clinic came out as well, so we got to know some of the kids even better and had a blast hanging out with this family. Then the dad decided to take us out on a hayride. Basically, a little wagon attached to a tractor and took us through the woods. It was a blast! Little Hannah was squished inbetween all the big guys…hilarious! We got stuck once and we went over a bridges and I was wondering how the dang thing was able to support us. Luckily, no casualties!

Once again, on the last day, we had a track meet. This was definitely not your traditional track meet! We found out what events the kids wanted to run and came up with our own order of events. It was completely laid back and a lot of fun. We had another AIA 4×100 team and a few hodge-podge 4×100 teams. I actually ran an open 100. Then Neil was able to show the kids some sweet long jumps and busted out some triple jumps. Everyone wants all of us to come back next year, which I think is the hardest part about these trips. That’s a guarantee I can’t make, but it was fun to see such a desire to have something like this and the potential has barely been tapped up there.

Kevin Sides, AIA staff at the University of Florida, joined us at this point in our trip to complete our team. He served as our team discipler and we were going to take on Colossians. We also began our second clinic in Lebanon, OH. This time, our team were the main coaches and we were the ones running the show. We didn’t have any wee kiddies like in Zanesville, but the ages ranged from about 8-17. I had a few vaulters to work with. Only one had ever vaulted before and she hadn’t vaulted much. I LOVED it! I had clean slates to work with and the kids were so much fun! I could joke around and yet be serious with them. Some of them should probably pursue other events, but they were such a joy to work with and I loved their willingness to just try.

Our clinic was 3 days long and each day two people from our team got to share their stories with the kids, so everyone had the opportunity to share. Again, I was like a proud mamma watching her kids step out and do their thing (by this time, the team had all started calling me “mom”). It was fun to see them compare their stories to movies like Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast and Titanic to be able to connect and reach the kids. At the end of the week, 21 of the kids accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior!

During this week we had more down time and we were able to connect with one another and grow closer as a family. We spent a lot of time playing Nintendo Wii and learning how to do handstands!

Following the clinic was another track meet that we didn’t realize we were going to help out with. I loved how the team stepped up in with no complaints and servant hearts. One of the girls I coached the past three days came up to me and gave me a thank you card. I almsot started crying because impacting young people like this girl is why I do what I do. The meet ended up being cancelled due to a storm rolling in. I was slightly happy about that, because we had to get up early the next morning to head up to Michigan for our third and final clinic.

I got to work with the pole vault coach from Ohio State, which was a trip! Coach and I helped some of the vaulters with some basic and advanced stuff. All the other athletes from my team were split up, helping their event areas. Ryan was helping with hurdles, Priscilla was with the sprinters, Nick was with the throwers and Neil and David were helping the jumpers (Louise left us for a few days for a job interview). It was fun for me to see each athlete totally in their element and come alive.

On our first day, Ryan shared his story with all the kids at lunch time. He did a great job, and about 70 people heard the Gospel that day! After the camp, we all went back to the hotel and hopped into the hot tub. Many of us were still super sore from the SPECIAL and it felt nice to relax a wee bit. That evening we had a cookout with the coaches and got to spend some time with them.

Our second day was a day that many were looking forward to. Derrick Adkins, gold medallist in the 400m hurdles at the ‘96 Atlanta Olympics came out to our clinic to help out and share his story. He did such an amazing job and it was great to meet him and hear how God worked in his life.

We had so much fun with these kids and coaches and Team GodSpeed. Our final day we had a track meet and our AIA boys ran a 4×100 together. It was great seeing big Nick (thrower from Texas A&M) run the final 100 meters! I ran with three brothers. It was such a great experience for our first clinic and everyone wants us back for next year. Christine, the woman who organized everything, said she already has coaches ready to help out for next year. We had about a total of 170 “campers” and next year could be even bigger for that small town!

The three track teams were going to take on this SPECIAL and at lunch before it all began, there was a draft. Eight captains were chosen by the staff – 2 captains for each team (male and female). Before we began, we helped officiate a track meet at Lebanon High School.

Towards the end of the meet, it started raining and by the time we left, it began to downpour. We headed out to the AIA track and the SPECIAL began about 9:30pm.  The entire SPECIAL lasted from 9:30pm Tuesday evening and lasted until about noon Wednesday afternoon. The most sleep anyone got was maybe 3 hours…maybe. And yes, those times are correct, no typo there.

Greg Thompson, a member of the Latin America track tour, is an amazing photographer and put together a slide show for everyone. He captured the intensity, the exhaustion and the brokenness brilliantly. Check out the video here

The competition consisted of angle ball, ultimate frisbee, relays, speed kickball, more relays, a wee bit of sleep, the ark of the covenant, water relays followed by the infamous Galgatha run.

Below is what I posted on our team blog following the competition:

The last 24 hours can only be described with one word…intense. The three track teams endured the gruelling SPECIAL. I (Jodi) have been affiliated with Athletes in Action for many years and had heard about the SPECIAL and have been on staff for four months, yet never had done it nor seen it. I decided to participate for a couple of reasons. The first was to experience all that I had heard from so many people and the second was to be able to relate and understand what so many people have gone through. I knew it was going to be tough and I questioned whether or not I would be able to finish, since it has been like 6 years since I was in the best shape of my life.

I had heard from many people how amazing and how spiritual the SPECIAL is and moments where they just felt the presence of God. I didn’t necessarily have a moment like that. We started out at 9:30pm last night, in the pouring rain, with games of angle ball (sweet game), ultimate frisbee (the game our team just could not pull together), speed kickball, random relays and the 20min relay. The rain came and went, which just added to the experience. After all of that, at about 2:30am, we were allowed to finally get to bed…but not for long. Depending upon how your team finished up, that determined what time you needed to wake up in the morning – the first team needing to wake up at 5am, then 5:30, then 6, then 6:30. The next activity was to carry the “ark of the covenant” (a long 4×4 with a tire hanging from it) all over headquarter’s campus on a scavenger hunt to find 5 quizzes. After a brief break, we were then off to the pool for more relays. A lot of people were taken out of their element, but it was so encouraging to see everyone else surround each other with support – whether they were on your “team” or not.

Then came my moment. After all of those activities, we headed out to the part of the SPECIAL I had been dreading. I had heard about this and was not necessarily looking forward to it. After being wiped out, cramped up and just physically and mentally tired, we headed up “Galgatha.” We were given a 4 foot 2×4 and we had to run down a hill and then run back up the hill with the 2×4 placed on our back/shoulders and if becoming a human cross. Afterwards we were told the entire loop consisted of about a mile. On my way down, a song popped into my head and I began to repeat the words to the chorus, Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow. Having experienced a FRACTION of what He went through on that Good Friday, these words brought a whole new meaning. As I reached the bottom of the hill and placed that 2×4 on top of my shoulders and started making my way back up, I couldn’t help but to be consumed with an overwhelming feeling of deep gratitude. As I went up, I could hardly move. I tried running, but my hamstrings and hip flexors were so tight. I praised God. He took this same road (an infinitely harder road) so I don’t have to. He stepped in to take my place…to accept the consequences of my sins. He was our ultimate sacrifice, our true redeemer, our true Savior.

By experiencing a fraction of what our Lord and Savior went through, I am humbled that someone would sacrifice themself for people all over the world – those who came, those who were and those who are still to come. Jesus paid it all and all of it to Him I owe. The crimson stain that sin poured out over the world, was washed white as snow the day Jesus Christ died on that cross and rose again.

But anyway, I have decided to break up my trip into six different categories and blog about each one on consecutive days, in order to do my trip some justice, as well as post some pics. Today I’ll start with Training Camp.

Training Camp is a week of spiritual training to get everyone ready to head out to the mission field.We shared our Training Camp with the two volleyball teams and the tennis team and before we dove into our spiritual training, we had some fun bonding time out at the challenge course!

Once the other teams arrived, it was time to get down to business. We covered various topics like evangelism, sharing the gospel and how to integrate your faith and your sport. We cover the 5 AIA principles: Audience of One (God owns you and your sport), Inside Game (God’s love is the maximum motivation), Holy Sweat (God provides resources for spiritual training to cultivate Christ-like character), Hurtin for Certain (God allows pain and trials to deepen your character for Him), and Victory Beyond Competition (God’s playing field extends beyond your competition).We had speakers covering each one.

During Training Camp, the track & field teams participated in the SPECIAL (topic of tomorrow’s blog).

AIA Track Team USA:

Neil McArdle, David McArdle, Nicholas Cook, Ryan Chapman, Mike Crowhurst
Jodi Tarasewicz, Priscilla Senyah, Louise Duffus

For me, Training Camp was a lot of running around, chasing paper work and making sure everyone was taken care of. One of my goals for this trip was to experience God in a new way and that definitely happened that first week. A couple days before the trip, one of the girls had decided not to join our team, due to the fact that her support for the trip was not coming in. But we serve an amazing God and He wanted her to be a part of this experience. I need to set up the scene here a wee bit, so you are able to understand how this was totally God. I  had a softball game the Tuesday before everything began and I told my team I’d see them in 3 weeks. They were all like, “what? what’s going on?” and I explained that I would be on project for the next month. Most of them had heard of AIA before, so they understood. I said I would send them my prayer calendar so they could be praying for us on the trip. In my email I sent out, I asked for prayers for this girl and her support. The next morning, one of the women emailed me and said she’d like to help out. I thanked her and said I’d get back to her when she arrived. The VERY NEXT email I opened was the one from the girl saying she had decided not to come. I was a bit heartbroken. The days came and went quickly, as everyone else started arriving. It was Friday night and we had just finished our team times – talking about our specific projects and what to expect and dividing up roles. It is 10:30 on a Friday night and my office phone rings. I’m thinking, “who is calling my office phone this late?” It was the lady I play softball with and she wanted to know how much my girl needed for the trip. I had not had a chance to get back to her and informed her that she had decided not to come. This lady asked me flat out if she gave the amount for the trip, would she be able to come. The words out of my mouth: “Are you serious?” I was so taken aback at what was happening. That doesn’t happen every day that someone so willingly is wanting to help someone they’ve never even met. All I could do was praise God for being our Jehovah-Jireh.

It was a good reminder for me that our God keeps His promises and He will always take care of His children. He has a plan for us and for our world and one way or another, His plan will be laid out perfectly.