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Women's team dribbles for Jesus
Athletes use basketball to minister in Mexico

The women's basketball team spent two-and-a-half weeks this past May in central and southeastern Mexico playing basketball, holding clinics and telling people about Jesus Christ. Their main outreach involved playing basketball with other universities, community clubs and unofficial teams in various cities.

"I always thought we'd have to play really good to earn their respect," said junior Lisa Dirkson. "But I learned it's not how we play. It's God, the one in control."

Before games, they handed out fliers that highlighted each player and stated the team's purpose. The flier also included a response form for those interested in knowing more about the team's cause, Jesus Christ.

At half time, the women shared their testimonies, which were translated by Pedro, one of their interpreters.

After games, they mingled with their fans, handing out baseball cards with their individual pictures and favorite verses and cards featuring the whole team. Coach Laurie Kutz said the cards were a big hit, and the people wanted to collect them.

At the end of each game, the two teams met for a social time. The women said they didn't hold conversations with words but communicated with body language. After one dinner with a mayor, junior Melody Lundquist talked to one of the Mexican players. Lundquist said, "She had a very blank face, and I wasn't sure if she was having a good time." The woman handed Lundquist a Spanish tract that went along with a wordless bracelet. Lundquist knew a little Spanish, so she started reading the booklet. "She sat there patiently. She would correct me if a word was wrong, and I was able to read the whole plan of salvation," Lundquist said.

After another game, Sarah Schwaab, sophomore, spent time with a Mexican woman and her sister. Schwaab said she had a chance to share her testimony, and the woman was really interested in the differences between Christianity and the Catholic Church. Schwaab said she hopes to correspond with the athlete and her sister.

The team members also gave their opponents Spanish Bibles and evangelistic information.

In addition to playing games, the team held clinics where they taught children of all ages the basics of basketball including shooting, dribbling and defense. After the drills, the children played mini games. Lundquist estimated about 1,000 people participated at one clinic.

Players also shared their testimonies during the clinics. Schwaab said giving her testimony was one of her special memories from the trip. After her testimony, she went up to a young man and asked him if he had accepted Jesus. She learned that he was already a Christian, but his brother had just accepted Jesus. Schwaab said about the young man, "He had this contented look like 'praise the Lord.'"

The team talked to people on the street and handed out fliers encouraging people to come to the clinics and games. They also handed out little gospel bombs that contained candy and the salvation message. "People on their bikes would stop us and say 'hey, what's up,'" Dirkson said. She said the people in Mexico are eager to hear about God, unlike people in the United States. The Mexicans would stop in the middle of the street and read a whole pamphlet after receiving it. The team saw people accept Christ as a result of their witness at restaurants and on the airplanes, too.

According to Dirkson, Schwaab and Lundquist, Mexico's harvest is ripe; 250 people came to know Jesus. Follow-up for these new believers will take place in the Mexican churches. Dirkson said she remembered seeing about one church in each city or town they visited.

Before diving into the new culture, the team spent a year preparing for its trip. The women played basketball and conditioned with only two or three weeks off. Because of the elevation change, the players had to be in excellent shape just to breathe. The team also battled the 90-degree heat.

Besides being physically in shape, they had to raise about $1,700 each. They sent out letters to friends and family seeking support and participated in a jog-a-thon at Multnomah. The jog-a-thon gave fellow students a chance to support the team financially. Schwaab hadn't been successful at the jog-a-thon. Two weeks before they had to leave, she had raised only a little more than $100. Then she met a distant relative of a friend who, on hearing about her upcoming trip, wrote a check for $1,000. Schwaab said, "I was really blessed by that. It was a real encouragement because I wasn't sure if God wanted me to go."

Overall, Lundquist felt the Mexico trip was the best missions trip she's been on yet. She said, "We were able to set aside personal differences to achieve ministry. I think that's why ministry was so abundant--because we were so tight. Not that we were best friends, but we all had a purpose and a goal."