It’s hard to believe that we have only been here in Guatemala for a week because so much has happened in such a short amount of time. Friday, our final day of camp, coaches clinics and also our second game on tour, was definitely a day to remember. After a week of playing soccer and [...]
Today our team experienced the power of being present with people. Our first game was an experience that we will never forget. Right after our camp in the morning it started with a marching band performance and an opening ceremony with national anthems being played, a presentation from the sports confederation, a brief sharing from [...]
Xela is a beautiful city that sits in the middle of lush green vegetation. The place we are staying has a rooftop balcony with a restaurant where we have breakfast and an open area where we begin each day as a team. Surrounded by mountains you can see out across the whole city, and it [...]
Our Guatemala high school girls soccer tour is officially underway! The team arrived safely in Guatemala City and as I write this we are en route to Quetzaltenango, affectionately known as Xela (Shay-la), which will be our home for the next 10 days. The girls are doing well and are starting to connect with one [...]
Over the last few years, the University of Ottawa’s athletes have walked through the deaths of two of their own, a woman on the hockey team and a men’s football player. But in tragedy there’s hope, and on Ottawa’s campus an opportunity for AIA to show up and be present for the athletes. Through these [...]
As we make our way home today and tomorrow, it is a time of reflection on all the work God has done on this trip. It has been a blessing to see Him work through each of the members of our team, as well as through the people we met along the way. During the [...]
It has been a while since the last blog post and a lot has happened in the past few days. So, I’ll try and summarize what has happened so far. It is day 11 now and we have been to Puebla (Mexico), Querétaro (Mexico), and we are in Panama City right now. On Thursday we [...]
Recuerda: si lo amas, todo es para bien No es tan sencillo recorder eso y aplicarlo en nuestra vida cuando nos encontramos en aprietos, cuando estamos en una situacion incomoda o mas especificamente cuando el dolor sobrepasa nuestros prensamientos y emociones. Hoy al despertar leia en mi cellular una noticia que advertia un alto indice [...]
We have finally arrived in Mexico after an long day of travelling overnight. Thank you for your prayers as our full team has arrived altogether safely from Canada, United States, Colombia, Mexico and Panama. Our team consists of Heather (AIA tour director), Marietta (AIA staff and athletic therapist), Janae (Calgary), Gillian (Toronto), Amanda (Minnesota), [...]
S.P.E.C.I.A.L. "Strong and courageous!" Once again choruses of spiritual affirmation ring out through pool gallery. This time, there is a noted difference from earlier in the week. The aim for the next twenty four hours is to push athletes to not simply a physical exhaustion but also a spiritual exhaustion. When you strip athletes of [...]
