Sunday, May 31, 2009

IT'S SOCCER CAMP TIME



It is time for soccer camp!  It is probably one of my favorite times of the year!  Tomorrow is the first of six weeks of camps that go throughout the summer.  Camps range in all ages and skill levels, from our Mini Cub camps, ages 5-7, to our Cub Camps, ages 8-12, and our overnight Academy, ages 12-18.  They teach them dribbling, shooting, passing and heading.  The summer is full of soccer, popsicles, soccer, video, soccer, and maybe a little more soccer.  




The team looks forward to working camps in the summer.  It gives them a chance to coach soccer, and I know they look forward to the popsicle breaks just as much as the campers do.  They do a great job, and they love hanging out all day playing soccer, there is not a better summer job out there.  

If you haven't signed up for camp, there are some openings, go to:   http://ce.byu.edu/cw/sportscamps/s_academy.cfm

Look forward to seeing everyone at camp!
  

Monday, May 25, 2009

Little More of Nicaragua



Lauren Anderson:  

One of my favorite experiences during our trip to Nicaragua was the fireside we attended the last night of the trip.  We met with a group of return and future missionaries, and had the opportunity to listen to their testimonies and also share some of our own.  It was inspiring to see the eagerness the future missionaries had to leave on their missions and serve the Lord.  Many of them were doing so without the support of their families, and relied heavily on the resources of the foundation for the supplies and exams needed before they left on their missions.  Yet despite opposition and discouragement from their families, these incredible young people wanted nothing more than to serve a mission.  One particular young man, whose mother passed away just three months ago, had just barely sent in his papers.  He shared his excitement with us saying, "Now that I have my papers in, I feel like a player on the bench.  I'm just waiting for my Heavenly Father to put me in the game." He could hardly wait to recieve his call and spread the gospel. 

At the close of the fireside, the missionaries sang "Called to Serve."  They knew every word by heart and sang as loud as they could.  I felt the spirit so strong and was moved by their faithfulness.  

     The whole experience really had a lasting impact on me.  I realized how blessed I am to have the gospel in my life along with a family made of members of the church that support one another's beliefs and standards.  I have also developed a greater understanding of the impact I can have on others as an athelete of BYU.  It provides me with a greater opportunity to be an example to others and to spread the gospel.  It is an opportunity that I know every return and future missionary I met at the fireside would feel so blessed to have and would take full advantage of.  I hope that I can remember their eagerness to serve the Lord and do my best to serve him as well.


 

McKinzie Olson:

My favorite part of going to Nicaragua was meeting the people.  All of them live in extreme poverty, more than anyone here could even imagine without seeing it first hand.  Their homes had dirt floors and were made of things like cinderblock, sheet metal, or even tarps.  They were lucky if they had electricity, running water, or enough food for more than one meal a day.  Even though they literally had nothing, they were so happy!  We had the opportunity to serve them in various ways and they were so incredibly grateful for every little thing that we did for them.  One thing we had the chance to do was go to an orphanage in the city of Chinandega.  We were able to give them stuffed animals, shoes, and bags filled with toys and supplies.  These little girls were so excited just to have us there, let alone receive all of the gifts from us.  It was fun to watch their faces light up as each of them opened their gifts and saw what we were giving them.  I particularly amazed by one little girl who I had spent my time there with.  As she sorted through all of her new stuff, the thing that she was most excited for was 3 run of the mill white toothbrushes, the kind that you could buy for 10 cents at any store.  She threw aside all of the toys and was waving around her new toothbrushes like they were gold.  This was one of my favorite experiences of the whole trip.  She was so happy for the smallest thing that all of us take for granted.  I was very grateful for the opportunity that I had to go to Nicaragua and serve the people.  I learned a lot about humility and God's love for each of us, and I will take these lessons with me for the rest of my life. 



Dana Oldroyd:

I came back with many memories from Nicaragua but the most rewarding lessons I learned were of living with simplicity and direction in my life.  The people there didn’t have very busy lives where they had to worry about as many things as we seem to back here in the states and yet their lives seemed to be fuller. They were filled doing the important things like spending time with their family members and serving others.  We visited many homes that looked more like sheds and yet I felt such strong feelings of love and belonging there.  One lady we visited sold juice to provide for her family and lived in more of a hallway than a home.  I felt bad for her at first and didn’t understand why she was so happy with so little but then I looked at her wall and saw that she had pictures of the temple and the prophets hanging there.  It was clear that she had put the church at the center of her home and it didn’t matter that she barely had any tangible things because she had what was important.  I don’t speak Spanish (but now I am asking for Rosetta Stone for my birthday) and all during the trip I couldn’t verbally communicate with the people. Although I hated this and wanted to talk with them so badly, it was a great experience to communicate with them on a different level.  I have never felt the spirit so strong as I did in Nicaragua and yet I couldn’t understand what they were saying.  It’s amazing to see the unity of the church all over the world and the immense faithfulness of its members.  Nicaragua is a pretty dirty place where there is trash and disease everywhere and yet I have never loved a place and a people more than I love Nicaragua.  I am so grateful for Cause for Hope and all they do and for the experience to have participated in it.  I wish I was back in Nicaragua right now!

Sunday, May 17, 2009

NICARAGUA


The Soccer Girls in Nicaragua

Some of the BYU Women's soccer team had the opportunity to go to Nicaragua and do some service.  Before the girls left on their trip, the team had been gathering shoes to take to Nicaragua.  The girls went with some other sports from BYU, and spent a few days painting, and hanging out with the kids.  All the girls said it was an amazing experience, and they all had a great time.  


Andrea Willis and Karen Cook



Andrea Willis: 
Our trip to Nicaragua was an incredibly eye opening experience and definitely not what i was expecting! The first whole day we were in Managua and learned all about Cause For Hope and their main goal of helping the people to become self reliant. After some meetings we got the chance to go out into the city to visit some businesses/families that Cause For Hope had helped to start. Most of their businesses were just little things like selling vegetables or little convenience stores or even selling banana chips. One of the places we visited we had to walk through sewage and trash and even dead animals to get there. Most of the houses were made of cinderblocks, had tin roofs, and most of them had no running water or toilets. Luckily our hotels were quite nice or I might have died! The next day we got to go to Chinandega to help the people there. We were all split into different teams to help different people and their businesses. My group which included Jen and Mckinzie Olson got to help a man named Hugo. Hugo fixes motorcycle motors and we had the task of helping him to increase his income and savings. The things we did to help him were to paint his house to help it stand out better since very few houses on his street were painted. We also helped make him a sign and made him some business cards and stickers to give to his clients. One of my favorite parts of the trip though aside from the business aspect was going to the orphanage and spending some time with the girls that lived there. They were the sweetest girls and even though we had some difficulties understanding each other it was an awesome experience. Even though we went to Nicaragua with the intentions of doing service and helping the people there we were the ones that benefited the most. We learned so many things from the great people of Nicaragua and won't soon forget this experience!