CEDARVILLE, Ohio - The Lady Jacket volleyball team is in Guatemala on a mission trip using their shared passion for the sport as a platform to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The group left on May 4 for its one week commitment.

This is the team's second time heading to Guatemala, and according to head coach Greg Smith, presents an important opportunity to continue building relationships with those that they connected with during their previous trip.

"A lot of our players are still in communication with those same people they met the first time around that we need to continue to develop relationships with, and continue to foster those but also build new relationships with other people that we are gonna come in contact with," Smith said.

"I love everything about this trip," stated junior Cassi Shields, who is one of the team's returning travelers. "We have the opportunity to share the gospel by building relationships and serving those we come in contact with.

"We have so much here that we take for granted and it's humbling to see how joyful the people are with so little. They accept us and are generous with what they have."

Sophomore Alicia Howard is on her first Guatemala trip and said, "We'll continue to help serve, spread Jesus, and build on the relationships made."

Many of the athletes and coaches are looking forward to most is both reconnecting with familiar faces, but also sharing the gospel and helping lead people to Christ.

"We're gonna be more focused on outreach this time around, because last time we were really focused on the logistical side of things and competing against club and national teams, so this time around we're looking forward to building on established relationships and then creating new ones," Smith said.

Howard added, "Our team is looking forward to spreading the love and truth of Jesus, while also growing closer as a team."

While in Guatemala, the team will be mostly focused on running volleyball clinics and immersing themselves into the kids' lives by going to school with them and being a part of their everyday schedules in order to build meaningful relationships and share Christ's love through spending intentional time with them.

"I think that they [the people in Guatemala] had a huge impact on our girls the first time around," Smith said. "To be able to have that connection with other volleyball players and again have the opportunities in which to share the Gospel and share our testimonies of what it's like to have a relationship with God."

Overall, Smith believes that it is important for Cedarville athletic teams to go on trips in order to share the gospel and engage in the Great Commission, which tells believers to go and make disciples of all nations.

"We can use the gifts that God has given us through athletics to be an outreach to other people that have interest in athletics and that's such a good connection point to start off with," Smith said. 

Smith also shared some challenges and joys that the team is anticipating with returning to Guatemala. 

"The obvious challenge of going to a foreign country and trying to communicate and having the desire to share but not always being able to," Smith remarked. "But at the same time, it's fun to be able to work through that and get to know them even if it's broken English or Spanish, it's just coming together and getting to know them." 

"Being able to share Christ with others down there, there's a lot of excitement with that but also continuing to see relationships evolve," Smith stated. "I know we're all excited about that." 

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