Nicaragua 2015: Days 7 and 8

We could not believe that it was the last day already. Every day has been so amazing and just when you think it could not possibly be better, you have a day like we had today. Absolutely amazing.

After my long meeting with Alex last night I was confident that he understood what he needed to do with the kids but I was still worried because I know how difficult it can be to work with kids who have not had much exposure to organized sports. You have to be very firm and clear with instructions and boundaries but still sincere and fun. It

is a difficult balance to find, especially for someone who has no coaching experience. When we got to the field the kids were all there ready to go, running around and playing. As they saw the car pull up you could see the excitement on their faces. "Los Trejos" is a community that Katia specifically Pastor's to. She told us that many of the parents walked the kids to the field and waited until she arrived to supervise. She said that this is not the norm in Nicaragua, which is one of the things that makes Los Trejos a very special community and, perhaps, the perfect community to launch Alexander's community Futbol program this upcoming fall.

We have big plans for branching out into individual communities to provide organized sports. The opportunity to reach people at a young age is so valuable to their development; learning discipline, building confidence, learning how to work with the people around them, leadership skills, and, of course, this outlet keeps them away from trouble. For these reasons, I have encouraged the church to start an after school program for younger children. They have had most success and experience working with teenagers so the church was a bit hesitant to start this program on a large scale. We have something small running in one of the communities but this morning was very important to demonstrate that we can produce this on a large scale that will have an enormous effect on youth throughout the communities and it gives us an opportunity to connect with and reach some of the children before it may be too late. The children are involved in church but soccer reaches the children in a way that they can relate more to what we are trying to teach them.

I was so incredibly happy to see how well Alexander commanded the group. I told him to be very encouraging, yet firm in the boundaries. He had great control over the group. Multiple times, when the kids started to talk or get rowdy, Alexander squashed it. Throughout the

session I set up all of the drills and told Alexander what instructions to give but he had to deliver the instructions while I did the demonstration.

He did a phenomenal job of being very strong with his voice and clear in instructions. We kept emphasizing to the kids that "Today we are having a professional soccer session and

we are to have the attitude of professionals." Throughout the session, whenever one of the kids would start to get a little rowdy Alexander would say, "Remember... today we are what?" and all of the kids would respond "Professionals!" It was great to see the atmosphere that Alex created, his connection with kids, and his ability to generate excitement. Wd started with some ball drills then moved to passing drills and then played a 3-team scrimmage. All of the girls helped the kids during the drills with the different moves. Ariel kept telling the kid to use their "Pedo izquierda" or "Pedo derecha" or

"otro Pedo"... she thought she was saying left foot, right foot, or other foot but what she was actually saying was "left fart", "right fart", and "other fart". When I told her what she was saying she was so embarrassed! Thankfully, the kids didn't seem to think much of it!

During the 3-team scrimmage, the girls participate on 1 team each. I sat on the side with whatever team was off at the moment. This was a great opportunity to talk to the kids. I

especially enjoyed having the opportunity to catch up with Armando, one of our repeat campers who lives in Los Trejos. He was one of the older kids at the session and as such was told he was a "leader"/"helper" as well as a participant.

After the morning session was over we had about an hour and a half to get some food before we were meeting everyone to head over to the soccer field for the afternoon game. We decided to go to subway since it was the fastest option to get food to go and also we knew that it would sit well while we were running around. I scarfed down a foot long like I hadn't eaten in a month. It was delicious! Even though we were going to play soccer we all decided to take a quick shower to rinse off the thick sheet of dirt that had gathered all over our bodies. The field that we worked on this morning was 100% loose dirt. This is the dry season in Nicaragua so there is generally a lot of loose dirt floating around. So after running around on the field for a few hours... let's just say, we looked a lot more tan than we actually were haha.

Showers felt great and sitting down to relax for an hour felt great also! It was good to get off of our feet for a little bit before the big game!

All of the central church leaders met at the church (where we were staying) and we all loaded into the church's micro-bus to head to the field. I was so excited to see that we were playing on a brand new turf field in a small turf field complex. It was beautiful. They had huge speakers pumping so loud that you could barely hear the person talking next to you. I went to go pay to use the field for 2 hours and had to shell out a whole $23 (That might rent you a turf field in the US for

about 10 minutes haha). I split the whole group up into 3 fair teams and we started to play. First team to 2 goals wins and then winner stays on. In the beginning I was getting used to the field in indoor shoes (new turf def needed cleats) and i slipped and fell butt first into the concrete wall- ouch. I'm so glad that it was just a bruise and I didn't actually hurt myself. After that all went smooth, no one got hurt, only the losing team when the 2nd goal was scored each game. We had a blast and 2 hours flew by before we knew it. I had a great time playing with and hanging out with Enmanuel on my team. :-) He's like a brother to me.

Usually we just take a small group to the final dinner and then Katia and I discuss how the week went and our future plans for the tournament. This time, especially since we had such a tight-knit, we love each other, friends-for-life kind of group, we decided to take everyone to dinner together. It was such an awesome way to end the week. So we all went to the best Fritanga in town. And. It. Was. Delicious.

We had a great time hanging out and talking at dinner. We even got Giggy-Azalea to sing that song that goes like "I'm so fancy, you already know...", it was great! We got the traditional Carne Asada with Gallo Pinto and a Fried Plantain. It was delicious. In the beginning of the week I could barely get the fried plantain down and by the end of the week I couldn't wait to eat it for dinner. haha. The end of dinner was the time for anyone who wanted to say anything to have a moment to reflect about the week. Enmanuel began by saying some very nice words to the girls and I.. thanking us for being a part of the camp, that God has brought me into his life and created a wonderful friendship that now the girls are a part of this community and a part of the great friendship we have here. Then Alexander talked about how this community considers me a part of their family and now the girls are also a part of the family. Soon it was my opportunity to say a few words and all of a sudden I just started crying... like the kind of crying where your breathing starts to stutter. Then, of course, the girls started to cry. From that point on we pretty much didn't stop crying for the next 2 hours. I had to take a solid 3 or 4 minutes to get it together to say the few words that I wanted to say. Even then, it was so hard to get it out. I told everyone how much I love them and how I am so lucky to be a part of this family and that they will be with me in my heart all year long and we will be able to keep in touch on facebook until then! I told Alex, "At least I will get to see you this summer!"

We were still hanging out at dinner for another 15 minutes-ish while we waited for the check. During this time, I literally could not make eye contact with Enmanuel without crying. I truly feel like we have a brother-sister relationship, I feel like we are kindred spirits- we don't even have to talk to know what the other is thinking. Thank goodness for facebook. The girls also had the opportunity to talk to the group and convey how much of a life-changing awesome experience this was and how thankful they were for such amazing new friendships.

We said our goodbyes and headed back to the church to shower and pack up. While the girls got a head start back in the room, I went into the church office to meet with Katia. We had a great talk about the week. She said that "You cannot put a price on what this soccer program does for the church." We talked about how great the week had gone and then we got into our future plans. This was the moment I had been waiting for... Katia said they she really enjoyed the program this morning and she is very excited to begin to create a big after school program. She saw how well the kids responded and she was excited for the possibilities moving into the future. We talked about the importance of training Alexander in the US so that he is better equipped to run the program before we start anything on a bigger scale. So... next step, get Alexander ready. AND THAT STARTS NOW! Beginning Monday, Alexander will begin his work out program. The goal is for him to lose 50 pounds before he comes to the US this summer. How exciting.

So all together, the meeting went very well. Katia is happy with the progress of everything and how the week went, I'm also very happy with the program. We are both also very happy that the girls were here to share this experience this year. She said that it brought a great positive energy into the camp!

After the meeting I showered up and the girls and I hung out as we packed up. As packing came to an end the laughing began and at some point, I have no idea when, I fell asleep. When I woke up it was time to go :-( We got our things together and packed up the microbus and headed to the airport. Usually, we take the red truck to the airport but since we had so many people coming to bid us farewell we took the microbus! Alexander, Leandro,

Good morning pile-on

Gigiermo, Lenny, Cesar, and Sergio all came to see us off! It was so said to say goodbye but at least we got all of our tears out last night. Gigiermo and Leandro gave the girls key chains and me a bracelet that was personalized in a wood carving. I love it! It says "Ali, Nic 2015" carved in wood and the girls say their names and "We love you" on wood carved key chains. Funny enough, I got bracelets for everyone also that said "MTF" for "More Than Futbol" carved in wood (got them made when we were in Caterina earlier this week).
Then I gave Sergio a huge, long, lingering hug. Sergio is also like a brother to me. We have known each other for years now and I know that we will be close for the rest of our lives. It really does make me so sad that I have all of these close close relationships in Nicaragua and I only get to see them once a year :-( Then Sergio handed me the best present I could possibly ask for! A coffee mug! I'm a HUGE tea drinker and I have been saying all week that I want to get a Nicaragua mug so that I can drink my morning tea and think of my friends in Nicaragua. I have one from Belize but not one from Nicaragua! Problem is.... I completely forget to get one and I would definitely not have
remembered. Sergio said, "do you have room in your bag to carry this?" and I thought he was handing me something to take back for Helen. Little did I know that he was handing me a wrapped up mug! AWWWWW. My heart was so filled up. What an awesome and thoughtful gift. I'm welling up in my eyes just typing this right now.

Unfortunately, it was time to say goodbye. We took a couple of group photos, gave our last round of hugs and then went through security. So sad to say goodbye. :-(

I wasn't really thinking about it at the time but this was only my first goodbye of the day. After hanging out in the Internet cafe for about 45 minutes I had to say goodbye to the girls :-( I watched them walk onto their flight and then I walked down to my gate and found myself alone for the first time this week. Boarding the plane for the Belize I felt sad to leave but excited to start the next leg of the journey.

I am so thankful to God that he has brought this incredible community in my life... such incredible friendships, so much love. I carry my Nicaraguan friends with me at all times.

One of my biggest influences in my faith was a professional surfer who became a Christian. Hearing him talk about it really inspired me and I will never forget what he said... "God has amazing things in store for your life. If you just let him... you will do things in your life that you could never imagine." and I believe that to my core... it's like the lyrics of "Oceans" by Hillsong...

"Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders, let me walk upon the waters wherever you would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wonder and my faith would be made stronger in the presence of my Savior." God has shown me things and given me

opportunities in my life that I could never have imagined and now this program, More Than Futbol, is doing truly amazing things and I have made deeper friendships than I could ever imagine with people who inspire me so much in my life to be a better person- to give more of myself, to love more, to love better. If you ever have the opportunity to travel to Nicaragua and make these new friendships and be a part of this program it will absolutely change your life in the most amazing ways.

Time to get ready to run a program that is MORE Than Futbol for the children in Belize. Using soccer as a tool to teach them discipline, leadership, cooperation, life skills, and of course to have a lot of FUN!