Members of the Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) women’s soccer team traveled to Guatemala this spring and spent two weeks serving in Guatemala City and the surrounding areas. The trip was led by coaches Jamie and Rachel Lindvall and was the second of its kind.

While in Guatemala, the team worked on projects in several distinct areas of the country. On the Lindvall’s first trip two years ago, the team had begun building bleachers for a city field in the slum of Paradise, a community built on top of a landfill. This year they were able to complete the final stages of that project.

Team member Kim Bowen, Nampa, Idaho, was struck by the living conditions of the people of Paradise. “Every time it rained, garbage would come streaming through their houses and some would collapse.”


The soccer team members completed bleachers for a city sports
field for a community called Paradise, which is built on a landfill.
Photos by Rachel Lindvall.

Following their days in Paradise, the team helped with construction at the Shalom Baptist Church and School, which required the transportation of 17,000 kilograms (38,000 pounds) of gravel and concrete. “They take what they have and make so much more of it than we do,” said team member Liz Gross, Everett, Washington. Without the conveniences of heavy moving and construction equipment, a ten-gallon bucket pulley system was used to move gravel, and cement was mixed by hand.


The soccer team built relationships even while they worked with
their hands to complete construction projects.


The team was also able to hold a number of soccer camps for the Shalom Christian School. Approximately 150 kids attended, giving the girls a unique opportunity to share their faith while showing the kids that they cared. “I could tell that it really brightened the kids’ day. They were nervous at first, but then they got really into the games,” said Gross.




Additionally, the team visited a women’s prison in Guatemala City. After spending hours to get through security, the team was able to play indoor soccer with the inmates. “I don’t think any of our girls had ever been to a prison, much less a women’s prison in another country. It was definitely a unique opportunity for the girls to use soccer to share their faith,” Lindvall said.

Speaking of the trip as a whole, Rachel Lindvall said, “It was such a joy to see our girls watch, learn and experience so much through this trip. God used it to bring us closer together as a team, and He tugged on all of our hearts as we saw just a small glimpse of the true poverty that exists in Guatemala and so much of the world.” “It was great to see them serve so wholeheartedly,” added her husband.

Coaches Jamie and Rachel Lindvall are already planning for a return trip in the spring of 2011.

-- Linnea Hanson, a business student at NNU with a minor in marketing, starts her junior year this fall. Read more news about NNU students at www.nnu.edu.