Grantham, PA - During spring break, 18 members of the Messiah men's club soccer team and two team managers traveled to Panama to run youth soccer clinics, play some quality competition, and to spread the good news of the Gospel through word and deed. The trip, facilitated by Messiah's AROMA minitry, used Casa Paraiso in Panama City—a ministry founded by Messiah alumni Dan and Jess Cotton— as a home base.
 
The team worked with more than 300 Panamanian children and teens during the week and also returned without losing any of their four matches. In doing so, they strived to open lines of communication between the local missionaries and the people they endeavor to reach.
 
According to the club's coach, Michael Zigarelli, a faculty member in the Department of Management and Business, "Soccer is language, and when you speak it well, people are more likely to listen to you about eternal issues. We were blessed to have spoken it well this week when playing college teams and lower level pro teams, and so we earned the right to be heard."
 
The trip also became in-reach, not just outreach. As club president Caleb Sisson '18 explained, "On this trip, I deepened my identity in Christ and our team truly learned what it means to play to glorify God."
 
The team is exceedingly grateful to the dozens of donors who, collectively, gave more than $25,000 to make the mission trip possible.