BENIN | BULEMBU
MAY 1 - MAY 18
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“I’m sure we’re going to be totally impacted by the love of the people there. It’s funny how we’re going to go love them,
but we’re going to be so loved on by them.”
-Amy gartke
DAY 13-14
Today, the team left Bulembu to begin what will amount to a two-day journey back to Canada.
We don’t have a lot of pictures from the last few days, but the team finished strong, capping an amazing and life-changing two-week trip in Africa.
Over the final two days in Bulembu, our team participated in a few work projects. One of the projects was to help build a retaining wall. Fueled by fresh doughnuts from the local Bulembu bakery – we’re just making sure we support local businesses, especially when all the profits go to the child care program – the team put in several solid hours of hard work.
The team also had a chance to help put up soccer goals on a local field, which was hard work but a cool project to work on.
Beyond that, the team ran soccer clinics for the children on both days. Once again, it was a wonderful chance to connect with the kids who the players have been getting to know over the course of the six days in Bulembu.
It is abundantly clear that God had been transforming lives in Bulembu as well as within our team.
Obviously, this is just a snippet of everything that happened over the final two days, but like every blog post before, there are many more stories the women on our team would love to share with you when they return.
This last two weeks has been an incredible journey. We had the chance to share God’s love in so many different ways while also receiving so much love from the people in Benin and Bulembu. In all honesty, the impact of this trip, both for us and for the people we encountered, likely won’t be truly realized for some time yet. The organizations that are working in these two locations – Bulembu Ministries and GAIN – will continue to be there and continue to do wonderful work. We played just a small part in assisting in the work they are doing to help build the Kingdom of God.
This will be my final blog post as the team is now travelling home. The itinerary will see our team leave Johannesburg on Mar. 17 and arrive back in Canada Mar. 18.
As I have said before, if you are reading this, thanks for continuing to follow our trip. We have felt your prayers and we truly appreciate all that you have done to support this trip.
DAY 12
Before I get too far with this post, I want to preface that I don’t have photos for the day, but I’ll try to explain what all happened in words. And thanks again for continuing to check out the blog. I’m glad you are reading this, so my work isn’t in vain. Also, I have now posted photos from Days 7-11.
It was pretty cool going to church in Bulembu. When we arrived at church, it wasn’t long before a bunch of the kids from the houses we had supper with the night before invited us to sit with them. This was really neat as it was the children initiating, finding us and then bringing us to where they were sitting. The connections we were able to make over just a couple of days were awesome and singing alongside all the students was a wonderful experience.
Our team started the service by singing a song. Then there were two baptisms, which was wonderful to experience. Then, we sang a bunch of songs and, fortunately for us, most of them were very familiar and in English. The service in Bulembu is very much like a North American service and today’s message had, not surprisingly, a Mothers’ Day theme. If you’re reading this on Sunday, Happy Mothers’ Day from all of us. If you’re reading this after that, Happy Belated Mothers’ Day from all of us.
Following church, we had some free time. A number of our athletes did some shopping at the local store because they have some really cool items that are all made in Bulembu and they make great gifts to bring home. Then a game a volleyball started on the grass near our lodge before we had lunch.
After lunch, we had a devotional before the team went back down the hill into the heart of the village to participate in Bulembu’s version of scouts.
Then, after dinner, the team spent time with some of the girls from the high school. It was similar to last night’s time, but just with a younger group.
It was another great day and the sun even made a return for the first time in a few days.
Tomorrow, amongst other things, the team will have a few work projects in the community.
Thanks very much for your support and prayers. It’s been an unbelievable trip and an amazing time of transformation amongst both the students and the people we have met. While it’s just a few days before the team returns home, the group is in great spirits and there’s no doubt they will continue to serve Bulembu with joy.
DAY 11
After a good thunderstorm last night, we woke up and the rain seemed to have slowed enough that the day’s events would not be effected. This was awesome because today would feature plenty of soccer, including the “big game.”
We started the day with a soccer clinic with the high school students. Similar to the clinic the day before, the team split into a number of stations and had a number of games and drills happening for the kids. It went swimmingly. Everyone was engaged and we quickly saw that the Bulembu kids definitely had some talent. We also got a chance to see Rachel Hutchinson’s latest celebratory dance moves. According to the rumours, she’ll debut these moves after scoring her first goal next season.
After the clinic, we had the players compete in a penalty kick contest, which proved to be a terrifying exercise for our team. It was at this point that our team realized how challenging our afternoon contest would be. These boys, or men in some cases, could play.
Before lunch, we had a really cool experience as we got the chance to watch a number of the primary school children perform traditional dances. Not surprisingly, they were very impressive. After that, they served us a great lunch. The whole thing was a fundraiser for a field trip and our paying for the lunch helped raise some money for the children’s trip.
After that, we played the game. A ton of people showed up and about 45 minutes after the scheduled start time, we kicked off. Our team played really well, but they were in tough from the outset. Let’s just say, we missed a few good chances – and they scored twice – before Elizabeth Hicks put us on the board. Bedlam ensued. The crowd was totally on our side. The Bulembu side, which basically featured the best soccer players the community had to offer, scored two more goals in the second half for a 4-1 final. However, the real excitement came in the post-game penalty kick shootout.
With coach Graham Roxburgh offering up milkshakes to our whole team if we won the shootout, our team was motivated. A couple of huge saves by Christina Oliverio and number of clinical finishes by a few of our shooters and the girls earned their milkshakes. The jubilation after winning nearly rivalled the celebrations we’ve experienced at nationals. It was a ton of fun.
Following that, we had our milkshakes, obviously, and then had some free time before dinner. After dinner the team met with a number of local young women, playing some games and interacting. I wasn’t there, but I heard it was a great time.
Tomorrow, we will go to the Bulembu church and there are a number of other items on the docket. Should be fun. Thanks very much for reading this because if you’re still reading this that means you didn’t give up on this blog. I commend your dedication.
DAY 10
Today was our first full day in Bulembu. This town is truly a special place. Bulembu is doing amazing things to help build up the nation of Swaziland. Here’s a quick background on Bulembu. For years, Swaziland has been devastated by HIV and AIDS and, as a result, the country has been in the midst of an orphan crisis for many years. You can read more about Bulembu on their website (the link is above if you click the Bulembu logo), but, basically the community is an old mining town that became a ghost town when the mining company moved out for good in 2001. A few years later, a couple of Christian business men came up with the idea to buy the land and build a not-for-profit town that would help give a home to some of the orphaned children of Swaziland. That’s a very brief overview, but hopefully it gives you a small window into where we are and what Bulembu is all about. There are about 360 children, ranging from infants to 19 years old, who are currently part of the childcare program.
As part of the whole strategy, Bulembu has a number of enterprises in which all of the profits go into the childcare program. Ultimately, the goal is to have the enterprises become so successful that the town can become financially self-sufficient. Right now, Bulembu’s enterprises make enough money to account for about 25 to 30 per cent of the costs of the childcare program.
So, today, we had a chance to tour Bulembu a bit and its various enterprises.
We started the day by going to an assembly at the primary school. The school is very orderly and the children are very respectful of their teachers and principals. The children sang a few songs, which were awesome, before our own Carmen Mostat shared in front of the students a bit about herself and her story and a short devotional about being protected by God. She was great. After our trip, she and Amy Gartke will actually be staying in Bulembu for another two weeks to do a teaching practicum, so it was fantastic for her to make an initial connection with the kids. You can tell she’s going to be a good teacher.
After that, we went on a tour of the town, seeing the station where they bottle water, as well as the bakery and the building where they produce their honey. Bulembu’s bottled water is their largest enterprise and is shipped all across Swaziland. Currently, they don’t export anything out of the country as there are still plenty of markets to tap into within Swaziland. As for the bakery, well, we obviously had to support them by trying something, so after a quick tour, we sampled their doughnuts. They were delicious. Fortunately, we have to walk up a huge hill to get to our lodging a couple of times a day, so I don’t think the ramifications of the doughnut will be too harsh. After that, we made our way to their honey factory, which was really cool to see and there’s no doubt that most of our team will bring back some honey, so hopefully you can have a little sample when we return.
Following that, we went to the house where they have the infant and toddler care. It was amazing to see the support these children have, but also heartbreaking to know that most of these little children are here because they have become orphans. Bulembu has about 70 “aunties,” who are the people who basically act as moms for the children of Bulembu. The children are taken care of incredibly well, but it’s still a stark picture of the brokenness that exists in our world. Still, the kids were obviously super cute.
After that, we had lunch before going down to the soccer fields to conduct a soccer clinic for the primary school children. Our team ran a bunch of soccer stations that the kids rotated through. The kids had smiles on their faces from beginning to end and the team did a great job of engaging the children and making the soccer stations fun.
In the late afternoon, we had the chance to experience what dinner is like for the children in their eating hall. This was one of the highlights of the day. We had a chance to each sit down with different “houses” and have dinner with the children. Each house in Bulembu has an aunt and a few children that is essentially their family unit. This was a chance to just connect with some of the children over a meal. It was really cool to just to sit and chat with them and learn a bit more about a few individuals.
Following that, we had a time to debrief and then our own dinner – they make amazing pizza here in Bulembu – before having a small group time and singing some songs.
Tomorrow, we will have some soccer clinics again in the morning and then we are scheduled to play the high school’s boys soccer team in the afternoon. That should be interesting.
Thanks again for reading and sorry for the intermittency of the blog. I am at the mercy of our wifi.
Thanks for your prayers and support.
DAY 9
First off, my apologies for the lack of posts over the last few days.
We have been travelling and wifi has been all but non-existent recently. As I write this, the wifi I am using is spotty as well, so hopefully I can keep giving you a few written updates. Right now, photos may or may not be posted. I will eventually post everything, but please understand that it will undoubtedly be late, if at all in some cases. Trust that we're okay and doing well and all the photos and video will arrive at some point. Also, scroll down because Days 7-8 are described below as well.
Today, we started the day before the sun got up, making our way to the safari van by 4:45 a.m. This is when the nocturnal animals are still meandering about while the others are getting their days going. Again, the photos will tell the tale (...later), but today my vehicle completed the "Big Five", seeing a leopard and a female lion, who was pregnant. FYI, the “Big Five” around these parts is the lion, the leopard, the elephant, the rhinoceros and the water buffalo.
On this morning’s trip, we also got to see a male kudu, which the Kruger National Park uses as its logo, and about a dozen elephants together as a herd. We were in two groups, so the other group saw giraffes as well.
When we were on our way out of the park after the safari, we also lucked out and saw six crocodiles resting on a sandbar, as well as a hippopotamus. I promise I'll post photos sometime.
We are now in Bulembu. It was a beautiful drive up into a mountainous region and while we've only been here for a few hours, I think most of the team is already in love with this place. I will describe more as the week goes on, but if you want to learn about the place yourself, feel free to click on the link above that will take you to the Bulembu website.
Thanks very much for all your prayer and support. It really means a lot.
DAY 7-8
After our week in Benin, today was a bit of regroup and refresh day. We left for South Africa on a 10:30 p.m. flight, so today was a chance to pack, go for a walk to the beach and debrief about our time in Benin.
Stephanie, who is our GAIN leader from Canada and who been with us throughout the trip, walked us through a very helpful debrief, discussing our time in Benin. One of the things we discussed was figuring out the best way to succinctly tell the story of our trip to someone back home. We practiced telling our stories, so when we get home, be sure to ask anyone you know who was on the trip about their experience. They should be well prepared.
After that, we had dinner and got the airport about four hours before our flight left. This was a good thing. By my count, we interacted with 13 different people at various stages of checkpoints, ticketing and security. All of us made it through, but it took a while.
Soon enough, we were boarding our flight that would eventually take us to Johannesburg via South African Airways. However, we were treated to a special trip to Libreville in Gabon. On route to Johannesburg, the plane took a quick pit stop to drop people off, pick people up and change the crew in Gabon. While waiting, we discovered that we were also flying to South Africa with the Benin national men’s beach volleyball team. So, yea, there was that.
We landed in Johannesburg around 7 a.m. local time and had breakfast at Wimpy in the airport. It was good. I had a bowl of scrambled eggs, mushrooms and red peppers. As today is an off day before going to Bulembu, we went to Kruger National Park and went on both a sunset safari and sunrise safari. The pictures you can see tell the story. Amongst the big animals we saw were elephants, rhinos and a water buffalo. Also in the mix were plenty of impalas. As it turns out there are about 240,000 impalas in the 2 million hectare national park.
As for the real reason we’re on this trip, thanks again for your prayer and support. Benin was amazing. We learned so much, interacted with so many people, connected with a ton of different villages and assisted in the mission of GAIN to help build the kingdom of God. We will make our way to Bulembu tomorrow, but not before a sunrise safari.
DAY 6
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DAY 6
Today was our final full day in Benin. Tomorrow, we take a red-eye flight to South Africa. So, today was a chance to connect with the Beninois people in the villages one last time.
But before we left, we heard from Patrice, who is GAIN’s Country Manager for Benin. He told us about his transformation from being the son of a voodoo priest to becoming a Christian. It was an amazing story and was incredibly inspirational. When we’re back home, ask whoever you know on this trip to give you more details.
After that, our three groups dispersed. One group going out to help cement a water well, while the other two groups went to separate villages where we did a variety of things, including learning and helping with some of the villagers daily chores and playing games and soccer with the kids.
I joined a group that I haven’t been with for most of the trip and we went out to a far-flung village to hang out with the local people. Before we got to the main village we were going to visit, five of us, including a translator, were dropped off at a smaller village where we helped a few women peel a bunch of root-like starchy vegetables. We were under some shade and it was really relaxing just sitting on small stools and peeling away, while interacting with the three women through our translator. After we peeled our fair share, Amy Gartke shared and prayed with the group.
The other half of our group drove a couple minutes further down the road to another village where we would join them later. While we were sitting in the shade, the others were helping carry buckets of water on their heads to all areas of the village. It was hot and they were heavy buckets, so it was hard work, but our team did well. A few others in our group also helped with the process of making corn flour, with some stirring over a fire and other sifting the corn.
Following that, we gathered what was seemingly the entire community – men, women and children – and played games and soccer for the next couple of hours. Again, we made some fun connections and everyone had a good time interacting with the people in the village. Seina Kashima shared a bit about our team and what we are doing in Benin and her faith story.
After our soccer game, we got in the van and the group sang their way home with various attempts at a variety of songs keeping the van lively all the way to the GAIN house.
After that, we came home and had what most were calling the best dinner of the trip and had a debrief session before going to bed. Another wonderful day was in the books.
Tomorrow, we will have a bit of a slower day with not a lot planned as we leave Benin Tuesday night at 10:30 p.m. for South Africa. Please pray for safe travels and thanks so much for all of your support and prayer throughout this trip. It means a lot.
DAY 5
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DAY 4
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Frist, before I get going with today’s blog, please be advised that there was a bit of a mishap on my behalf and Day 4’s story accidently went out as a repeat of Day 3. So, if you haven’t read Day 4, it has now been posted correctly below.
Now, for Day 5. Today was Sunday, so the three groups went to three different churches in the villages, including the two churches that our team had helped build over the last couple of days. I joined a group that went to the church that one of our teams built on Day 3. It was a really neat experience for a number of the people in the group to see a congregation gathered at the church they just built two days ago.Shortly after we arrived at the church, most of the people who were already gathered, including ourselves, went into the village to invite more people to join us for church. A few accepted the invitation and came, with one person in particular bouncing out of her house and dancing with unbridled joy before also joining us at church. As I had anticipated, the church service was very much about singing and dancing and singing and dancing. It was awesome. We were welcomed in with open arms and the presence of God was overwhelmingly evident. A couple of days ago, I had been asked to preach in today’s service. I have never done this before. So maybe it was appropriate that I spoke about trusting in God. I had to trust that he would guide me in putting together a cohesive message and I think I managed to sort that out a bit. It was a unique experience that I won’t forget. There were a couple other fun moments with the team as we had the chance to sing two different songs in front of the church. We danced and sang to Michael W. Smith’s “Awesome God” and made our way through Bethel Music’s “You Make Me Brave.” It was incredible to be a part of their service and to see the passion they exude in worshiping the Lord.
After that, we had a relaxing day that featured a little pizza and gelato at a local restaurant before playing a street soccer game against some local boys. Amy Gartke scored the lone goal for our team but it was a rocket of a shot. I’ll post it on our TWU Spartans Facebook page if you want to see how it played out. However, after the game, our coach Graham Roxburgh gathered both teams and had a brief discussion about what it truly means to follow to Jesus. Following his words, he asked if anyone from the other team would want to know more. One teenaged boy stepped up and showed a genuine thirst to pursue a relationship with Jesus. In the middle of the street, Graham prayed with him and now we will work to make connections with him and a local church. It was a really exciting moment and a true testament to God’s plan for this place as well as the power of sport bringing people together and the possibilities that exist to share Jesus love in this country. Hopefully we will play them tomorrow as well, which will be a great chance to continue to build relationships.
After that, we had dinner and a short chat before going to bed. I’m not entirely sure what the plan is for tomorrow, but I guess we’ll find out in the morning. But, after all, that’s for tomorrow’s blog anyways. Thanks again for all the prayer and support.
Today, as has been the case every day so far, we started the day by singing a few songs on the rooftop of the GAIN building and had short devotional. Following that, we had breakfast, before splitting into our three groups and heading out to different villages for work projects. Just like yesterday, two of the groups were helping cement the water wells and one group helped build the structure for a church.
So, today I changed groups and went with the team that helped build the church. This means that I got to hang out with a totally different group, which was great fun, and take photos of different people. However, somehow both the Bolders, father and daughter, somehow also changed groups and snuck their way into the photos for a second day in a row…hmmm.
Alas, it took our team about two hours before we arrived at our location, which was an empty patch of grass amidst some trees just on the outskirts of the village. We split our team into two groups, with half of us helping build the church and the other half walking into town to play soccer and various games with the local kids. Partway through the day, we switched roles.
The group that went into town first was told by our translators just to walk into the middle of the soccer field and wait. The kids would come. It was a bit of a “If build it, they will come” moment. And they did. Soon enough there were about 30 kids there and a number of their moms playing games with our team. A version of Duck, Duck, “Goat” seemed to be quite the hit amongst all ages.
Meanwhile, using machetes, we dug the holes for the corner and middle posts of the structure. It wasn’t the easiest of tasks – especially given that today was by far the hottest day of our trip – but the team got it done. Then, it was time to put the posts in and start hammering it all together. In the end, we didn’t quite finish it, but we helped the GAIN team that was working on it get off to a good start. I’m told, they will likely finish it today and we will be going back there to worship tomorrow.
We had to duck out a bit early from the work projects today, because the GAIN staff had set up a game for our Spartans team to play against a local women’s side. The pitch was more of a dirt field than anything resembling grass, but it was a great setting for a fun game. In the end, the team’s battled to a 0-0 draw over about 60 minutes of action. It was certainly hot, but everyone who was healthy found their way onto the field, including a couple of our translators, and a good time was had by all.
Following that, we sat down with the other team and enjoyed some pop, water and selfies. Before we left, Ally Williamson, who is a Spartan alum, who is now both a TWU coach and a staff member with SportAid, shared her testimony with the group.
After that, it was dinner and a brief chat before an early bedtime.
While so many things have been wonderful about this trip, we have a bit of a bout of illness and churning stomachs run through the team, so prayer for good health would be much appreciated.
Tomorrow, we will go to church and then have a relatively low-key afternoon. But that’s for tomorrow’s blog. Thanks again for all the prayer and support.
DAY 3
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Today saw our team split into three separate groups and all three headed out for different work projects. One team helped build a church structure, while the other two teams went to different villages, where they helped mix and pour the cement for a water well. In a nutshell, that was the day. However, of course, there also was plenty of playing, singing and dancing with kids throughout the day.
Before I go too far today, I just sort of realized that there isn’t a place on this blog that states who is doing the writing and taking the photos. So, as an FYI, I am Mark Janzen. I work at Trinity Western University as the assistant sports information director. Basically, I write the stories, shoot the video and take some of the photos, amongst other duties, with the Spartans. If you didn’t know who was the voice behind this or who was behind the camera lens, there you go.
My particular group went to help put with cementing in a water well. A few people who build wells for GAIN were awaiting us when we arrived at the village and we got to work right away. Our group – and this was a similar story to the other group that helped with a well – was split into three groups to start the process. Soon enough it became apparent that the heavy lifting would be at the cement mixing station. Essentially, we mixed a portion of red dirt with dry cement, rocks and water. This took some time and some serious effort. Everyone chipped in a bit and if you look closely in the photos, you’ll see that even the photographer/writer got his very much un-calloused hands a little dirty.
A support system with rebar was constructed and placed within the square around the piping for the well and, once the cement was ready, we helped shovel the cement into the square to create the platform for the well. Once that was done and after tedious levelling, which was done by a GAIN worker, we eventually saw the end result, which was pretty cool. We even got to write our SportAid name into the cement with the date and pump number.
After that, the songs and games and running around with soccer balls commenced. The GAIN organizers had the kids singing and dancing in a big circle and soon enough our own Carmen Mostat and Ally Williamson each found themselves in a dance-off. A jury likely would have sided with the local kids – they had serious moves – but our Spartans certainly held their own.
Shortly after that, Carmen shared her testimony with the kids, before the GAIN leaders prayed with the children.
After that, more chaotic playing continued, before we eventually had to leave and say “au revoir.”
When we got back to the house, we had another delicious meal before our daily sharing and reflection time. We heard some really neat connections were made with some people and kids at the other work projects and things went really well…get it. I promise I didn’t mean to write that until it had been typed out. So I had to leave it. Tomorrow, the groups will move to different villages and complete similar projects. We also just got word that in the late afternoon, our team will be playing a game against a local women’s side at the university. But that’s for tomorrow’s blog. Thanks for all the prayer and support.
DAY 2
Today we made our first foray into the villages where GAIN is working. After a drive that lasted somewhere between an hour and two hours – time can become a fluid concept around here – we arrived at one of the villages. The first thing we did was walk from the village to the village’s current water supply. It was an eye-opening and heartbreaking experience for our group. Following a well-trodden trail, we found ourselves at the bottom of a hill where a small pond would collect rainwater that drained down the hill. That was their water supply. Fortunately, for the people of the village, GAIN is in the process of finishing a well that will provide clean water. That well will be completed in the next few weeks.
In the second village we visited, we witnessed a group of GAIN workers put the final touches on a water well. The team started the process of clearing the sediment from a water well and it was expected that the well would likely be set to go with clean water within a few hours. It was incredible to see the transformation of the dirty water, which sprayed out at that start of the process, to clean water, which was starting to spray out even in the first few minutes. While there, we also got into a fun sing-songy sort of game with a bunch of the local kids. The songs and dances went back and forth, including a few renditions of the Spartan Faithful song, which the children were totally into.
When we arrived in the third and final village of the day, some of the our team got a chance to help pump some water from the local well. From my vantage point, a certain Amy Gartke was particularly impressive in this. After the water had been pumped, a few others attempted the art of carrying water basins on their heads, with the aid of their hands, to a nearby home. It’ll never cease to amaze me how the local women can carry almost anything on their heads and do it seemingly effortlessly. While there, another sing-songy game broke out and, of course, the endless laughter ensued. Meanwhile, we also rolled out a couple of soccer balls and the rest of our group joined in the chaos that is 30 kids with endless energy chasing around a few soccer balls.
Following that, we walked down to a soccer field and the chaos continued. Eventually more kids streamed out from the school – they were let out a bit early to join in the fun – and the field was instantly crawling with kids. After goofing around for a bit with the kids, things got serious. Well, kind of serious. It was time for the local team to have a turn on the field. All kitted up, wearing blue and yellow, the team of about eight players trotted onto the field and the little kids instantly ran to the sidelines. They knew it was game time. We mixed up our team with their team and had a bit of a go. There was even a “referee.” He was a soccer-loving GAIN staff member, but he had a whistle and that gave the game a little something extra. Team A beat Team B by a 2-0 score. Other than that, it was just a good time. There was something of a long jump pit just inside one of the sidelines and the pitch was a tad rugged, but no one got hurt and everyone left with smiles.
After that, we came home, ate food, got the tailor into to fit us for some “local apparel” and had a debrief about the day, largely discussing what impacted each person and what stood out during the day. It was only the first day in the villages, but there were already several connections made with the local people and there’s no doubt every person in our group can’t wait to get back to the villages. Tomorrow will see us split into three groups and we will be doing various work projects in the villages. But that’s for tomorrow’s blog. Thanks for all the prayer and support.
DAY 1
“Today” was one long day of travel. I use the term “today” rather loosely as the trip started on Sunday at 10:30 p.m. in Vancouver and we arrived in Benin on Wednesday at 1 p.m. It was rather lengthy, but we arrived very much safe and sound and all but one of our bags arrived as well (sorry Garth!), which is not bad considering we had 37 people travelling from Vancouver to Benin via stops in both Toronto and Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.
Alas, we made it. The rest of the day included a brief orientation at the Gain (Global Aid Network) house, a short walk to take in the local oceanfront, dinner back at the house and an early bedtime. Tomorrow, we will visit a few of the villages where Gain is working and play a little soccer with the kids in some of these villages. But that’s for tomorrow’s blog. Thanks for all your prayers and support.
PRE-TRIP
On May 1, the Trinity Western women's soccer team embarks on a 17-day journey to Benin and Bulembu. A group of 37, including coaches, support staff and a few parents will spend a week in both the country of Benin and the village of Bulembu, which is in Swaziland.
In conjunction with SportAid and GAIN (Global Aid Network), the team will serve in communities and villages alongside local organizations, building relationships and helping in various areas of need.
This blog will keep be updated as regularly as possible throughout the trip.
