On Sunday the 26th, we began our day with a bus tour of Cordoba. The sunny skies and warm temperatures made the extensive tour quite enjoyable. We were also amazed by one of the stray dogs who "joined" our tour after only a few minutes. After visiting a gorgeous Catholic church, the dog decided to lead the bus through the city. He had to have covered several miles of roadways! The tour guide said that this is a normal occurance for this dog. He has learned the route and seems to enjoy leading the way! We spent most of the afternoon at the mall - go figure - to purchase our final trinkets before leaving Argentina. In the evening, we played our fifth and final game of the trip. We faced a very impressive all-star team from Universitario Club. We were told prior to the game that a future Leonas - Argentina's national team - plays on the team. Little did we know that this team not only had the best youth player on the roster (she was 14 years old), but also won four state championships! These young players definitely lived up to all of the hype. Although we came out on the losing end of the scoreboard, it was quite exciting to see so much skill and potential in the youth of Cordoba. Following the game, we spent time fellowshipping and sharing pizza with the team. With the help of translaters from the OM ministry, we were able to learn more about the players and their desire to come to the U.S. to play. In the next two years, the team's coach and manager would like to bring them to Messiah College with the hope of challenging other college and/or club teams from the area. With several hours to burn before we headed to the airport, we decided to put our bowling skills into action. Two lanes split between 19 people led to a long game and much dissapointment! Each lane had a unique pitch to it which never allowed the ball to go straight. Needless to say, the adverse playing conditions minimized our competitive spirit and allowed everyone to have fun without being too competitive. At 11 p.m., we left the hotel for the airport and said goodbye to Will, our SCORE International host.
At 2 a.m. on Monday, May 27th we left the lovely country of Argentina and headed home. Our flight was relatively empty, which made things very comfortable so we all could sleep. On our second flight from Panama City, Panama to Washington, D.C. (Dulles) we experienced quite a bit of turbulance along the way, but were more than overjoyed when we made it to customs and saw the "Welcome to the U.S." sign!
After spening a week in Cordoba and San Francisco, each of us have walked away with great memories, some soreness, and a genuine appreciation for the many blessings God has given us. As we all go our seperate ways this evening, I'm sure we will reflect on our trip with family and friends. We'll share all of the unique things that were different than the States (i.e. - drinking mate, eating mystery meat, not being able to flush toilet paper, stray dogs, minimal traffic signs and yet no accidents, great coffee, and a wonderful host family), talk about all of the young players we taught and teams we played against, and reflect on what God has shown each of us through this trip. We each will have a different story to tell, yet we all can agree that we got more out of this trip than we could have ever given.
Many thanks to everyone who supported us, who prayed for us, and who followed us through this blog. We greatly appreciated your involvement in making this trip a success. We would also like to thank the Herndon family - Will, Alle, Bekah, and Natalia - for all of their love and support. We are so glad that we could come to your hometown and invest in your community. We pray that your church will see the fruits of our labor in the very near future.
Blessings,
COACH BROOKE GOOD
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