Lurín, Lima, Peru

As I walked down to the grass field with a box full of soccer balls in my arms, I took a deep breath and sighed. “To tell you the truth, I’ve never been this nervous before…not before a single game I played while in high school or even in college”, I said as I turned to my friend Hannah, director of development and volunteer coordinator at CHJPII. But anxious as I was, I recalled an e-mail I had received from my mother just the night prior. She told me to reflect on the bible verse from Isaiah 26:4, which calls on us to “Trust in the Lord”. I did just that and when I finally began running the program with the kids, everything seemed to fall perfectly into place. In fact, I wondered why I had ever worried at all to begin with.

But before I get into the details of the clinic, I guess I should elaborate on what my purpose was for going down to Peru in the first place. A couple months ago, I placed an order for twenty soccer balls from a third-party vendor online. Until Saturday, those same soccer balls had sat in a corner of my room untouched, but yearning to be placed into the hands of someone more deserving than I. Thus, I began to plan an outreach trip to somewhere with need, somewhere that I could use my time and my talents to inspire others and ultimately spread the same happiness that the ball has brought (and continues to bring) me. As I searched, a certain place caught my attention; Casa Hogar Juan Pablo II, an orphanage for children of high risk families located in the poor district of Lurín in Lima, Peru. I was more than thrilled when Hannah got back to me saying they’d be happy to have me run a workshop and give out soccer balls to the little kids there.

Fast forward to the morning of Sunday, August 23rd. I was nervous because I had never done anything like this before. On Saturday, I had dipped my toes in the water per say, kicking around with three of the younger boys from the orphanage, but this…well, this was diving into the deep end. Hannah asked me if I had a schedule written out, to which I told her I was pretty much “winging it” – certainly a bold strategy, but I knew that this was all a learning experience and regardless of the outcome or how the clinic went, I would come out of it with valuable knowledge to carry with me towards the next one. It’s difficult to describe the experience fully, and I don’t think I could ever do it justice, but the moments that followed were absolutely precious. As soon as I took the soccer balls out of the box and tossed them on the field, the atmosphere was filled with pure joy and elation. It seemed as if happiness was just radiating off of the kids’ faces. And their smiles…man, their smiles meant everything to me. I had worried the night before when Hannah told me she had blocked off a time frame from 9 AM to noon to run the clinic and as I had trouble just keeping three of the boys under control for an hour earlier that day, I knew I would have my hands full with 25+ kids the next day. I feared that I would struggle to keep them engaged for just one or two hours, let alone three whole ones. Well, long story short, we ended up playing until around 12:45 and at the end of it all, I think the only tired body was mine.

I started off by letting the boys and girls use the new soccer balls to try and score on me as I played goalkeeper in the net. I figured this would help them expel some of their built-up energy, but little did I know, the energy of these kids was endless. Next, we broke off into a full 11v11 game, counting off (uno y dos) to make teams – to make sure no one felt left out. Hannah played the role of timekeeper and though we had planned for two 15 minute halves, I swear it felt like a 15 minute first half and an hour long second, just because the kids did not want to stop playing. Eventually, the deciding goal was scored and much to my surprise, Hannah had volunteered myself to showcase some of my freestyle skills to the children. I had never done this before in front of an audience, so when the kids sat down in a circle around me, their eyes gazing intently upon me, the ball, and what might happen next, I’ll admit I was a little bit nervous (for the second time that weekend). I put together a quick set of some of my best moves and after, much to my relief, called some of the other boys into the circle as I took a backseat to watching their best tricks. The program culminated with giving out a soccer ball to a representative of each “family”; CHJPII operates on a familial basis – with a husband, wife, and eight kids making up each unit. The children were incredibly thankful, with the boys shaking my hand as they received a ball, and the girls greeting me with besitos (little cheek kisses) as a sign of their gratitude.

One of the fondest memories I have of CHJPII was a special interaction I had during mass that same Sunday. First of all, it was amazing to be able to look across the chapel and catch eyes with one of the little boys or girls (all dressed up in their Sunday best) , only to see the biggest smile appear on their face. But the memory that stood out the most was during the homily. I was sitting there listening intently to father when I felt a tap on my shoulder. It had come from one of the two boys who had invited me to sit with their family at mass. He whispered in my ear, “Vuelta al mundo” – meaning “around the world” in Spanish, coincidentally the same move I had taught them earlier, and flashed an innocent smile. I was noticeably surprised, but simply chuckled and whispered back, “not right now, let’s wait until after mass!” Sure enough, as soon as we left the chapel it was right back down to the cement futsal court, where we played until the sun went down. The kids were so eager to play that I didn’t even have a chance to change out of my church clothes!

Each of the 64 kids of Casa Hogar Juan Pablo II Orphanage in Peru now holds a special place in my heart. I’ve never been so inspired by a group of people quite like I was from the short time I spent there. We shared so much joy out on the soccer field, despite my extremely broken Spanish. It was such a humbling and fruitful experience for me, and a true blessing to spread the same happiness that I still get each time I touch a soccer ball or step out on a soccer field. Muchas gracias, Casa, te amo!