By Zack Peñalva, Sports Editor
Mission work plays a big part of the student-athlete experience at Asbury. This past July, the women’s soccer team traveled to Colombia, where they put on clinics for children and did other work with a missions group. Teams have traveled abroad to countries like Puerto Rico, Mexico and Guatemala, as well as domestically to cities like Chicago and New York. As one would expect, these trips, while rewarding for everyone involved, aren’t free.
As a result, the Asbury and the athletic department collaborated to create the Asbury Athletics 5K Missions run that took place this past Saturday on Aug. 20. The event was put on as a fundraiser to collect money so that any of Asbury’s 17 athletic teams will have an easier time organizing and carrying out mission trips.
“It’s a great cause.” said junior lacrosse player Didier Fardin. “It’s a great way to help people in need go to other countries and learn about other cultures and do missions.” For some athletes like Didier or his brother Gabriel, a trip with their team might be their first time in the missions field.
“I’ve never really done a missions trip,” said Gabriel, “but after looking at the Instagram for Asbury Eagles (@AsburyEagles), they seem like they’re having fun. They’re getting to experience new cultures and spread the word of God, and that’s something that really excites me.”
It was with this mindset that many of Asbury’s student athletes gathered at 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning to run with those from the community that had paid the $20 donation to participate. “We [the lacrosse team] plan to do a trip this summer, said Didier, “We might be going to Costa Rica or Jamaica, but as long as we’re helping people and doing the right thing, we’ll be happy.”
Numbers haven’t been made available yet on how much money was brought in, but with flights alone from Lexington to San Jose, Costa Rica costing somewhere around $500 a person, any amount raised by the 5k would make a difference for those student-athletes wanting to take the trip with their team.
“It would make it way more difficult for everybody [without the missions fund],” Gabriel said. “I spent half my summer working, and the more I’d have to spend [to go on a missions trip], the more time I’d have to stay here working to make more money.”
The hope for Gabriel, and for many more students that would need financial assistance, is that events like the 5k will help them grow closer to their teams.
“It’ll create a bigger bond in our teams,” said Gabriel. “It’ll make us better people overall.”