Summer Update

SUMMER NEWSLETTER

Summer around here has been the busiest season yet. I have so many exciting things to share!

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SUMMER ACADEMY

Summer is a CRAZY busy season here because of our Summer Academy.

For those of you unfamiliar with Academy, CESA is our summer college program. College athletes from across the country (and a few international!) come to Chicago to spend their summer coaching youth camps, playing soccer together, learning about sports ministry, and even going on an international trip.

This summer, I am serving as the Women's Assistant Coach as well as helping with operations and player care.

Academy is the program I participated in during my collegiate summers and is the program through which I fell in love with sports ministry, so it has a very special place in my heart. It has been such a privilege to serve with these players!

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BRAZIL

We kick off our Academy with a two-week tour in Brazil. We played in matches against teams and shared the Gospel and testimonies after each game. We also ran several clinics for kids and in schools, sharing the Gospel with them as well.

Check out some of what we did in Brazil below, as well as lots of awesome pictures!

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Visiting Stadiums

We were blessed with the opportunity to tour, run a clinic in, and play a scrimmage in Pacaembu Stadium, a stadium used to host four of the biggest club professional teams in the State of São Paulo. Several World Cup matches were also hosted in this stadium. The ability to preach the Gospel in a place like this is incredibly unique, and getting to spend time with the whole stadium to ourselves was an unbelievable privilege.

We also got to experience a tour of Red Bull Bragantino's state-of-the-art training facility. We got to see their training rooms, dormitories, and mini-stadium.

Coaching

Coaching this group has been such a fun learning opportunity. They have been incredibly encouraging, pushed me to grow and learn, and challenged me in so many ways. I am learning so much about myself and collegiate coaching through working with them.

Painting the Streets

In Brazil, people paint the streets to celebrate the World Cup. This was one of the things I was most excited to do on our trip. We were able to paint Brazilian flags with the kids and celebrate in ways we don't get to experience here in America!

Staff

It is the cause of the many transitions in our office that I was on this trip at all, and similarly, the tour staff as a whole was a special group. JP was the tour director, and Ben and his family, Elisha, Trey, and I all served as tour staff. It was a really sweet time to close our year here working together back in the place we all really got to know each other years ago!

Community

This group has become such a sweet community, and the Summer Academy community is what I have loved most about this place since my first summer. There have been many challenges and learning experiences within this group, but I have also been able to make some really special connections and form some awesome relationships with the girls.

POST-BRAZIL

After returning from tour, the main pieces of the summer are coaching camps, running the U23 team, and walking through our Sports Ministry Training Curriculum.

At camps, I have served as the assistant to our Camp Director, JP. I have been helping with a lot of the logistics more than coaching our kids directly.

We have also had lots of time as a community since returning from Brazil. We missed everyone who was not on the trip bunches and bunches, so it has been nice to have lots of time with them since being back.

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WHAT'S NEXT?

As many of you know, I have been exploring my next steps as my time in Chicago comes to a close. At the end of summer, I will be moving to Georgia to coach as the Women's Assistant Soccer Coach at Point University.

I am excited to pursue more collegiate coaching as I continue to explore what I want for my future. I can't wait to build relationships with each of the girls there, and I hope to take all that I have learned about using sport as a tool and platform to share the Gospel and apply it in this next stage of life!

Praises and Prayer Requests

Praises!

The summer has flown by, and our time in Brazil was such a refreshment and a blessing. Praise the Lord for the way He is moving everywhere we look!

I am so excited for my next steps in Georgia! This opportunity is such an answer to prayer. I can't wait to be closer to home, friends, and Jake, and I am thrilled for the opportunity to work with the girls.

Prayer Requests

As I finish up my year in Chicago and look toward what is next, I am praying I would continue to be present in all that I do and would finish well.

I am working on housing as I move south, and I am having a hard time finding good options. Please be praying the Lord would make a clear path for me as I go through this process again.

I am wrapping up the process of fundraising, and I would appreciate prayers over the Lord's provision in providing financially and through bringing partners alongside me.

Thank you for your endless support this year! Residency would not have been possible without you coming alongside me to support me through finances, encouragement, and prayer. I praise the Lord for the partnership and relationship He has provided me through YOU!

As my time in Chicago comes to a close and I take my next steps in my career, I am no longer in need of your financial support. I would greatly appreciate continued support in prayer and encouragement!

If you have been a financial supporter through a regular, automatic payment, your payments WILL CONTINUE to be sent to the Chicago Eagles General Fund and no longer to my account.

If you would like to keep your recurring pledge open, just let me know — your support can continue to bless the local office's general fund, another staff member, or a specific program you choose. If you would prefer to change or end your pledge, you can do so through your Virtuous account.

To be clear, if you would like your recurring pledges to cease, please be sure to make this change in your account or reach out to M.A.I. or myself for help!

If you would like to partner with us to help support the work of this ministry, check out the link below! I would love to connect with you and talk about what we are doing and how you can be a part of this Kingdom-building work!

Join my support team!

Thank you for your generosity and faithful prayer!

MAI is a 501(c)(3) organization, and gifts are tax deductible. All donations are made with the understanding that MAI is in control of the funds according to IRS standards.

MAI is a member of ECFA and ECFA-accredited. We adhere to the highest standard of financial integrity and transparency. When you give to our ministry you can feel confident that your generosity will make a kingdom impact.

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