Two Hoopsters on a Mission
Lions athletes Aaron Syvertsen ’10 and Jason Frank ’10 traveled to Central America over the summer to play basketball and spread the Gospel.
This summer, Aaron Syvertsen ’10 and Jason Frank ’10 traveled to Central America with Athletes in Action (AIA) to play basketball and spread the Gospel.
AIA Basketball, a part of the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, sponsors trips for college athletes to play against teams from different nations and grow in their faith through mission work. Syvertsen heard about the group through his church. He and Frank applied for the opportunity, and were placed on the Guatemala and El Salvador tour.
Their first stop was in Iowa for training. There they met their teammates, went to church, and of course, practiced rigorously. During that stopover they also traveled to a minimum-security prison for a game with the inmates—which the AIA team lost. But that was just fine with the AIA team.
“We lost because God used that loss to make the prisoners feel more comfortable, and we were able to talk…and share the Gospel and our personal testimonies with a few dozen of them,” Frank recalled.
Two days later, the team headed to South America. Despite a steady schedule of games, Syvertsen and Frank said they always kept the overall goal in mind: uniting people in the name of Jesus Christ.
“After every game or during half time, we would have one of the players share the Gospel or their testimony with the opposing team and/or the fans,” Frank said. “We would also hand out DVDs to the opposing teams and fans that featured NBA players who had Jesus Christ as their personal savior as well.”
Syvertsen and Frank said they both grew as athletes and people through their AIA experience. Said Syvertsen: “I loved how we were players from across the country who all had the same passion for Jesus Christ and basketball. I really enjoyed competing against international players and teams for the first time. Despite speaking different languages and living in completely different cultures, we were able to share the court and play the sport that we both love. And it was neat to be able to use basketball as a platform for sharing with them the love that Jesus Christ has for each and every one of them.”
Posted on November 4, 2009