Churches in the Fredericksburg area regularly send members to foreign countries to do mission work.
In early August, three foreign countries sent missionaries to Frederick-sburg to help local children sharpen their soccer skills and their faith. The event was hosted by Virginia Baptists.
Players and coaches from Brazil, Italy and Jamaica showed more than 200 youngsters how to move the ball with purpose and finesse. It's a style the Brazilians call “ginga,” the Portuguese word for “dance,” and it represents the almost magical maneuvers the men can make.
The players—some were members of national teams—also shared their spiritual side.
PHOTO BY SCOTT NEVILLE/FREDERICKSBURG FREE LANCE STAR
Alyssa Byrd, 6, gets some air during a drill at Dixon Park in Fredericksburg.
“People need to have an intimate relationship with God, that is the foundation to everything,” said Izaias Querino of the Brazilian Soccer Missionaries team. “If that is the focus, if that is what we are teaching our children, then our country will be much better.”
This is the third time the Brazilians visited Fredericksburg, but the first time they were joined by Italians and Jamaicans. All three countries have a partnership with the Baptist General Association of Virginia.
The foreign volunteers bring clinics to Virginia, and Virginians go abroad to work on building projects.
Locally, the event—called a Mini World Cup event—was coordinated by LUCHA, a Hispanic support group with Virginia Baptist ties; Evergreen Baptist Church in Spotsylvania County; and Olde Forge Community Junction in Stafford County.
But the effort to house, transport and feed 43 visitors involved groups throughout the region.
There were 21 host families and more than a dozen churches that arranged picnics and shopping trips for visitors and enough water, energy bars and first-aid kits for three soccer clinics.
“It's a wonderful opportunity to provide something that's beneficial, not only through their soccer skills but also by sharing their faith, and we love being a part of that,” said Margene Hughes, a King George resident who coordinated activities in her county.
Querino, the Brazilian player, said he was “enchanted by the reception that we've gotten. It's my third time here. I will return.”
Kevin Bethune, a coach from Jamaica, called the visit “phenomenal. I didn't expect this amount of kindness.”
Youngsters were equally impressed with the visitors.
Omar Maldonado, a 13-year-old from Fredericksburg, has played soccer for five years, but said he learned skills this week he'd never seen before.
PHOTO BY SCOTT NEVILLE/FREDERICKSBURG FREE LANCE-STAR
Brazilian Pastor Francisco Jose Cordeiro gives a thumbs up to soccer players who join him in singing.
“It's great because we can live our dreams and stuff,” he said.
Omar was one of about 130 youngsters at the Dixon Park clinic. About 50 attended the King George clinic at Sealston Elementary School, and 40 were at Caroline Middle School.
King George player Kevin Carpenter, 13, took the visit personally.
“It's really great that these guys came from, like, halfway around the world to come teach us,” he said.
Children at the Olde Forge Community Junction had the same reaction. Members of an Italian mission team spent two days teaching them crafts, songs and dances.
Young children hung on the arms of the Italian teenagers as if they were their new best friends. Youth coordinator Charissa McCall said it was great to see the interaction.
“One little girl said she was going to tell everybody she had a group from Italy come spend the whole week with her,” she said.