By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation

Now in his eighth year as Baylor's Athletic Chaplain and leading mission trips "to the end of the earth," Wes Yeary still sees the "newness" in every trip.

"It's new students every year," said Yeary, who is leading a 38-person mission trip May 15-28 to Maceio and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, site of the 2016 Summer Olympics. "And we're impacting, or getting to be a part of God's work, in the lives of new people every year."

Even with the makeup of the ministry team, there's a definite "newness" with 22 first-timers, including 16 student-athletes.

"That's always fun because of their excitement, their eagerness . . . even inspiring, to watch those going on a mission trip for the first time and how God opens their eyes to so many things," Yeary said. "And then to have the returners that maybe have gained confidence or have such a passion to go back and build on what they got to be a part of and build on the relationships they got to cultivate when they were there, and watch them lead now after they were the ones that were so big-eyed."

Junior guard Alexis Prince from the women's basketball team was one of those first-timers in Brazil last year, when Yeary got a chance to watch her "come out of her shell, or just thrive and bloom, in that time."

"At first, she would just sit back and watch. But it didn't take long for her to dive in. And then the next thing you knew, she was one of the ones sharing the Gospel using the (soccer) balls. . . . Part of the fun for me was watching Alexis with the athletes from different sports that she hadn't known before. They were wanting to hang with her and jump right in the way she was. Whether it was bus games or the little sports they got started on a small court, Alexis was in the middle of all of it."

Now, Prince is one of a handful of veterans returning to Brazil, joining teammates Nina Davis and Chardonae Fuqua from women's basketball, along with Lynx Hawthorne, Blake Mahon and Xavier Phillips from football. There are five sports represented on the trip, including 11 from football and four each from women's basketball and the national championship Acrobatics & Tumbling team.

Having at least a few returners helps, Yeary said, "especially when it comes to just dividing up for clinics or doing multiple things in a day, to have those that you know are going to lead and have done it before and aren't stepping into the unknown."

"The cool thing about it is, especially involving sports, is that it isn't a new language to them," he said. "They dive right in when it gets to that point of using sports. To watch those that have been there before lead in sharing their testimonies and sharing the Gospel; and then the first-timers pick it up pretty quick and dive in. it doesn't take long for them to step up."

One of the key elements in last year's trip to Brazil was a three-day football clinic in Maceio, where the players from the state team had totally immersed themselves in everything Baylor football and "asking about players, some that weren't even on the trip," Yeary said.

"There was an immediate bond, because in their eyes, this was someone that had achieved at a higher level, something they were pursuing and they loved," he said.

On the first day of the clinic, strength and conditioning coach Kaz Kazadi, "in his loving and inspiring way," got the Brazilian players' attention and made sure they weren't just standing around.

"It was so funny, because the next day when we came up on the bus, they were already all out there in uniform, standing in line, at attention," Yeary said. "They weren't going to be called to attention that day. They were ready."

The plan this year is to make it more of a three-day camp, where "football is an element of it, but incorporating so much more with the spiritual element," Yeary said.

Baylor's presence last year has already opened doors, with local pastor Jonson Henrique asked to help carry on what the sports ministry team started in Maceio with the football team. One of the Brazilian leaders also coordinated a community-wide clinic in the stadium in Maceio that Baylor will host and lead.

"That's part of the reason we go on these missions is to come alongside those who are doing ministry full-time year-around in those areas, and just serve them," Yeary said. "It's always awesome to see how just our being there sometimes opens doors for them to expand their ministries or even start new ministries."

One of the struggles, or challenges, in Brazil is seeing the beauty and even the wealth along the beach-front areas in both Maceio and Rio de Janeiro. In the Baylor Sports Ministry team's six trips to Africa, "the majority of what you saw was poverty," Yeary said. In Brazil, the favelas or slums are just around the corner from the tourist beaches.

"Some of the students are like, 'I'm not sure if I'm on vacation or on a mission," he said. "What I told them was to appreciate the beauty and the opportunity of what God has provided us and that we get to see part of His creation, but don't lose sight of the pain that's right next to us.

"There are some schools where the kids have cell phones and some schools that we go in where they still have chalkboards. Don't lose sight that the truest poverty is those that don't know Christ. That's really our mission being there, whether we're working with kids that have shoes or don't have shoes, is to share the hope that we have in Christ and the difference He can make, no matter what the circumstances are."

Wes and the rest of the ministry team covets your prayers and are also seeking help in funding the trip, needing an additional $60,000 in donations within the next few weeks.

There are several options to financially support the mission trip, including Baylor University's online giving system at https://www.baylor.edu/give/index.php?id=49837&a=3&f=08542A4; a mobile app at https://app.mobilecause.com/form/CpcWWQ; or sending checks to Baylor University Sports Ministry, Attn: Wes Year, 1500 S. University Parks Drive, Waco, Texas, 76706.

"It's so humbling to me that so many people would be a part of helping these students experience such a life-impacting opportunity," Yeary said, "as well as just their investment in the kingdom of God and the impact that that's had on our partners around the world, simply because of their generosity and willingness to give. It's literally transformed the lives of some of our student-athletes."

Here is a list of the Baylor Sports Ministry team making the two-week mission trip to Brazil:

Football (11): Lynx Hawthorne, Tyler Jaynes, Jarrod Koym, Blake Lynch, Blake Mahon, Blake Murphy, Xavier Phillips, Seth Russell, Wyatt Schrepfer, Peni Tagive, Trevor White
Women's Basketball (4): Nina Davis, Chardonae Fuqua, Alexis Prince, Kristy Wallace
Track and Field (1): Samantha Thorn
Volleyball (2): Jana Brusek, Morgan Reed
Acrobatics & Tumbling (4): Kalee Garvin, Kati Horstmann, Shayla Moore, Kelci Ortiz
Club Soccer (1): Hamilton Howard
Spirit (1): John Hodges
Student (1): Nikki Dillard
Trainers (5): Erin Barbour, Nancy Bearden, Joi Mainoo, Kaitlin Randle, Taylor Russo
Nutrition (1): Nikki Jupe
Athletic staff/leaders (7): Tierra Barber, Norris Blount, Kaz and Monique Kazadi, Dr. Ted Phipps, Kim Scott, Wes Yeary