Junior Maddison Harris provided Friday's recap from Tiger Volleyball's TAME trip in Chile.

"We woke up this morning for our last day here in Chile. We arrived to Grace College at about 9:00 AM and Anita, Graycee and I went to a 4th grade reading class. We helped the kids unscramble English phrases. The kids in there were so happy to have us help them. The whole team then went to an elementary chapel service and the children had a presentation for us that was very special and they also sang a song saying thank you to us. It was the sweetest thing.  After that the Pre-k class presented 4 pictures frames of finger paintings they had made, a few of our players then led the kids in a short sermon about Jonah and a few songs, including "My Name is Jonah" and "Father Abraham." We then presented gifts to the headmaster of the school, a signed volleyball and a #24 ETBU Volleyball jersey. They were so grateful for our time spent with them.

The last thing we did before we left was say goodbye to all the kids. We split into groups of five or people and went around to different classrooms saying one last goodbye to all the students. We went into the classrooms and said a few words of just how thankful we were to be here and how special it has been. The way the students talked to us and said such sweet things to us was very emotional. They were grateful that we were there to be with them, and many of them expressed how much they would miss us and wanted us to come back, as well as wishing us safe travels back home. A few of the elementary classes had us sign their notebooks as well. The way they would just light up when we walked in the room was something truly amazing to witness.

We were finished at the school at 2:00 PM and then headed to the mall to spend some free time before going to the airport. It was neat to see how their culture was different than ours and all the different Chilean stores. We headed to the airport for our flight out at 11:00 PM and we arrived back in Houston at 7:00 AM and to ETBU at noon on Saturday.

This mission trip to Chile was nothing short of amazing and life changing. To be able to do it with all of my best friends was such a special, once in a lifetime experience. From the moment we got to our first school in Chile, we were overwhelmed by joy from all the kids. We were welcomed by them, and they were just so excited that we were there. As we would walk around the school, there was always someone stopping us to say hi and give us a hug. Many of us had experiences that changed our lives; from having kids give their life to Christ, kids praying and hearing the Gospel for the first time, and just showing them what God's love truly looks like. The Spirit of God was present on this trip and we were all moved by it. We were pushed out of our comfort zones like we had never been before such as praying out loud for the first time, sharing our testimony for the first time, or sharing the Word of God to a nonbeliever for the first time. Through volleyball clinics, one on one time with the kids, and worshiping the Lord together, we hope we impacted their lives like they did ours. Personally, seeing the love for Jesus each and every one of my teammates had was inspiring.

Not only were we changed in the way the people of Chile impacted us personally, but we were changed as a team. Every night we had a debrief as a team. We shared our testimonies to each other, and talked about how each day had impacted us. We were able to be vulnerable with each other, and grow one other in our walk with the Lord. The bond that we have together is something so incredible and after this trip it has grown even more than we thought it could. Being able to use our God given talents and the platform we have to share the love of Christ was such a powerful experience, and I am forever grateful for this opportunity we had."