We began a baseball league here a couple of years ago as a way to relax, keep in touch with old friends, make new ones and do some exercise (or try to, lol). Most people in Arequipa have no idea what baseball is, but it is slowly growing and we are now a six-team league where you can find a variety of personalities, cultures, backgrounds, and lifestyles. We play about two seasons per year. As the seasons go on, you can see the different personalities of each team emerging. There are the “we are here to win, not have fun” teams, the “we’re hungover from partying last night” teams, and the “win or lose, we just wanna play baseball” teams. Jake and I are on a team called the “Lonccos,” which roughly translates to “the rednecks.”
Actually, baseball isn’t completely new to Arequipeños, as there is a simplified version of it called “bata” (similar to kickball in the U.S.). We could say the same about following Jesus here where most people here are raised in a Catholic environment but only follow a simplified version of the Bible.
My parents baptized me as a baby but last October I got rebaptized (thanks to Jacobito) and now I’m trying to put Jesus in all my decisions. That includes baseball. So beginning this past season before each game I would walk to the side and do a small prayer for myself. After a couple of games I started feeling bad because I felt that I wasn’t inviting the other guys to pray to Jesus with me. After talking to Jake we decided to give it a try with everybody on the team that would feel free to join us. Our whole team wanted to be part of it. The way we do it is all of us make a small circle on the field with one knee down on the ground. We encourage anybody that wants to share any personal things that they are struggling with at the time and to know that we are their brothers that can help. After that I try to find a verse in the Bible that can be used in a sport environment, and do a prayer to Jesus to help with the struggles of our brothers and for a good game.
Hopefully this next season other teams will join us and/or do the same thing. It is a way to bring Jesus into one more area of our lives.
