Keeping Kids from Drugs — through Basketball and Jesus

Bethany DuVal • Sep 14, 2020

“[If] my brother wouldn’t have invited me to Transformados, then I wouldn’t have known anything about God. … I would probably be on drugs, alcohol and sex,” Chuy says.

Chuy’s alternate life isn’t hard to guess at because many of his friends are already living it . In the sprawling city of La Paz, Mexico , drugs are widely available. Some kids start using them as early as 13 years old.

But in recent years, more and more children have found an alternative through a program called Transformados. Five days a week, they gather on a basketball court, eager to learn new athletic skills from a trio of TEAM missionaries.

Basketball is the draw, but the missionaries’ dream is something much bigger. They want to see these kids transformed by the powerful love of Jesus Christ.

Meeting Kids Where They Are

The philosophy behind Transformados (or “Transformed”) is simple: Jesus met people where they were — in the marketplace, on the beach, in their homes — so we need to do the same.

“Our vision is to use creative initiatives like basketball and other sports … to reach kids and their families for the Lord,” TEAM missionary Phil Eager says .

Kids ranging from elementary school to university come to Transformados for training. Before and after practice, the staff invites kids back to a community center for mentoring, Bible study and worship services.

‘I Hated Basketball’

The first time he came to Transformados, Chuy had no interest in actually playing.

“I hated basketball,” Chuy says.

But his brother invited him, and Chuy wanted to make friends. Early on, Chuy saw that there was something unique about the people at Transformados. If you asked for help, they offered it on the spot. They treated you like family.

Photo of Chuy, a player at the Transformados sports ministry

Chuy didn’t care about basketball, but he was drawn into Transformados by the kindness he saw in the people there. He had to know what made them so different.

It made Chuy think, “Why am I not like this? What is changing in them?”

When he asked Phil and his co-workers, they said it was because they had God in their hearts.

A Kindness He Had to Know

Chuy grew up Catholic. He knew about God. But it had been years since Chuy had gone to mass. And what Chuy saw at Transformados was different than anything he’d seen before .

The Transformados staff invited him to share his heart with them after each practice. When his grandfather died, they cancelled practice so everyone could go to the wake. Then, they invited him to Easter camp at Rancho el Camino , a partner ministry.

“It’s just like, you enter the camp, and God is waiting for you,” Chuy says.

Chuy was overwhelmed by the camp staff’s kindness. They were just like the staff at Transformados — loving, without any thought of being repaid . A short-term mission team handed out Bibles, and Chuy started looking to God’s word for direction in life.

When Chuy told his friends he wanted to be a Christian, they said it was “weird.” But Chuy wasn’t fazed by their judgments.

“As long as you are with God,” Chuy says, “everything is good.”

Praying Instead of Partying

Many kids start at Transformados, simply seeing it as a safe place to go after school and homework. Parents like it because it gets their kids outside, spending time with wholesome friends. But gradually, kids learn about the life God gives — a life far greater than anyone else can offer.

“The government can do all these programs … to try to keep kids from doing drugs, but really, the thing that’s gonna change their lives is Christ transforming their lives,” says Pattie Eager, Phil’s wife and co-worker.

When friends invite Chuy to parties, he’s started praying, “to be a different boy, and not just being into parties, drugs and things like that. … I ask God to help me make good decisions.”

Teens sing at Transformados worship service

Since giving his life to Christ, Chuy has sought out ways to share his faith with others. He helps train younger kids and lead worship at Transformados meetings.

One of those good decisions has been finding his own ways to serve others. Chuy helps lead worship at his church, as well as Transformados’ weekly youth service. He also started coming early to Transformados so he can help train younger kids.

Over the years, Chuy has grown to love basketball and become one of the group’s best players. Still, his focus remains on living for Christ.

“More than anything, what I want to show them is that God is in me. … I want to show that being kind is not a bad thing and that God can be with you,” Chuy says.

A Dream to Transform More Lives

As more kids like Chuy find life in Christ, Transformados is running out of room in its building. To keep up, the staff are raising funds to buy a piece of land .

“This place gets packed,” says Phil’s wife and co-worker Pattie Eager. “It’s very loud and noisy, and it’s exciting, but we’ve outgrown it.”

Transformados staff pray with teens after practice

The Transformados building has opened the door for many spiritual conversations. But the staff are praying for a larger location where they can serve more kids.

With a plot of land, Transformados could build a basketball court and community center with room for everyone. Owning a basketball court would also let the staff expand programming — and it would eliminate the restrictions on sharing their faith.

Until then, the Transformados team celebrates how God is already using them in the community .

“What has impacted our neighborhood is that it really is like an external family for the neighborhood,” Chuy says.

Another student called Transformados a beacon. And as that beacon draws in and shapes each child, La Paz is experiencing a transforming power no darkness can overcome.

By Emily Sheddan 18 Jul, 2024
TEAM worker Luke Standridge and his fellow musicians use music to build connections to faith in Japan. In music terms, dissonance creates movement or even suspense in a song. It invites tension. That tension is what helps grab our ear’s attention and the interchanging of these notes with pleasant melodious parts is what makes music such a delight. In a similar way, God is using music to grab people’s attention and catalyze Gospel impact in the largely unreached nation of Japan. TEAM Global Worker, Luke Standridge moved to Japan in 2019 with no clear direction on how he was going to use his passion for composing music while doing ministry. However, after Luke got involved with a local church and began developing deep friendships, the Lord opened unimaginable doors for Luke that in time, coordinating his creative skills with sharing the Word. “People Need to Come to Japan!” Growing up as one of ten kids in a family that was heavily involved in ministry and missions, Luke never considered that it would one day be a part of his own journey. In 2016, via a Japanese language learning class in Indiana, Luke and his brother had the opportunity to travel to Japan. Hearing, learning, and using the language in the context of Japanese culture was the goal. While it was Luke’s first international trip – even his first trip on a plane - it was also his first time hearing about the spiritual condition of the Japanese people. “And just through that, God did a huge 180 change on my heart,” says Luke. “More people should come here as global workers. People need to come to Japan!” The call God was laying on Luke’s heart is echoed when looking at the spiritual landscape of Japan. The nation is home to the second largest unreached people group in the world. It is one of the most difficult places for the Gospel to take hold and grow. Japan is also home to a deep and rich culture that prizes creative arts from pottery to ink to music to anime – a fact that would help Luke find his niche in life and ministry. God’s Guiding Hand In the short three-month timespan of that first trip, Luke found that opportunities came naturally to share about life, and people’s curiosity for Christianity grew. “I left Japan knowing I just had to come back,” Luke shares. “Even if I didn’t get back to the same area, I knew Japan was where God wanted me to be.” The Lord is good all the time and all the time the Lord is good. His plans do not fail. Luke returned to Japan in 2019, and less than a week after arriving, he was put in touch with a renowned composer in Japan. The composer saw some of Luke’s music and invited him to help write the music for a beloved in-country animated show. But God wasn’t finished yet! Fast forward a year, and more connections and opportunities allowed Luke to help with music for Pokémon - a franchise that has brand recognition around the world and was being developed into a TV series in Japan. Luke recalls how the Lord began using these connections in the production world to open doors for Gospel conversations. One night while having dinner in downtown Tokyo with famous artists and composers from all around the country, Luke was asked about his ministry-focused visa. This was a rare opportunity in a setting with people otherwise uninterested in Christianity. Luke shares, “The whole time I could see God’s hand in guiding the entire thing.”
By Lorena de la Rosa and Suzanne Pearson 13 Jun, 2024
Through creative arts and other forms of innovative outreach, “The Neighborhood” is creating connections to the Gospel and the love of Jesus. CONNECTION. It’s a common word with powerful implications. Dictionary.com defines connection as a joining or linking together; a relationship between people or objects that unites or binds them together. God has created each of us with a deep need for connection with Him as well as connection with others. Hebrews 10:24-25 speaks to this, as the writer exhorts, “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” This God-given need for connection lies at the heart of a creative and innovative ministry in Japan known as “The Neighborhood.” TEAM Japan global worker, Kelly and her family created The Neighborhood as a place where connections are formed through creative arts, educational opportunities, and simply just providing a space for people to be together. A Family Calling The journey to the creation of The Neighborhood began over 5,000 miles away from Tokyo, in California where Kelly, her husband Jeff, and their five children were living. The kids were the first to sense God’s calling to missions, and asked why their family wasn’t serving in this way. How Kelly and her family came to TEAM is a God-story in and of itself. “God placed a TEAM Japan worker at our lunch table the same week that the kids posed that question to us,” Kelly recalls. “We had never heard of TEAM and so we thought, ‘let’s check this out.’ After that, God just kept confirming that we were supposed to be here.” After a period of fundraising and with much excitement, the family of seven moved to Japan in 2014. For the first five years, Kelly and Jeff served as a part of other TEAM ministry initiatives, but they began to sense a stirring for something new. Creating The Neighborhood Kelly and her family truly have a deep gift for hospitality, and regularly opened up their home to others they met in Tokyo. They saw a great need for people to have a place to gather and connect, and they wondered what doors the Lord might be opening for them to meet that need. “About a year before we were to return the States on home assignment, we were just really thinking about our future in Japan,” Kelly says. “We saw a need for people to have a ‘third place’ – a place that’s not home and it’s not work. They didn’t have a church community or any other place where they could meet people and just connect.” Kelly goes on to explain that in Japan, the culture is such that people don’t generally invite each other into their homes, but as her family did so, people embraced that opportunity. “This idea formed in all of our hearts of a student ministry center – a place where we can create community and learning,” says Kelly. “It was born out of what we were already doing in our home, but seeing how we could expand it and have better space.” God’s Provision What happened next is a true testament to God’s provision. Kelly, Jeff, and the kids returned to the States and began sharing their vision for The Neighborhood with their supporters and churches who responded generously. Upon returning to Japan, the search was on for the right space. “We had a Christian realtor that we told our dream to, and he just went looking for it,” Kelly recalls. When the realtor found a 5-story apartment building, he said, “It’s kind of out of your budget but it has what you need and want.” The Lord provided the funds and the family moved into the space in November 2019. They now occupy all but the ground floor, with living space for their family as well as classrooms, areas to study or hang out, and guest rooms for exchange students or others who need a place to stay overnight. The first floor is occupied by a pizza shop – a welcome amenity for the many groups and students who visit The Neighborhood. “It’s very convenient!” Kelly says with a laugh. The Neighborhood began to see lots of activity right away until the pandemic hit in early 2020. During the height of the quarantine, Kelly and Jeff used the time to redecorate the space and plant gardens outside the building. Then as the restrictions eased, they invited individual students or families over for meals and fellowship. It wasn’t until March 2023 that The Neighborhood was able to fully open again as intended. Kelly shares that despite the setbacks of COVID, the Lord continued to provide the funds to pay the rent.
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