In June 2026, senior defensive specialist Molly Littlefield and sophomore setter Alison Bierwagen from the Liberty University Women’s Volleyball team joined 13 other student-athletes on a mission trip to Río Hondo, Guatemala.
The team partnered with a local organization, Hope of Life, and the Tierra Alta Guatemala camp to go on a 10-day trip where over 800 kids gave their lives to the Lord. The goal of the mission was to bring the good news of the gospel to unreached youth.
“The whole thing was to fulfill the Great Commission,” Littlefield said. “We were to go out … to make disciples of all nations. Our main goal was to bring the gospel to these children that have never heard it before.”
It was the first mission trip for both Littlefield and Bierwagen. While they shared the same experience, each woman’s faith was impacted differently.
“It definitely changed me as a person,” Bierwagen said. “Seeing the girls I had accept Jesus into their hearts, no matter what the circumstances were for them, just truly changed me and it was like my problems here aren’t as severe.”
The women saw the mission as an opportunity to put their faith and trust in the Lord. Despite their uncertainty, they heard the Lord commanding them to minister to others.
“The Holy Spirit can use anything,” Littlefield said. “I was like, ‘just use me as a vessel in any way,’ even if they couldn’t understand my prayers, they still felt the intent and so they felt the peace of it.”
One of the major challenges the team faced was the language barrier. Learning how to connect and show God’s love and joy was a key component of their mission.
“We would be able to go up and pray over the children that were at the altar, and some were just full-on weeping,” Littlefield said. “To be able to pray over them and give them that sense of comfort that they might not have had, was beyond words.
Potts is a sports reporter for The Liberty Champion.