Liberty student-athletes share Christ, minister to campers in Guatemala through funding by new athletics mission fund

Last month, 15 Liberty University student-athletes and multiple staff members from LU Shepherd, Marketing, and Athletics, traveled to Rio Hondo, Guatemala, to serve alongside local organizations in ministering to the community and sharing the love of Christ with everyone they encountered.

During the trip, which ran June 13-23, the team partnered with local humanitarian organization Hope of Life International and the Tierra Alta Guatemala camp, a ministry run by the Rawlings Family Foundation.

While at Hope of Life, Liberty’s crew served alongside the organization is serving breakfast at the senior care facility, playing with children at the orphanage, and ministering to the individuals staying at Kelly’s House, a facility dedicated to caring for those with special needs.

After two days at Hope of Life, the team then worked with Tierra Alta. This camp seeks out local children and teenagers suffering from poverty, abuse, and other tragedies to provide them with transportation to the site, food, lodging, and a wholesome camp experience centered on the hope of the Gospel.

In five days of camp, the team witnessed over 800 campers come to the altar to dedicate their lives to Jesus. Following these commitments to Christ, the student-athletes helped disciple those children through small group discussions as they took the next steps in the Christian faith.

“The Holy Spirit was moving,” Lady Flames Volleyball rising senior libero Molly Littlefield said, noting 400 children accepted Jesus on the team’s first day with the camp. “There was a massive revival, and we were so blessed to get to witness that. It was insane. … We were able to witness so many kids go up (to the altar).”

Through simply being present and building relationships with the campers, the student-athletes provided a tangible representation of Christ’s love.

“A lot of these children didn’t have any hope,” she added. “We got to go up and pray over them at the altar. Girls were sobbing. One girl was sobbing in my arms, and I got to pray over her. Obviously there’s a language barrier, but being able to be a person to pour into them even when they don’t understand and someone caring for them, was a great experience.”

In addition to meeting the campers’ spiritual needs, Liberty student-athletes also participated in numerous games and activities to further enhance the camp experience.

In appreciation for their help during the week, Tierra Alta treated Liberty’s team with a trip to visit Mayan ruins on June 21. The team members spent their final day in the country hiking a volcano before returning the United States on June 23.

Last month’s trip was made possible through the Tom and Christine Dewberry Athletics Mission Fund, a transformative initiative launched in Fall 2025. This fund aims to provide fully funded mission trip opportunities for Liberty Division I student-athletes, enabling them to experience international missions without the added burden of fundraising.

“The heartbeat and the objective of these trips is exposing student-athletes to something outside of what they’re surrounded by day-in and day-out,” said Director of LU Shepherd to Athletics Dr. Doug Damon, who served a trip leader in Guatemala.  “Culture is dictating to these kids that their sport is everything — their sport is the way out, their sport is the answer — when in fact it’s just a means to an end. Their sport should be an incredible vehicle to disseminate the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Through attending these trips, Liberty’s student-athletes are able to make a lasting impact on the lives of others while simultaneously building relationships with their peers from other athletic programs.

“The Dewberry Fund changed the game. It opened up so many opportunities for us student-athletes to be there,” Liberty Volleyball rising sophomore setter Alison Bierwagen said.

“I would encourage student-athletes to take any chance they get to go on this trip,” she added. “It truly changed my life as a believer to see the poverty and the way they were living in Guatemala. They have so much joy with the circumstances they are living in and whatever storms they are going through, compared to my life. We are so blessed in the States with everything we have here. I would tell them any chance they get, if they have the opportunity, to take it.”

Flames Track & Field senior thrower Jordae Edwards likewise encouraged Liberty student-athletes to take advantage of the opportunity to serve through short-term missions.

“If you have the peace of the Lord with you in going (on a mission trip), just go,” he said. “It’s very eye-opening and changing. It will also take you out of your comfort zone. For people who are shy or who want to be bolder in their faith and serve somebody outside of themselves, it’s very heart changing. It will stretch and strengthen their faith, and they will get to see different facets of God’s love and how He operates.”

Supporters interested in contributing to the Tom and Christine Dewberry Athletics Mission Fund can learn more at www.LibertyFlamesClub.org or contact the Flames Club at (434) 582-2582 or via email at FlamesClub@liberty.edu.