Note: This blog was written by Shes Rivera, PT, Guatemala Director of TCI.

My mom is an avid soccer fan and there is one team she loves. She likes the way they play, she identifies with that team, and as a proud fan, she wears the t-shirt whenever she can. Growing up when the team played, especially if it was a final, we all had to wear the team t-shirt, including the dog. My family and my mom’s close friends know how passionate she is about soccer and her team.

Talking about soccer or the opposite teams can lead to passionate and interesting conversations. It’s for that reason when my brother took my now sister-in-law to meet my parents for the first time, he gave her one suggestion, “don’t talk about soccer with my mom.” My brother wanted their first meeting to be perfect, but he was nervous. He knew if they started talking about soccer it could create some tension because my sister-in-law was a fan of the opposing team.

This came to mind last week when Tom (my fiancé) and I went to help deliver food to the families of the children with disabilities from the rehabilitation program of ASELSI. We were invited to come along by Tommy Ramos from Passion Ministries. These are two different ministries I know, love, and have had the opportunity to work with in the past. This time, I was going along representing TCI. So there were now three different ministries with different visions and operating systems all in one place. 

Like my brother the night before he took my sister-in-law to meet my parents, I was nervous. I tried to prepare Tom to make sure things went well, but I realized I was preparing myself. I didn’t know what t-shirt to wear. 

Because Tommy had invited us along, when we arrived at the meeting place I asked him what he’d like us to do. Tommy replied, “We are on the same team.  Sandra (the director of the clinic of ASELSI) is organizing the delivery today, let’s wait for her instructions.”

His response caught my attention. I thought as a church, denomination, ministry or non-profit organization we can become one of those fans, like my mom. We proudly wear our t-shirts, identify with our colors, and the way we do things. Just like an avid soccer fan, it can make it hard to serve together because we forget we all play for the same team. I remembered that though we were three different ministries, we all were coming together for the same purpose, to meet the needs of people struggling to feed their families, and to reach out as a demonstration of God’s concern for and compassion for His creation. That’s the greater team and the one I want to be a fan of.