Monday, July 4
Reported by Carla and Vern Sterk
While the Flying Dutchmen are flying back to Michigan, these are quotes from Monday's newspapers in Tuxtla Gutierrez, the state capitol of Chiapas:

The Sterk's summary of Hope basketball's tour of the four major cities of Chiapas, Mexico:
"Chiapanecos were impressed with the quality of basketball and sportsmanship displayed by the Hope College players and coaches; the Hope College delegation was impressed by the beauty of God's creation and the hospitality and spirituality of the people of Chiapas; and we, Vern & Carla Sterk, feel privileged to consider ourselves Chiapanecos (after almost 40 years of living here) and proud to be alumni of Hope College which made this experience possible.

Our "hope" is that the members of the Hope College basketball team will not only remember Chiapas for basketball, but also for the relationships that were formed and the changed lives that they observed during their days in the southernmost state of Mexico. Our prayer is that their experience in Chiapas will have a lasting positive influence on their personal and spiritual lives."

Sunday July 3
Journaled by co-captains Andy Phillips, Greg Immink & Jeff Carlson
Our last full day in Chiapas started with another fabulous breakfast buffet at our hotel. From there we made it to the home church of Governor Pablo Salazar where we were treated to a great church service which included a spectacular guest choir that sang in three different languages and a short speech by our one and only Coach Van Wieren. Back at the hotel after the service we had the afternoon to relax by the pool, but due to a group of about 30 school kids ranging in age from Carla (age 8) to Martin (age 13) we got a great workout in our whirlpools, chicken fights, and "Legendary" canon balls by Pete Overbeek.

For dinner the Governor brought us to one of the finest restuarant in Tuxtla where we all enjoyed massive dinners. Once again, Pablo Salazar's generosity and friendship was shown and we were able to present him with some Hope Basketball clothing in return for his gifts from Chiapas to us. After dinner we stopped at a park where some of the guys, led by senior Greg Immink, took part in some Mexican dancing with some of the locals.

It was a great last day in Mexico and we thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. A special thanks goes out to Governor Pablo Salazar and Vern and Carla Sterk for their gracious hospitality. We would also like to thank Tom Renner for keeping up with our journals from Mexico. He's the best!!! Go Hope.

It was a great game in part because we were playing our last game and it was in front of the governor. After a slow start, we quickly got things going in the second quarter and took the lead for good. The 78-71 victory was highlighted by junior student assistant Michael Aldrich's entrance with three minutes left to go in the fourth quarter. Wearing Travis Spaman's #34, Mike was able to put up an airball and led the team in fouls/minutes played as he drew three quick ones. Overall it was a great team win and a great way to end our basketball aspect of the trip in Mexico.

Once we made it back to the hotel we had a great time hanging out with the players from the opposing team and were able to trade many items of our Hope College basketball clothing with them for jerseys and other basketball apparel.

Friday, July 1
Journaled by Greg Immink and Eric Voisin
This morning we hopped on the bus and drove a short distance to the city of Chumula. In Chumula, we had the opportunity to visit a huge church. On the outside, it is a beautiful church, but when one steps inside they see shamans worshipping idols and "restoring souls." This was done through the sacrifice of live chickens as well as feeding Gods through the thousands of candles that were present. Chumula has no Christians. If you recall, earlier in the week we visited Betania, which is where all of the Christians who were forced out of chumula now live.

The run was powered by five consecutive three pointers (6-of-8 overall) by Jeff Carlson (27 points) as he singlehandedly went on a 15-2 run. He was truly, EN FUEGO. From there, Hope cruised to a 98-81 victory. Also scoring in double figures were Andy Phillips 18, Eric Voisin 17, and Partick Woolpert 15. Brett Jager dished out six assists. For Hope, it was great exhibition of a team-oriented offense and scrappy defense.

Another highlight of the evening was the halftime presentation which saw Vern "Reñe" Sterk receiving an award from the city of San Cristobal for his influences and contributions to the game of basketball in Chiapas. Over the past 40 years Reñe has been a standout player as well as an amassador for the game. He has had great influence on the people of San Cristobal by ministering through the game of basketball.

Thursday, June 30
Journaled by Scott Glaser and Ryan Rademaker
Our Thursday began with a 8 a.m. wakeup call. A buffet breakfast at the Howard Johnson Hotel was a great start to what would be a very long day. Ahead of us was a day of rest and relaxation as we would visit the ancient Mayan ruins, a beautiful waterfall, and travel back to San Cristobal.

At 9 a.m. we departed the hotel to visit the Mayan ruins of Palenque. These ruins are considered by archaeologists as one of the most important Mayan finds. Dr. Vern Sterk guided us throughout the ruins and told many interesting facts about them. The city was founded in 100 B.C. and by 600 A.D. it had become one of the major cities of Chiapas. At the ruins we toured temples, palaces, and tombs of the Mayan people. The stone architecture was spectacular, but the 90 degree heat made climbing all the stairs quite exhausting.

When we were finished visiting the ruins we began our trip to San Cristobal. Agua Azul, a magnificent series of waterfalls, was on the way and offered the team a chance to cool off and take a dip in the water. A highlight of Agua Azul was watching Coach Van Wieren plunge from a rope swing into the pool of water.

We ate a late but delicious lunch and arrived 4 hours later in San Cristobal around 9 p.m. A buffet dinner was waiting for us at the hotel. Another tasty meal was the end to a long day.

Wednesday, June 29
Journaled by Jay Creighton and Brett Jager
Today we had an early wakeup call so we could hit the road. We ate breakfast with the opposing team and then loaded up the buses and were off by 9:30. The route was again filled with many hairpin turns and speed bumbs as well as some amazing views from the bus. We had one scheduled rest stop as well as one emergency bathroom stop along the way. We also had to stop for a stray cow that was in the road.

We arrived in Palenque after a five and a half hour trip. We had an excellent buffet lunch and afterward we moved into our hotels. After a short stay at the hotel we went to the gym for a short shoot-around. There were some people again lined up outside the gym when we arrived, which was nearly three hours before game time.

However, during the second half, a strange turn of events took place as the humidity from the gym created some moisture on the floor. It got so bad that there was nearly a ten-minute break to try and dry the floor. Coach VanWieren first suggested to call the game, but the coaches agreed to both play zone defense and have a running clock for the rest of the game in order to protect the players yet also keep the fans happy. After it was all said and done, we lost 65 - 60. Steve Cramer led the way with 14 points.

It was another exciting day for the Hope basketball team, even with all of the interesting events that took place at the game. We´re looking forward to another fun day tomorrow as we visit some Mayan ruins and make our way back to San Cristobal.

Tuesday, June 28
Reported by Coach Van Wieren
The Hope men's basketball team began the competitive side of its current trip to Mexico with a 73-57 victory over a select team in the city of Comitan on Tuesday night.

Coach Glenn Van Wieren has brought his team to the province of Chiapas, Mexico for an 11-day experience that has included service projects, clinics and cultural experiences.

Tuesday's game was the first of four to be played before the team returns on July 4th. Tonight (Wednesday) the Flying Dutchmen will play a select team in Palenque, Mexico.

Joining semi-professional players from throughout Chiapas were two Olympic-caliber professional players designated by Mexico President Vicente Fox.

When the Flying Dutchmen arrived approximately four hours before game time, there were already fans lined up outside Comatin's basketball arena.

"It had much the atmosphere before a Hope-Calvin game," said coach Van Wieren.

The game was played in a packed arena before an estimated 1,500 fans. The team spent more than an hour after the game signing autographs and exchanging gifts.

The Flying Dutchmen led 33-31 at halftime. Hope applied an effective man-to-man defense to pull to a 56-41 lead midway through the second half. Hope's biggest margin was 20 points. Many of Hope's points came off the opponent's 26 turnovers.

"Our defense was just outstanding," said Van Wieren.

At a dinner after the game the Hope players and coaches were presented certificates declaring them citizens of Comatin, Mexico.

When we arrived at the gym there was already a line forming to get into the game five hours before tipoff. Right then we knew we were in for a good time. The line reminded us of the lines for the Hope/Calvin games. After a short shoot-around we returned to the hotel around five and coach suggested we get some rest and stay out of the sun. Seven o´clock came and it was time to load up and head to the gym. We arrived to a completely packed gym with standing room only filling up quickly. There were people packed into every corner of the gym, including under the railings. The crowd erupted as we entered the gym, anxious for some good American basketball.

After changing we headed back into the gym to present key chains, thundersticks and shirts to the enjoyment of the crowd. The kids were going crazy for the items. We then went right into our pregame from there which included some crowd pleasing dunks.

The first half went really well with Hope leading by two points at the half. After figuring out how the referees were calling the game we were able to pull away and win the game. Everyone played really well and the crowd loved every minute of it.

The game was fun, but after is when it got crazy. After fighting-off autograph seekers on the bench the whole game we finally got our time to shine. We were signing t-shirts, sweaters, hats, basketballs, thundersticks, and whatever else they could find. The fans couldn´t take enough pictures either with around 20 pictures of each guy. We signed and smiled for a good hour before coaches had to force us out of there with fans still wanting more. As we pulled away on the bus fans were still looking for more t-shirts and pictures. Even when we arrived back at the hotel there were fans waiting for us. We then had a great meal with the Chiapas team we played. We were then awarded certificates of appreciation for playing in Comitan from the local officials. After dinner we returned to our rooms to shower and wash our jerseys in the sinks, followed by some winding down and resting up for the five-hour trip to Palenque and game two.

Monday, June 27
Journaled by Patrick Woolpert and Stephen Cramer
Monday morning we hit the road early at about 8:30 a.m. for Cinacantan. The village of Cinacantan is located on a mountain over seven thousand feet above sea level. The drive up the mountain, although winding and bumpy, included some magnificent mountain side where it was easy to see God´s beauty. Upon arrival we were met by some friendly locals and some hard labor on a church being built in the village.

We started with part of the group mixing cement by hand and pouring it into the walls, while the other part of the group picked up shovels and pick axes and began to shovel dirt to make an elevated area where the pulpit will be. The work was very hard as was the ground, because it had rained in previous days making the dirt into heavy clay. We ended up breaking a couple of tools but that didn´t stop us from completing our tasks. We never thought we would use the phrase, "Get your head out of the clouds," literally, but due to the elevation of the village we actually worked in the clouds.

After a couple hours of work we took a break for lunch. We were invited into one of the homes and served by the tribe. The delicious meal of chicken-vegetable soup, rice, and tortillas was made all from scratch that day. The women gathered wood to start fire, caught and killed a few chickens, and slices some fresh vegetables all morning to prepare a fantastic feast for us. The village was so generous that they made sure that they gave the best of what they had to offer to us, including chicken and vegetables.

Saturday, June 25
Journaled by senior Jeff Carlson and Andy Phillips
We rose early and enjoyed an excellent Mexican breakfast buffet. On the road by 10 a.m., we were on our way to Canyon del Sumidero, considered the ¨Mexican Grand Canyon.¨ We went down the river with our emphatic guide Rodrigo as he showed us the unbelievable landscape just outside of Tuxtla. The 16 of us made it through the canyon while seeing exotic monkeys, crocodiles, pelicans, waterfalls, all within the 1000-meter cliffs. The boat trip ended and we could not have had a better first morning experience in Mexico. We boarded our bus and put our lives in the hands of our trusted guide Mario as we started our ascent up the curvy and hairpinning highway in the mountainous region on our way East to San Cristobal. Upon arrival to Hotel Alcatraz, we ate lunch and explored the downtown San Critobal area. We shopped and explored in the Indian market and saw some beautiful hand-made crafts. After a relaxing afternoon, we made our way to the basketball "auditorium." While here, we put on a basketball demonstration for locals of all ages. After practicing, we enjoyed another delicious meal from our gracious hosts and looked foward to many more enjoyable days together in the great state of Chiapas. Hasta Luego Amigos y Amigas de Hope College Men´s Basketball.

Friday, June 24
Journaled by senior Jeff Carlson and Andy Phillips
Our journey began when we rolled out of bed at 4 a.m. and left the Dow Center. We arrived at O´Hare airport with time to spare and enjoyed great conversation over McDonald´s breakfast. This would be our last American meal for quite awhile. We then boarded Air Mexicana flight 803 to Mexico City. Luckily, the flight was on time and it was very smooth. Upon landing, we ran into some confusion transferring our baggage to our next flight, but after strong diplomacy from Coach Van Wieren, we made it to our flight to Tuxtla, the capital city of Chiapas. After stepping on Mexican soil for the first time in Tuxtla, we were greeted by the Rev. Dr. Vern Sterk, our host for the trip. We then continued our journey on bus through Tuxtla, enjoying the beautiful Chiapas scenery on the way into the city. Our hotel in Tuxtla, Maria Eugeni, was more than we expected and we were treated magnificantly. After eating our first Mexican meal, we explored the town, including the gym that we will be playing in later in our trip.

Dr. Sterk took us to the Central Park and to an ice cream parlor, teaching us that ice cream is an international pleasure. Due to our early departure from Holland, most guys were tuckered out and ready for bed. After a short venture into the pool and some card playing, our first night of the trip ended delightfully with a nice, air-conditioned slumber.