SPECIAL CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR August 25, 2006
Calvin Volleyball Standout Relects on Summer Trip to Turkey Through Athletes-In-Action
(Editors note: the following story was written by Calvin Sports Information Student Assistant Colin McWhertor '08)
Kristen Kalb has always been a standout player at Calvin College. The senior outside hitter on the Calvin volleyball team brought her abilities to a whole new dimension this past summer when she joined a host of other players in a trip to Turkey.
The trip was part of a program called Athletes-In-Action that sends Christian athletes to new places around the globe to participate in games and witness their faith in Jesus through their sport.
The Athletes-In-Action program is run by Campus Crusades, a nationwide sports ministry in the United States. Kalb was part of a squad that included Division I scholarship players from the Big Ten and as far as the University of Southern California. Kalb’s team played for two weeks in which it played nine matches, winning seven of those. More importantly for Kalb and the others, though, was the chance to show their faith in doing what they love.
“Turkey is basically a closed country when it comes to evangelism,” she remarked, “so we had to show our faith through the relationships we made with other athletes around us. Athletics are very highly respected in Turkey, so people there appreciated what we were doing and were receptive to us overall.”
She was alerted to the idea because her Calvin coach, Amber Warners, had previously taken part with the AIA program. The trip to Turkey was the first for Kalb out of North America, so the cultural differences were a new experience for the Tri-Captain from Stow, Ohio and a graduate of Munroe Falls High School. Turkey is over ninety-eight percent Muslim, but also one of the more progressive Islamic nations as the population is a majority Sunni.
“It was incredible to see such a different culture, quite eye-opening to compare things like gender roles to our society where there are so many differences,” said Kalb on her impressions. “We were told to be careful in our interactions with people because of the cultural differences, but the younger people we met were very much like us.”
Being her first time to a Muslim country, Kalb found herself being opened up to what other religious beliefs looked like, in this case, Islam.
“It was new for me to see people who were brought up without Christ,” she said. “It was revealed to me that they just didn’t know any better, it was just the way they were brought up. I realized I hadn’t thought about the knowledge of Christ in that way before.”
Kalb and her teammates were primarily based around Istanbul in the very west of Turkey, but they also made a trip south to see Ephesus, where the Apostle Paul visited in his travels.
“Istanbul is an amazing city,” Kalb remarked, “very beautiful and prosperous. We traveled around the city a lot and stayed in pretty nice places. We visited numerous universities and I was impressed with them. The students that spoke English would engage us in conversation and we could let them know what we were doing.”
“In our trip to Ephesus we walked where Paul had walked, which is just amazing,” said Kalb. “We sat in the amphitheater as a group and read from the book of Acts, it was incredible.” On what it was like to visit historically Christian sights in a Muslim land, Kalb said “it was hard to grasp. We talked about how far away the area was now from the teachings of Christ but how it was so important. I was able to put the story of the Gospels and the Bible in general in a much better perspective because of the places we visited; the stories don’t seem as far off as they did before.”
Kalb also said that the trip has broadened her view of the world because of the places she visited and the people she met. Suddenly the world isn’t as big to her.
“I met a lot of great people, many other students and many Christians,” she said. “I got to know some people from Lebanon, Christians in fact, which puts the current crisis there in perspective.” The fighting in Lebanon started just over two weeks after Kalb returned home and she has heard from one friend over email that had moved to northern Lebanon to avoid the conflict. “I actually turn on the news now because I feel I have a personal connection, even though small, to what is happening. I was never knowledgeable to what was happening anywhere else before.”
Kalb is entering her final season at Calvin as one of the leaders on the team. She plans to earn a degree in occupational therapy, which would require her to continue her education at another institution next year. She sees her experience in Turkey as a strengthening factor for her in her sport and education.
“Being in a culture where I couldn’t openly share my faith made me appreciate what I have at Calvin,” she said. “I have a desire and a conviction to use my sport to glorify God. I want to help my teammates at Calvin to do good things on campus; I want to show what being a Christian athlete really means.”
Kalb, in talking with some of her teammates from the trip, realized the benefit she has in going to a Christian college such as Calvin.
“Hearing the stories from some of the girls from the universities showed me the difference between being able to share your faith and not,” she said. “Our team at Calvin is dedicated to Christ first, and we all share that feeling. It is one of the things I love about being at a Christian institution.”
Kalb, who has also participated in softball and track and field at Calvin, is one of many players returning to a team that went to the NCAA tournament last season, finally being knocked out in the round of sixteen. In addition to the wealth of talent coming back, a number of skilled freshmen will be trying to earn roster spots. Kalb is excited for the competition after missing most of last season with an injury. In her first season at Calvin in 2003, Kalb earned MIAA Freshman of the Year honors and garnished a spot on the All-MIAA second team. She was second on the team that year with 442 kills.
“All the girls will have to work hard this year, I feel as if no one’s spot it safe,” she said. “We think we have a great team coming back and after missing time last year and my experience this summer, I am ready to get started.”
However Kalb finishes her Calvin career, the feeling she had in being able to live out her faith and play volleyball for a time in Turkey will be imbedded in her mind forever.
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Fri Aug 25 00:20:49 2006
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