Written by: Addison Pelham

As I've been preparing to return to Baja, Mexico, I feel a deep sense of gratitude, anticipation, and responsibility. This time, I'll be returning not as a participant or student-athlete, but as a leader and member of the Lipscomb staff! I've had the privilege of going to Baja twice before—once with my collegiate volleyball team and once with an all-athletics group. Both times, God met me in unforgettable ways. I watched teammates and friends get baptized in the ocean. I saw the Spirit of God move through moments of service, worship, shared laughter, shared tears, and most of all through the global church. 

Because of my time spent in Baja, my life and relationship with Jesus was molded and fundamentally changed for the better. Baja became one of the absolute highlights of my college experience and one of the key places where I fell more deeply in love with Jesus and the work He is doing around the world. My prayer for every Lipscomb athlete who goes on a mission trip is that they too would encounter Jesus in a way that changes their life. That they would experience what I experienced. That they would discover more of who Jesus is and begin to see that His purpose for their life is so much bigger than just their sport. That is my prayer over this team as we leave for Baja!

Now, on this trip, I get to step into the softball team's long-standing legacy in Baja. They have been faithfully building relationships and serving alongside Baja Missions for years, and it is not lost on me what a privilege it is to join a team and tradition I haven't been part of until now. I am walking into something sacred—something that has been cultivated with love and consistency. My hope and prayer is that we steward that legacy with humility and care.

My prayer for this trip is that God would use us to be a blessing to these communities, and that we would steward every opportunity to serve with love, compassion, and a boldness to share the gospel that could only come from the Holy Spirit. I pray that our team will be united, vulnerable, and deeply connected. I pray that every member of this team would encounter God in a fresh and personal way—and that we would leave Baja looking more like Jesus than when we arrived. Baja has fundamentally changed my life, and I pray and trust that every member of this trip—and future trips to Baja—will experience the same. I can't wait to see how God will move and what He is up to next.

As we prepare to go, I invite you to join us in prayer—for our team, for our ministry partners in Baja, for the people we'll encounter, and for open hearts to receive all that God has in store. Your prayers mean more than you know!