Heather Rogers kicked the ball and pivoted to follow her pass down the soccer field. Then it happened: the young blonde heard that "pop!" The "pop" other players describe when something goes terribly wrong with your knee. No mid-air collision; no slide tackle. Just a simple turn and then "pop."

Heather could have sustained the same injury crossing the street or walking the halls of her Orlando, Fla., high school.

Instead she was at a New York training camp, one stop away from a four-and-a-half week trip to South Africa. The trip, sponsored by Athletes in Action and Student Venture, would mix the two loves of Heather's life: soccer and evangelism. Oh, no, she thought as she collapsed in torture, her knee already locking up. What about South Africa? My high school season? A college scholarship?

A diagnosis the next day confirmed the worst fears of Heather and her family: a severed anterior cruciate ligament. That meant surgery, six months of rehabilitation and half of her senior season down the drain. But what about the trip? Her teammates were leaving in just two days.

And what of her folks? They hoped to see God use the mission trip to move their daughter another step toward making their faith her faith. "In many ways," says Heather's mom, Dayle, "our jobs as parents will end at her high-school graduation. Our prayer is that this project will take her one more stride in developing her sense of independence." They decided to let her make the call.

Independently of her parents, the high-school senior decided that, injured or not, she still wanted to go. Since God had raised the $3,800 necessary, she reasoned, and given her the opportunity and desire, then He must have something for her. Surgery could wait until later; this excursion was a chance of a lifetime.

And so Heather, wielding crutches and sporting a straight-leg, soft cast, joined 24 teammates, directors and coaches in jetting off for Johannesburg, South Africa, to see what God had in store. Athletes in Action first sent summer sports teams outside the United States in 1967. Using the language of athletics as a platform to communicate the love of Christ, thousands of men and women have wrestled, raced, dribbled and scored¬all for the glory of God and the thrill of competition.

But this trip to South Africa marked the first team consisting solely of high-school soccer players. Previous teams were comprised of collegiate athletes and university graduates. An adolescent risk? Not with these girls, according to coach Matt Dillon. "You read about high-school kids being flippant and not caring about anything," says the New York high-school coach, "but [this team] was on fire for God. They wanted the Bible study and to share their faith."

After 18 stiffening hours in the air, Heather and the team settled in to the dorms of Witts University in Johannesburg for five days of team practice and evangelism preparation. Love Southern Africa had invited them to participate in the post-conference evangelistic outreaches. The presence of Americans drew crowds who especially liked meeting Heather's two African-American teammates (although they were surprised to find black people who didn't speak Zulu).

But the Americans wanted more than cross-cultural experiences; they wanted God to use them. Heather figured that with her playing time withdrawn, she would have to find other ways to contribute to the team. Since she had toured the Czech Republic with AIA Soccer the prior summer, she drew on her experience and taught first-timers to use the Four Spiritual Laws outline printed on a team brochure. Besides the dorms, the girls were also billeted in host homes from local churches. Four-and-a-half weeks in an alien locale, almost 10,000 miles from their families and friends, proved somewhat distressing for the teens. Living with nationals not only offered a crash course in South African culture, but the sense of family also eased the ache of missing home.

The players and coaches journeyed by bus to four cities and played 10 games, holding soccer clinics on the patchy fields of southern Africa. At half time or following their matches against college teams or local clubs, players gave their testimonies and talked with opponents and spectators about Christ. Sharing their faith with a crowd or an individual was a step of faith for some on the team. But Heather liked it: "I enjoy giving my testimony; it's cool."

Perhaps it's the influence of her parents, John and Dayle Rogers, who have spent 21 years on the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ. "There is no stigma in our family about evangelism or traveling overseas," says the mother of six. In fact, the Rogerses took their whole crew to Manila in 1990 and to Thailand in 1988, where 8-year-old Heather shared Christ with Bangkok college students.

The next year, 1989, saw the first AIA women's soccer team disembark in Switzerland. Since then, AIA has led women's soccer teams to Europe, Central America, and now South Africa. With 200 million young people around the world playing "football," the sport paves a natural road to reach soccer enthusiasts in dozens of countries.

This summer in Kwamanshu, a township near South Africa's seaside port of Durban, project director Steve Stuk saw firsthand the platform given to athletes. Three local teams and a truckload of little boys crowded the soccer clinic where the team gave pointers, scrimmaged and ran drills. Then they walked the participants through a gospel outline. "To look around the field and see each player sharing Christ with three to 10 kids," says the 22-year Student Venture staff member, "left me thinking, Now this is what it's all about."

Although the team celebrated with the 75 individuals who trusted Christ that summer, the tour was also about emboldening the girls to live above their circumstances by faith. Walking by faith proved to be the challenge of Heather's young life. "I reminded myself," says the teen, "that God always brings good out of bad. I just started looking for some good stuff."

Heather decided she could make her own good stuff by helping cheer and coach her friends. On the field and off, opponents and fans noted the team's cohesiveness and mutual encouragement. So much so that curiosity as to the girls' unity sparked opportunities to talk more about Christ. Three women on the Rand Afrikaans University team in Johannesburg invited Christ into their lives as a result of meeting the AIA team. Their coach, already a believer, brought the men's coach to hear what these Americans had to say about soccer and Jesus.

As with sports personalities endorsing products, the media fuss over the team¬including national radio and television coverage¬produced credibility and drew attention to the ongoing work of AIA in South Africa. AIA's national staff member immediately set up a Bible study for the new Christians, as well as a coach's study at Rand.

The AIA team also studied the Bible together daily. On her own, Heather memorized James 1:2-4: "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

That truth buoyed Heather's spirits as she faced her fearful future of surgery and rehab, a delayed return to high-school soccer and loss of a possible scholarship.

Though John and Dayle had prayed for their daughter's summer, they hadn't considered the risk of injury. "As a parent," explains Dayle, "it hurts to know God allowed this pain and to watch Heather go through it. But I believe she learned more than if she had gone whole and played."

God accompanied Heather one giant step forward in making the faith of her parents completely her own. For information on summer projects, contact Athletes in Action at (937) 352-1000, or Student Venture at 1-800-699-4678.