Angel in the outfield

By John RittenhouseAs a student-athlete at the University of Sioux Falls, Mike Boen has a tough job of juggling his academic studies with his commitment of being a member of the Cougar baseball program.Boen, however, found time on Monday to return home and take care of some business that will keep him occupied.Since Boen will be a member of the Athletes in Action Central American Team that will spend a good part of the upcoming summer in Central America, the 2000 Luverne High School graduate had to come home and get a picture taken for his passport."I had a message saying I needed this passport business taken care of, so I came back to take care of it right away," Boen said, from his father’s (Tor Boen) home Monday afternoon. "This is going to be a good experience for me. It will be a way to open my eyes to other cultures."Boen has been exposed to a lot of baseball during his LHS years and the past three seasons as an outfielder for the USF program, but this will be different.Instead of representing a school or a college on the field, Boen will represent the prestigious AIA organization."Our main goal is not baseball," said Chris Beck, a member of the AIA staff based in Xenia, Ohio. "We place a spiritual emphasis on our teams, and we use baseball to open doors that give us an opportunity to speak the word of the Lord."The AIA baseball program is a sports ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. Student-athletes from around the country participate in the CCFC, using their skills as athletes to help others reach the world of Jesus Christ.The goals of the CCFC are to help expose every person of the world to the gospel, to help win people over to the faith of Jesus Christ, to build people in their faith, to help train them for ministry and to help win over other disciples.Boen earned a spot on the 13-player Central America Team roster by sending in a testimonial to the AIA. He is ready to win hearts and minds in countries like Guatemala, Nicaragua and Costa Rica by playing baseball and sharing his beliefs with others."I realize I won’t be playing football and baseball for the rest of my life, so I think this will be a great way for me to get back into my ministry," Boen said. "We’ll be able to show people what we believe in and why we believe in it when we are down there. I’ll also be able to learn about the beliefs of people of different cultures. Hopefully, I can make some sort of influence on the lives of other people when I’m down there. I want to show them the type of person they can become."Boen’s summer experience will begin with a trip to Chicago June 1, where he’ll meet head coach Billy Arrighi (of Alabama), three assistant coaches, one general manager and the other players of the Central America Team.The team, which consists of players from the states of Washington, Iowa, Michigan, Pennsylvania, California and Kentucky, will practice with and play against four other AIA teams that will be playing in different countries and in the United States this summer.Boen’s team is scheduled to travel to Central America June 16 and stay in the region until July 26."They’ll be playing a lot of games," Beck said. "The type of competition they’ll be facing will not be consistent. They’ll be taking on national teams, junior olympic teams and village all-star teams, and everything in between.""I’m sure I’ll see a lot of good baseball," Boen added. "That sure I’ll get my eyes opened in that respect."When Boen’s team is not on the field, the players will be trying to build relationships in other venues."From what I understand, we’ll be playing baseball at night. During the day we’ll be visiting area schools, holding baseball clinics and having Bible studies," he said.Boen has heard of the risks involved with traveling to different countries at a time of war, but he seems unfazed by the warnings.The USF junior feels this is an excellent opportunity to reach out to people of different nationalities, and that his strong religious beliefs will serve as comfort in war time."I don’t think it will be a big deal going down there. I don’t think Central America has any ties to Iraq, except for maybe oil. Even if there were some ties, I don’t think they would take it out on us. We’re going down there to do missionary work and play some baseball," he concluded.