Editor's Note: High Point University student Sarah Brams talked with two student-athletes about their summer missions trips and wrote features for HighPointPanthers.com. The first in this two-piece series is on HPU men's lacrosse's Tyler Cook, a senior midfielder's trip to Peru.

Ahead of this summer, Tyler Cook wasn't really sure what to expect when he traveled with Mercy Hill Church in Greensboro, N.C. to the Yanesha people in small villages in Peru.
 
He knew that he might run into trouble when trying to communicate with the locals and he also knew that the people in the communities would have significant challenges. But what he didn't

know was that these people were very cultured and were strong believers in the same way he was.

The Illinois native who plays on the men's lacrosse team at High Point University spent a few weeks this summer in Peru. The objective of his trip was to meet the local villagers in these communities and build relationships between Mercy Hill Church and the surrounding area. The midfielder also spent time teaching Sunday school classes as well as English to the Yanesha people.
 
"It was crazy to me that I was in such a small village in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country and these people were such strong believers," he stated. "I was so far out of my comfort zone but at the same time I was totally at ease."
 
Tyler is a Spanish minor with a major in psychology, so being down in Peru where they speak Spanish, he was able to communicate better than others. They have a dialect that was difficult to adjust to at first, but for the most part he picked it up easily.
 
"I was frustrated at first, but once I got more comfortable in the community and talking to people I was able to get better and better," Cook said.
 
Tyler has been given numerous opportunities in his life and he is grateful for the opportunity to use what he's learned and give back to the others in the global community.

Note: For more information on Tyler's trip you can read his blog posts from the summer.