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YAMAMOTO-CHO, Japan — Utah turns out a lot of Eagle Scouts, and for most of those Scouts the biggest hurdle is conceiving and executing an Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project.
This summer, a young man from Timpview High School in Provo completed his Eagle project nearly 6,000 miles from home.
Actually being half Japanese myself, and having grandparents here, I just felt that there was something I could do to help.
–Sterling Petersen
KSL News met up with Sterling Peterson on the soccer field of Yamashita Middle School in Yamamoto-cho, near Sendai. The game he and the students were playing helps them forget about their tragedy.
One-third of the students at the school lost their homes to Japan's tsunami; four of their classmates died. So, soccer is an escape. It's also a passion they share with Sterling.
The Timpview High School senior says he got a late-breaking idea for his Eagle Project following Japan's earthquake and tsunami in March. "Actually being half Japanese myself, and having grandparents here, I just felt that there was something I could do to help these children here while they're in need," he said.
Sterling found a blogger in Japan who hooked him up with this school in Yamamoto-cho, near Sendai. School officials said they needed soccer equipment, so Sterling went to work finding donors.
Journey into Japan:
LDS missionaries don T-shirts, get to work
When the sea overruns the earth and washes away all semblance of normal life, as Japan's tsunami did in March, everything changes — even Mormon missionaries' routines."This is a game ball for you guys to play with," he said, handing over a soccer ball to one of the Yamashita students. "This is donated by Real Salt Lake. It's a very good ball."
Sterling rounded up new jerseys for the team; he also brought socks, training cones and whistles. The BYU women's soccer team donated soccer balls.
Reaching outside his comfort zone, Sterling says he learned to be open to another culture. "I got to spend three days with the students, today is my last day," he told KSL News. "I got to talk to them and be friends with them through my broken Japanese — my only having one year of Japanese — and their broken English. We got to be good friends."
"Thank you for bringing this!" the Japanese students told Sterling, while cheering and bowing.
With money he took in from a silent auction and fundraising teriyaki dinner back home, Sterling also bought electric fans for the school, which has no air conditioning. That made the principal smile.
Everybody posed for pictures after the presentations, and then a final game of soccer with the team needed no translation.
"I really felt loved coming here, and I thought it was a great experience for me," Sterling said.
Sterling's grandparents from Utah County are serving an LDS mission in Tokyo. He piggy-backed the Eagle Project on a scheduled trip with his mom to visit them.
Email: blindsay@ksl.com
