Somewhere in a remote part of Peru, in a village cut out of the jungle near the Amazon River, lives a young boy named Juan who sports a slightly used burnt-orange Longhorns T-shirt.
The youngster knows the Biblical story of Daniel in the lion's den. The little boy also learned how David used his slingshot to slay the giant, Goliath.
And he now knows how to throw and catch a football.
He has Texas quarterback Colt McCoy to thank for that.
This offseason, McCoy completed a weeklong Christian mission near the Amazon, at a camp site about a 90-minute drive from Iquitos, Peru, along a muddy, unpaved road through the jungle.
Iquitos is a major port of the Amazon Basin, and it's the largest city in the world that can't be reached by road. The Portuguese-speaking villagers, who lived a bumpy bus-ride away, were farmers and fishermen, supporting themselves and their families by what they could grow or catch from the Amazon.
And for a week, the villagers sent their children, about 200 of them ages 8 through 12, to a Christian sports camp sponsored by T Bar M in New Braunfels.
"It was very third world,"
McCoy said. "Compared to what we have, they had nothing. But to them, it was everything."
"I had it in my mind that I was going to give something back, but in reality, everything I learned was from them,"
he said. "It was a life-changing experience for me because I learned not to take anything for granted."
The 21-year-old McCoy, whose religious denomination is Church of Christ, said he'd always wanted to do mission work.
Perhaps he got the idea from his grandparents, Burl and Jan McCoy, who are planning another trip to Zambia, volunteering with a group of doctors and dentists.
Or perhaps a mission was a natural progression from the community service work McCoy does in between classes, games, practices and offseason workouts.
He's served as a phone operator during the Children's Miracle Network telethon. He has traveled the state to speak on behalf of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Every Friday in the fall, McCoy visits patients at the children's hospital. He's worked with Habitat for Humanity and mentored kids at elementary and middle schools.
But in order to complete a mission on another continent, McCoy had to juggle his schedule. The only time he could spare from studies and football for all of this year was in mid-March, right in the middle of Texas' spring training.
While other college students were scattering to beaches on the Texas or Mexican coast, McCoy was getting inoculated for malaria and hepatitis.
He informed his coaches about the trip, which he agreed to at the last minute, in late February.
The coaches asked him questions, making sure their starting quarterback wasn't putting himself into any danger.
"His eyes were opened up to the way some people live,"
said offensive coordinator Greg Davis. "So I was fine with him going."
"He just loves helping people and especially kids,"
said Texas coach Mack Brown. "It didn't surprise me at all that he was willing to spend his spring break in really, really hot conditions in Peru to help some kids."
McCoy left his cell phone in Austin and made the flight to Lima, then to Iquitos before taking the bus on an unpaved road to the camp site. Once there, he put his sleeping bag on the concrete floor and made sure he had enough mosquito netting to cover himself at night.
Temperatures were searing, hovering between 90 and 100 degrees. The humidity almost was as high — one day it rained for 20 consecutive hours.
The counselors ate rice, a staple in Peru, at every meal. McCoy said he lost 10 pounds, "and I'll never eat rice again."
The counselors, who also included Longhorns walk-on punter John Gold, spent three hours or so every day manning their sports stations, teaching the campers how to play football, basketball, baseball, volleyball and soccer. Juan was McCoy's favorite, since the little boy, who grew up playing soccer, had a natural affinity for football.
At night, McCoy and the other counselors shared their faith and taught Bible lessons, with help from the translators. They then watched as the young boys and girls took their soiled play clothes to the river and washed them so they can wear them again the next day.
The girls adored volleyball. The boys knew all about soccer. Football was a foreign concept.
"All they wanted to do was tackle,"
McCoy said.
There was time for some sightseeing. The counselors took a boat ride on the Amazon.
While in Iquitos, the group found the town square, with its restaurants, stores and bars. Among a row of restaurants was one called "The Yellow Rose of Texas."
Coincidentally, it was owned by a University of Texas graduate, and it was decorated with burnt-orange memorabilia, including a steer head hanging on the wall.
"The owner almost fainted when he saw me walk in,"
McCoy said.
At the end of the week, McCoy left most of his clothing and shoes, including lots of Longhorns gear, with the kids.
He traveled lightly back to Austin, bearing only lessons and anecdotes about leading a simple life so very far away.
"When he got back,"
Brown said, "he never once talked about what he did for them, but what they did for him."
