A Journey to South Africa

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Coming Home

How does one put a half of a year journey with God into words? What can summarize the experiences of walking into the unknown, seeing South African church leaders grasp the concept of using sport as a ministry tool, receiving endless hugs from adolscent boys because for the first time in their life they were invited to a real soccer practice, living alone in a foreign country, being a young American female teaching a seminar to a group of 20 SiSwati speaking men about how to incorporate the gospel into their soccer and cricket practices, temporarily living in a colored township, seeing rhinos and giraffes hanging out outside neighborhoods, seeing Ugandan villages be empowered by basic health education, spending a Sunday at one of the largest Zulu speaking churches in inner-city Pretoria, seeing the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan at war, having prayers answered, seeing a 30 year old man – bitter and abandoned by family – have an encounter with the Lord, radically alter his life, and embrace his position as a coach to share the love of Christ with his players, seeing ten year old boys be delirious at practice because of malnutrition, living with bed bugs, watching God use soccer as a tool for reconciliation to breakdown legacies of the apartheid, attempting to share my testimony through hand gestures, organizing a sports trivia dinner as a fundraiser for Sportslink’s major projects, playing soccer on fields littered with broken glass – well, playing soccer anywhere for that matter, watching HIV/AIDS kill people in front of my own eyes, seeing people put their communities’ needs before their own, working on a daily basis with Christians from every continent, making sure we let kids out of practice in time to do their homework before the sun goes down because they have no access to electricity, forming beautiful and lasting friendships, and most of all beholding JESUS in people’s hands and feet.

The short few months I spend in South Africa were full of ups and downs and a lot of time wrestling with God. When I first arrived, I let my pride get in the way. I saw OM Sportslink and my time in South Africa as my ministry, not God’s. My pride was brought on by a lack of faith- a lack of faith that God had given me the right platform. But after almost 2 months of wrestling with God I was reminded of Numbers 23:19: “God is not man, one given to lies, and not a son of man changing his mind. Does he speak and not do what he says? Does he promise and not come through?” God does nothing in vain. When He speaks, He speaks with purpose. I simply had to lay down “my plans,” recognize it was His ministry not my own, and be freed to be used in whatever way He planned. I am constantly learning that when we lay aside our pride and soak ourselves in humility – God rewards! The last three months God gave me an inner peace and a sense of assignment that He used to overflow into His work for the Kingdom in South Africa.

I am so grateful Jesus blessed me with this opportunity to see His hand at work in another part of the world. And I am so thankful that y'all were able to walk through this with me through prayers and support. Thank you for being a part of sowing seeds.

Let’s rejoice for all the good things the Lord is doing in the land of the living! Indeed, He is faithful. “I will remember the Lord’s works; yes, I will remember Your ancient wonders. I will reflect on all You have done and mediate on Your actions” (Psalm 77:11-12).

Friday, April 15, 2011

Sawubona!

A kingdom. 1.2 million people. 40% of the population living with HIV/AIDS. Bordering Mozambique and South Africa. Producer of fruit that is to die for. Ruled by a 43 year old king with 12 wives. Covered with beautiful rolling hills. Most practiced religion is Zionism. Currently experiencing an uprising as a result of salary cuts. Poverty running rampant. SiSwati is the spoken language. Most generous people I have ever met. A country about to have their world rocked as God is raising up native people to use sport as a medium for bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to earth.

This is Swaziland!

The Sportslink team and I just returned from an ISLT (International Sport Leadership Training) in Mbabane, Swaziland. And I have to say it was one of my favorite experiences thus far in Africa. Our trainees consisted of all native Swazis and one man from Rwanda. They were so hungry to learn. The Rwandan man, a Hutu, and his family got kicked out of his home country in August and moved to Swaziland. He did not know one world of English or SiSwazi when he arrived; however, seven months later he was sitting in our training, participating and understanding. How cool is God?!

Our last day of the ISLT was a strategic planning session where we mapped out Swaziland, various churches, people, and organizations that are going to be hubs for igniting sports ministry. It was awesome to see how God is already opening doors in the country to make His glory known through sport. Here are a few pictures...

Crossing the border

Team Building - Fun fact: While doing this team building exercise a man off the street came up to me asking what kind of new magic we were doing. I kindly told him this had nothing to do with magic :)

Meet Zikala and Bongumusa

My Rwandan friend - Batungwanayo Janvier

Jonas (Sportslink) and the beautiful Swazi sunrise

Highest peak in Swaziland

Demonstrating Ubabalo Coaching

Meet Walter!

Protests in Swazi

Armed police and the army were everywhere. Our car was searched every few miles.

The ISLT Training Team

Thursday, March 24, 2011

"I was at ease, but He shattered me"

"And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not." (Deuteronomy 8:2)

I have been learning alot about myself in these past couple months. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I have uncovered my hidden motives, my self-righteousness, my impatience, my inflexibility, my lack of compassion, my selfishness. I have seen myself at my worst. Trying to have everything go my own way. But then God throws something like Galations 5:19-20 at me:

"It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on. This isn't the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God's kingdom"

Nothing like a wake up call or anything. When I read things like this I am just reminded how alive God's word really is.

I have also learned true dependence that stems from humility. True dependence on the only True Authority. And a dependence that creates a deep longing in your heart. That nothing, I mean nothing else, can satisfy. I think of Job 19 when it says, "For I know that my Redeemer lives and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!"

In all my brokeness, in all my shame, in all my mistakes, in all my imperfections, I am loved with a perfect love. Now that is humbling. "Instead of your shame you shall have double honor" (Isaiah 61:7)

Copy and Paste this link to see a video on one of our ministries in a township school:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJR_CtL4adc