Written 8/13/17: If you know me well, then you know that sports are not my forte. I am not gifted athletically. Before coming to El Salvador I knew that our team was going to be doing a lot of sports ministry. I can’t say I was exactly thrilled, but I wanted to have an open mind about it.
I have never liked sports very much because of the fact that I am not good at them. I hated P.E. as a kid most of the time, because I felt embarrassed about my lack of athletic abilities. I was never picked first to be on a team. Because I am a perfectionist, I don’t like playing sports in front of others because I feel like they will judge me. And I judge myself for not being as good as others.
We have definitely played a lot of sports, just in the first week of being here. The kids play ping-pong all the time. (although I have only been brave enough to practice with our team so far) We have learned basketball drills. We have played games at youth group. We have played “soccer” with the pastor’s grandson. And yes, a lot of the time it causes me anxiety and sometimes embarrassment (like when I don’t catch the basketball while practicing drills with my team or when I miss the soccer ball and the 3-year-old laughs or when I fall during a relay game while a bunch of the youth are watching…oh and the pastor).
The World Race is all about getting out of your comfort zone and doing uncomfortable things to minister to the people around us. So for me, this month, that involves playing a lot of sports. I am not here to be a basketball or soccer or ping-pong star, even though that would be cool. I am here to spread the gospel in whatever way God calls me to do it. I will play basketball and I will play soccer and I will play games at youth group and I will play ping-pong. I will “suffer” through them all in the name of Jesus!
Addition 8/18/17:
Our team went to CNA yesterday, which is a school for “hard” teenagers, basically kids that other schools have kicked out or refused to take. We found out that we were going to be playing soccer with the girls. Soccer is the most played sport in many countries, including El Salvador, so most kids are super good at it. I played on a soccer team one year when I was in, like, 4th grade, and I don’t know when I played after that. I was pretty nervous about having to play, especially against girls who have been playing probably since they could walk. But I chose to remember that it was not about me; it was about ministering to the girls and having fun. I played defense a few times, and my foot actually made connection with the ball more than once! Y’all, I had so much fun playing! Sure, I wasn’t the best player. I was probably the worst, if you want to know the truth! But I did it in the name of Jesus, and I really enjoyed it!
“Therefore…whatever you do, do everything for God’s glory.” -1 Corinthians 10:31
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” -Colossians 3:23
