About 6 months ago, I found myself groaning about the fact that I would be spending my final semester as an Athletic Training Student with the Marshall University football team, but here I am 2 months into this journey experiencing withdrawals from the Sports Medicine universe. I briefly assisted our friend Liz with a tournament in Zambia during month 1, but I had been struggling with the feeling of not having a distinctive role on this race. In my personal time I have been wrestling with The Lord in discerning if the World Race is truly where He wants me this year, and I have even seriously contemplated what it would look like to walk away from this experience. Therefore, I don’t think it is coincidental that The Lord allowed for my ministry in Senga Bay to revolve around soccer, aka international football. The agency that I have been serving with, Zehandi missions, has recently launched a soccer ministry with the hopes of reaching the entire continent of Africa. It is beautiful to see how The Lord is using sports, especially soccer, to break through cultural and relational barriers to draw people across the globe back to Him.
For the last few weeks, my team and I have been scrambling to put together the first outreach tournament for the country of Malawi. This program consists of organizing 5 v 5 soccer tournaments that used the Living Ball, a special soccer ball that is colored specially to share the gospel (black signifying being dead in sin, red blood of Christ, white being washed clean, and green growing in Christ), playing pick up matches with local youth, and coaching/referee discipleship seminars. The enemy has thrown everything from allowing a rain storm, a funeral, lack of communication, and fishing nets to deter this ministry from hitting the ground in Malawi. Nonetheless, God is faithful, and on February 22, The Lord blessed us with a 12 team tournament. I was blown away with the response that the surrounding community had to our tournament. In one setting 300 people heard the message of the gospel, a community was unified, and relationships were formed.
The Lord has been so good to me in my time in Africa, even in the midst of struggles. He is constantly reminding me, just as Mordecai did to Esther in the Old Testament , that He has strategically placed me in this journey at this specific time for a purpose that is only meant to glorify and advance His kingdom on this Earth. There are so many times in our lives that we feel like we don’t have a role to play, but truthfully each new breath we take is an extended opportunity to share Christ with the dying world around us. Jesus has already commanded all of us that love Him to make disciples of all nations. Therefore if we press into The Lord, write His word on our hearts, and live intentionally then we will never be without purpose on planet Earth.
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P.S. I have just found out that next month I will be located in the capital city of Latvia where my team and I will be serving with Bethany Baptist church. Huge praise report, just the other day I was able to pray with a group of people for a Malawian friend that had malaria, and the next morning he woke up completely healed! He was able to help translate for us at our soccer tournament! Finally we begin the journey to Europe on February 25. I will update you all on travel details as I can, but please be praying for our squad as we make the continent switch!
