Honduras Trip A Great Success!!

For the next several days I will be posting pics and videos from the trip I just returned from. It was another incredible experience in Honduras.

I return with a renewed passion for life, love, serving and God!

Many of the children and youth at my church donated soccer jerseys, shoes, balls, and other equipment for us to take and deliver. Here is a video for them.

This One Is Tough...Part 2

Last week I shared about Brad Meester's injury in the Jacksonville Jaguars spring training. I left that post with the question of what we do when we pray for something and God answer's it differently than the way we wanted.

We have all been there. It can be a confusing and frustrating time.

Beth Harkins (pictured standing in red shirt giving her testimony after a soccer game in Paraguay this summer) is one of my new friends. She plays in our adult coed flag football and attends our Sunday night service (The Well). Beth is also and assistant coach for Mandarin High School ladies soccer.

This summer she was able to participate in a trip with Athletes in Action. She went to Paraguay to play in a soccer tournament, do soccer clinics, and share God's love with the locals using soccer to build relationships.

In her words, here is a story that shares how God can work...even when we don't understand what he is doing.

“From the beginning in Canada, we experienced some trials that tested our trust in God. The day we were leaving for Paraguay, we had a training session in the morning. With about a minute left our keeper, Jamie, dove left and her knee stayed right. The doctor told Jamie she would not be able to play and that sitting on a plane for 10 hours would not be very comfortable. So Jamie flew home; the rest of us flew to Paraguay unsure of why this happened now and who was going to be our keeper.

On the seventh night is when we began to understand why Jamie, our original goalkeeper, was not on our trip with us. Two of my teammates had shared their testimonies. Then Anna, our goalkeeper from Paraguay, began to tell us through our translator about her story. That night Anna prayed to accept Jesus Christ as her Savior! This was such an amazing night for all of us. It reminded me of the verse in Genesis that says "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."

I pray that in every circumstance you will allow God to work in your life. You never know who's life will be changed because of what God is doing in you!

A Child's Prayer

Last night in our youth soccer (Which has been going great! I love indoor soccer in July!), I asked the K-1 grade players if any of them wanted to pray for us before we played the game. A couple of hands went up, and I chose a young girl to step up and pray while I held the microphone.

"Dear God, thank you for letting us be able to play soccer today. Help everyone have fun. Please don't let my mom and dad be separated anymore. Let us have fun. Amen."

I have to admit...I was at a loss for words. I don't know that child's particular situation...and if I did I would not write about it here.

All I know is that there is some situation that caused this young girl to pray for her family.

Coming from a home that was rocked by divorce, I understand that child's prayer. It just served to remind me that in our sports we are "more than just a game." We are a community that can come together and pray for and with one another.

Will you say a prayer for that child today? God knows exactly who she is and what her situation needs.