March Madness- Kenyan Style

After narrowly losing the Provencial Soccer Finals 1-0 in front of over 7,000 fans, I presented the Gospel to the 15 girls on the team with tears streaming down my face. They weren’t tears of sorrow, but tears of happiness and pride for how well these girls competed and tears of emotion as the magnitude of the moment struck me. A few of these great soccer players had never heard the message of Jesus’ love for them and his gift he freely offers all who will choose him. Others had heard the message before, but hadn't given their lives to Him. I can’t even remember what I said, but I know they weren’t my words anyway, as the Holy Spirit guided me and spoke through me.

It is amazing how close you can bond with a team in the matter of a five day tournament. The training and the games are always special, but I think I even enjoyed the times singing or talking on the bus, hanging out while watching other games, working out Math problems with 10 of them gathered around the kerosene lantern or sitting by the campfire and chatting as they cooked dinner at night. My prayer is that God used me to impact each of their lives in a special way through words of encouragement, listening to them and just by showing them that I care. Each of them has their own story. I shared a few of those stories previously in my blog.

This was the 2nd year I was able to coach the District Girls Soccer team at the Provencial Tournament. Last year we reached the finals and lost on post-match penalty kicks. No Suba District team had ever won the tournament in any sport. Our goal was to finish this year what we couldn’t quite get done last year. We came so close once again, competing against the other 22 districts in our province. The girls were not intimidated by the huge throngs of spectators watching them and quickly won over the fans. Our girls attracted quite a following during the tournament. They have so much talent and natural ability. Spectators were enthralled with our girls' ball-control, passing ability and aggressiveness. These 7th and 8th graders played like mature professionals. I can’t take much credit for the coaching. I just selected great players and put them in the right positions. The girls did the rest.

So as my alma mater, Rocky Mountain College, was winning the NAIA National Championship, we were having a different kind of March Madness here in Kenya. Our girls soccer team had reached the finals of the Provencial Tournament with four straight wins. We swept through our preliminary games with a 3-1 win and a 4-0 win. In the quarter-finals we faced the defending champions who conquered us in the Finals last year. We played a strong game and it once again came down to penalty kicks. We missed the 2nd, but our girls persevered and knocked in the rest and celebrated after the champs missed their last two. In the semifinals we cruised once again to a 5-0 victory, scoring four first-half goals. The finals didn’t end the way I had planned, but it provided a great teaching moment that will impact many girls’ lives here on Earth and for eternity.

Prayer Requests:

1) Pray for each of the girls I had the opportunity to coach over the past week. Pray that their

eyes would be open to the Gospel and that it will transform their lives.

2) Pray for the CGA students and staff as we close the first term. Pray for their physical needs to be met during the couple of weeks away from school and that they would have good time for rest and renewal.

3) Pray for me as I travel to Egypt and Israel for an 11 day trip in April. It is an unbelievable opportunity to travel with a Kenyan church group to see the Holy Land and walk where Jesus walked. Pray for it to open my understanding of the Bible and that God would use it to draw me closer to Him.