Alls’ Well Under the African Sun

Alls’ well under the African sun. It’s Saturday and roughly around 90 degrees F outside. So we just played another soccer match (I keep wanting to call it football). I started in the first eleven again playing right winger. I have quickly learned that this position consists of the most running. I mean I’m fast and all but this is a lot of running, well sprinting. I played decent, not the best but I didn’t screw anything up and had some really good plays, no goals though. I had a few opportunities here and there, not the golden shining moment opportunities but ones that you should capitalize on, but instead of taking the shot I decided to pass the ball off. I made some pretty sweet trick passes and I opened up opportunities for my team to capitalize on. I played until half time, I just got burnt out and too tired running around in the 90 degree plus heat, it sucks to say but that’s what happened.  Pastor Gift and our other coach were very proud of me. They keep telling me that they’ve never seem someone pick up this sport so fast, they’ve seen guys train for two years, I’ve only been training for about 3 and a half months, and they say that I am better than them. I keep writing the compliments that PG and Coach give me and how well they tell me I’m doing because I want you guys back to home to actually believe that my ministry is me playing on a professional soccer team. Nobody has seen me play soccer before, I mean my parents have but the last time that happened was when I was eleven. But this is real people! I’ve got a good life…

Alls’ very well under the African sun. Like I’ve said before, on Fridays the soccer guys stay the night and sleep at our house, there are usually around 25 guys who stay. So last Friday, another AIM team that is staying in Swaziland for 3 months called a Real Life Team came down to visit us at Nsoko. Some spiritual things like attacks had been happening quite often and the worst of it would usually happen on Fridays, when the soccer guys are sleeping in our house, because we invite them into our house we are invited whatever crap they have with them. The team came and we worshipped and prayed and they stayed up all night to intercede on our behalf. Since then, the bad spiritual events have stopped. I’m not going to elaborate on the attacks and everything else that happened. “Rejoice that your name is in the book of life” – Jesus. But anyways, some of the players were at the worship session with us and they told us that they wanted to have worship every Friday. So last night we lead them in worship, even though it felt more a concert but it was the first time, kind of like a warm up worship session. Also, I’m going to start somewhat of a men’s group with the guys. The vision that I have for this though isn’t really as formal as a “men’s group” sounds. I just want to talk about life and what the guys are facing and pray for them. I want to make strong disciples out of them. A lot of God things have been happening with them and me and Jon, and talking with them all once a week after practice has become not enough. So pray for this vision that I have and that vulnerability will be inevitable. I love teaching about manliness and living it out with them, I love telling them about the real Jesus and not any of this religious bull crap that they’ve seen all their lives. I’m just really really excited to see what happens out of this.

Alls’ is well under the African sun. The girls on my team minister to the Young Women’s group (and as well as the older women) but they recently asked the girls to write down any questions that they have about boys or relationships or anything they could think of. I mean there were some legit questions. So Jon and I had the opportunity to answer these questions for the girls. It was very interesting and very good, it just really cool for them to hear genuine answers from Godly men about questions dealing with sex and relationships. There is quite the lack of Godly men in this community (that’s why I get so jacked up when my brothers here ask me, “Hey, when are we gonna have another man talk?” and “We’ve got some questions about how to be a leader and how to be successful.”), so I really enjoyed sharing my thoughts and quite recent experiences in this area.

Alls’ is well under the African sun. My team and I have also befriended a local Afrikaans man and his family who own the local big grocery store. Afrikaans are white Africans who come from the Dutch settlers and mainly live in South Africa (ha I’m talking about them like I’m in Discovery Channel). He invited us to come swimming at his house whenever we want and to go four wheeling (which we still have to do) but the man, his name is Mac, has just has a real good heart…and a real good taste for beer. Those Afrikaans sure like to tip them back, it’s their culture, they’re not drunkards. The man just wants to give and give and give, he blesses us and the people with some many things, so to return the favor we shop at his store even though the prices are high than the store a few more miles down the road. This last Friday, he brought cool drinks for the soccer guys and we had a “braai”, which is the term used here for a really huge grill out with lots of meat. For no reason he did this. Mac gave us a ride home one day because transport is the most expensive thing in Africa and our vehicle is broken, and he asked us to go out and get some drinks with him on Friday but we told him that the soccer guys stay over and he says, “Well how about I bring some meat and cool drinks from the shop and we will have a braai?” What is really interesting with Mac is that, well I’ve talked to him a lot about God, but he has never said anything about living for Jesus or anything that would make me think that he has the Holy Spirit inside him. So what is freaking awesome is that Jesus does good works through him. I just find that so great. He came to me with plans to start a soup kitchen with all the left over produce that they can’t sell but is still good to eat and that we will transport the food to the very sick people. He has started a sugar bean field in another community, he might sponsor the G42 soccer team (my team), if people don’t have enough money to buy all the groceries they need, he just tells them to pay what they have and take what they need. I mean I could go on telling about all the good things he is doing for the people here, but I’m not. God is good… and alls’ well under the African sun.