Friday, July 27, 2012

Speaking to some future professional players at ASD


July 23, 2012

The evening of my last day in SA I was given the opportunity to address about 15 top players between the ages of 16 and 20 at the weekly optional Bible study held on Monday nights.

Before I spoke, I had time to sit down and talk with the team’s chaplain: Bruce Nadin. He had been the chaplain of the professional team from his home town: Leichester in England, but had moved to SA about 3 years ago to work with AIS and also plant a church.

We talked about some of the problems that face youth in SA: The fact that most young men have no Fathers in their lives, the high incidence of sexual sin and rape and the prevalence of gangs and violence in many low-income townships.

Then we had dinner with the players. I ate with Carlo from Capetown and Mwene from Zambia. Mwene is a product of the AIS ministry in Zambia and went through many years of soccer and Biblical training before making it to ASD’s professional soccer training academy. I also met a young player from Cameroon that spoke French.

So when it came time to talk to the boys, I had some information that I used to relate to them right where they were. Even though I did not have anything written down, God brought to mind stories from my life and ministry that hit a nerve with many of the players.





Afterwards I had the opportunity to pray with the captain of the team who was facing the difficult prospect of not making it as a professional soccer player. He had spent the last 3 years of his life preparing for this career, and now it seemed just beyond his reach. So we prayed for God to show him the next step, and give him peace beyond understanding.

Drakenstien “Hope Academy” Prison Ministry

Monday, July 23, 2012




Have you ever felt like every experience you have had in your life was for a reason?
This is the way I felt as I spoke to 18 inmates in the youth section of Drakenstien prison in Capetown on a Sunny winter (our summer) afternoon. As we went around and introduced themselves the program leader had them say their name and also state their crime, sentence, and how long they had to complete their sentence. Their crimes included murder, rape and armed robbery. If I hadn’t been in prison and heard their crimes, I would have never suspected that these good looking young men between the ages of 18 and 25 had ever broken the law.





As I prayed about what God wanted me to share with these young men, I felt God prompting me to help them see the pain I felt as the victim of two violent crimes: The murder of my Father, and my being shot in a robbery. As I started to describe the sorrow I felt when my Father died, and the pain I went through when I was shot, I could see them reacting emotionally. Then I asked them if they had ever had the opportunity to ask forgiveness of those they had wronged by their crimes. Most of them said they had not. Then I described how God had given me the power to forgive the young man who had murdered my father, and the young man who had shot me even though I had never met them. I told them that because I had asked for my sins to be forgiven and God had forgiven me, I could then forgive those who had sinned against me. I urged them to ask God for forgiveness for their crimes, and also forgive those who had wronged them in their lives. Since 90% of these young men did not have a loving Father-figure in their lives growing up, it is likely that some of them had to deal with deep hurts from their past.

Through the Ambassadors in Sport ministry at Drakenstien, many of these young men have already trusted in Christ for their salvations, but they still have deep hurts, scars and habits that need to be dealt with. I told them how Christ had helped and was helping me deal with these issues and find deep healing. Later that day, a young man who had been involved in a kidnapping and murder thanked me for sharing.






After the short talk, we went out on a large field big enough for a soccer field and a rugby field. It was well equipped with two soccer goals and two rugby goals. It was an exciting day for the team because they distributed new Kappa uniforms to the team. They all looked great in the new uniforms and had an extra spring in their step as they practiced. The AIS SA staff had trained Jonas, one of the prison guards, as their coach. In the past year the prison warden has allowed the Hope Academy team to play in an adult league outside of the prison. Last year they won this league!





I worked with the goalie nick-named “Station”. I showed him how to catch and hold onto the ball securely, showed him and a friend some drills they could work on together, and also explained some simple geometry so he could understand angles better. He soaked up all that I showed him and even asked if I could work with him later in the week. Unfortunately, I had to tell him I was leaving the next day.





As we left the prison, we went by a statue of Nelson Mandela walking with his fist in the air. It turns out that on February 11, 1990, Mandela was released from Drakenstien after spending 27 years in various prisons and started a new life in politics, eventually becoming president in 1994.





My prayer is that each of the young men in the Hope Academy program will leave there with a bright future ahead of them because of their new relationship with Christ. Some are completing their High school education, and several are taking college-level courses.

There have already been several who have “graduated” from Hope Academy program at Drakenstien and most are doing well in their post-prison lives. As mentioned before, one of them is now the assistant coach of the Hope Academy in Soweto.

Church in South Africa

Sunday, July 22, 2012

This morning I attended the Julbilee Church in Cape Town with my host family. The church is renovating a big warehouse and the sanctuary is already finished.





Downstairs they are building Sunday school and meeting rooms. The service was held in English, so it was easy to understand, even with the South African British accent.
The music was a contemporary mix of worship songs in English and two songs in
“Kosa” an African dialect spoken in Capetown. The musicians included guitar players, bass, drums and even a sax player.

“Jubs”, as the locals call it, makes an effort to welcome all types of races and social backgrounds. On Sunday nights they have a large number of young adults and college students who attend.

Another popular church in the area is named “Common Ground”. It is known for its vibrant, young congregation and community outreach. Aaron Treadway, who is on staff with Ambassadors in Sport (AIS), preaches regularly at this church when he is not travelling for AIS. I even met a man on one of my flights whose daughters go to this church and like it a lot.

South Africans tell me that more than 50% of their population attends church, one of the highest percentages in the world. But false doctrines abound, and many have a pretty shallow faith. In Soweto we saw several billboards advertising a church that meets under what looks like a huge circus tent. My hosts told me that this church teaches a “prosperity gospel” that leads people to believe that if they give to the church and trust in Christ, He will give them good fortune.

But the church we attended was vibrant, alive and evangelical. I had met the preacher at the house of my host family several times, and even went to the Manchester United game with him and his family. He spoke about our need to believe that every trial is for a purpose, and for us to comfort others with the comfort we have received from God.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

African Soccer Development School

African Soccer Development School




Mike Steptoe (left)

The ASD is an elite residential soccer academy that trains young men 15 years and older to become professional soccer players. It was founded in 2009 by Mike Steptoe who is now 60 yrs. old Mike was CEO of Gestetner copiers in England and a business consultant before moving to South Africa and opening the Academy. His wife was a school teacher and now spends her time tutoring the players in academic and life skills so that they will be able pass the South African high-school equivalency exam.
Currently, ASD Has players from India, SA, Zambia, Nigeria, and some from National Team of Kenya. They have already placed 4 players in the professional league in Belgium and one player is doing very well.

Their coaching philosophy is patterned after the great basketball coach John Wooden of UCLA.






The dormitory is on a property named Paradise Estate. It used to be the manor house of a huge farm. After that it was run as an orphanage by a Christian family for many years. Later it was given to the SA Government who had to shut down the orphanage for lack of funds. ASD was able to rent this beautiful large house, but had to do a lot of rehabilitation as it sat vacant for many years.




Hennie & her husband Norman prepare the meals for the 30 or so players. Hennie is a wonderful Christian and explained to us how she prayers for the boys as she makes their meals. She says she seasons her meals with prayer, and sprinkles in the fruits of the Spirit as she cooks: “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control”

Here are some Stories:

Fayid: from Muslim background – expelled from school at 15 for carrying a gun. Both parents served time in prison as members of gangs. Now Fayid is earning his HS diploma and is getting along well with his teammates.

Dillon: His Mom was an alcoholic but after Dillon became part of ASD, she trusted Christ. Unfortunately she died in Jan 2012. He is now an orphan.

Akhumzi: Has twin brother who is not in ASD. After good nutrition you can see the difference in size of the two boys. One of his brothers “glassed” his other brother. “Glassed” means to cut with a broken bottle, usually on the throat. Fortunately they both survived the fight. Please pray for Akhumzi as he trys to share what he has been learning at ASD with his brothers.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

A Chance of a lifetime to see Man. United!


Saturday, July 21st I had the chance to see Manchester United play an exhibition match against the Cape Town professional team "Ajax".

The game was played at the stadium in Capetown that was built for the 2010 World Cup! It was the chance of a lifetime!



The $100 tickets were donated by a member of the press, and there were about 12 of us who went.

We were on the second row from the field!




The first half ended in a tie. The second half was almost over when Ajax scored on a corner kick.

Man. United scored in the 4 minute injury time to tie the game at the last minute, so the game ended in a 1-1 tie.

It even stopped raining for most of the game, so fun was had by all!






Friday, July 20, 2012

Hope Academy in Soweto

Hope Academy in Soweto




Today (July 19, 2012) we visited the Hope Academy in the notorious township of Soweto. On June 16, 1976 a group of high school students from Soweto marched in protest to having to use the Afrikaans language 50% of the time in schools. In response the Apartheid government eventually opened fired on the unarmed protesters when they refused to disperse. Estimates of those killed that day range between 176 and 600 killed and more than 1000 wounded.

Soweto is no longer the shanty-town that it was in 1976. It is now row-upon-row of government-built housing. The day we visited it was very dusty and dry, but in general it was well-kept and clean.

AIS South Africa runs a Hope Academy in Soweto with 36 children participating. They are divided up into roughly 12 girls and 24 boys between the ages of 9 and 12. They day we visited they were all excited because they were handing out brand-new Kappa uniforms (see picture).



Their typical training lasts about 3 hours and consists of about 30 minutes of homework help, 30 minutes of Biblically-based life-skill training and about 2 hours of soccer training. They usually practice 3 days a week and play games on Saturdays.
The neat thing is that their coach is a product of AIS SA’s soccer ministry in Drakenstien prison. After he was released from prison, he was hired by AIS to coach these children because he grew up in Soweto and knows the gangs and challenges they will face even in their young lives.



AIS SA would like to multiply the Hope Academy model throughout Africa and my visit is helping them evaluate the program and get a different perspective. In addition, I have learned lots from their example and am reflecting on how I can integrate parts of their best-practices into the ministry in Haiti.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

First day in South Africa

July 19, 2012

On the plane from Frankfurt to Johannesburg, South Africa I watched a movie named “Cry Freedom”. It starred Denzel Washington as Steve Biko, an anti-apartheid activist in the 1970’s and the newspaper editor that befriended him: Donald Woods. I would highly recommend it. This movie gave me insight into the deep suffering the people of South Africa have experienced in their past, and the price brave people like Biko and Nelson Mandela have paid to bring positive change to South Africa.

Unfortunately the first article I read in a South African newspaper was about how prevalent rape is in SA society. SA has one of the highest incidents of rape in the world, with one happening every minute. The article told of how two men gave a false alarm for an ambulance. When the two women Paramedics arrived the men raped them. Now more and more paramedics are carrying weapons to protect themselves.

Then I went for a run outside of the hotel. The guard told me to avoid the dozen or so prostitutes that were hanging around the corner. Then as I ran I saw signs for the usual “sex enhancing” drugs that are prevalent now a days. It seems that North America is not the only society that has corrupted God’s beautiful gift of sex within marriage.

But that is one reason why I am here: to evaluate and encourage the Ambassadors in Sport staff who are working with disadvantaged youth and break the cycle of poverty and abuse these children have lived through. Only by obeying Jesus’ command to do to others what we would have them do to us can we truly love one another by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is why the world needs Jesus!

Trip to South Africa

July 16, 2012

Monday, July 16th I left on a trip to South Africa. The purpose of the visit is to observe the various types of soccer ministry my collegues in Ambassadors in Sport are doing there. Then in August, Ambassadors in Sport is sending a delegation of 12 coaches and administrators to Haiti to observe what I am doing there. Please pray that this exchange of ideas and models produces some “Best practices” that can be shared with the 15 other countries that AIS serves in.

In South Africa AIS has developed a model call “Hope Academy”:
“Hope Academy is an intensive and holistic football based program that provides underprivileged children in Africa the opportunity to fulfil their God-given potential on and off the field.

Our vision is to strategically establish self-sustainable Hope Academies in disadvantaged communities and to uplift children in Africa in their football, faith and future.”

They have also started a ministry with prisoners in the notorious Drakenstien prison in Cape Town. Here is a story about them:

Cape Town, November 30th, 2011 – South Africa’s first prison-based football academy has been nominated for a prestigious accolade from globally recognised sporting organisation Beyond Sport.
This is the second time that Ambassadors in Sport’s (AIS) Drakenstein Hope Academy has received a nomination for Beyond Sport’s Social Inclusion Award for having recognised and successfully harnessed the potential football has as a mechanism for social upliftment. Being selected, as a finalist is no small feat – of the 400 entries from 125 countries into the various categories of the Beyond Sport Awards, 38 finalists were chosen and only four of these are from South Africa, one of which is the Drakenstein Hope Academy.

It will be a long trip: It will take me two days to get there and two days to get back. I will be in Africa 6 days, making the trip a 10 day adventure! Please pray that God will speak to our hearts through this trip and help us refine our strategies for His glory!

Equipment on its way to Haiti!

July 12, 2012

Today I packed two barrels to ship to Haiti with books and teaching materials for Haiti as well as two sets of uniforms and some balls for the soccer ministry. The soccer balls were collected by Northampton Presbyterian church during their vacation Bible school. In addition, Northampton also collected several hundred dollars to help with the cost of shipping of the balls.

I also was able to fit in lots of cereal boxes collected by the children of Crossing Community Church. Our friend Francoise will use these boxes to make paper beads which she will use to make beautiful necklaces that can be sold in the US to help support her three children.

With careful packing, it is amazing how much you can fit into two 55 gallon barrels!

Friday, July 6, 2012

Diary of Haiti Trip June 14-21, 2012 Final Day



Thursday, June 21, 2012

The next morning we got up early and went to visit the UEBH campus at Bolosse. On the way there we stopped to buy some paintings and also some Haitian handicrafts.
I visited with lots of Haitian friends while at Bolosse and showed Ed and Justin where we used to live.




We also picked up 50 pounds of Haitian coffee to take back and sell in the US to raise money for Haitian-sent missionaries who work in Senegal, West Africa.



A Haitian Lizard runs through the brush


That afternoon we got on the plane and had a safe and uneventful trip back to Newark and Justin’s parents picked us up at the airport.

diary of Trip to Haiti June 14-21, 2012 Day Seven

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Ed was still weak the next morning, and so he and Justin stayed at the guest house while I had meetings. I met with my AIS Haiti staff and then the Ambassadors Communication staff. After that I went to visit Joan Martineau, who used to be the director of Quisqueya Christian School when our children were little. She has cancer and I wanted to visit her and pray with her.





Then I went back to the guesthouse to see how Ed and Justin were doing. They were feeling better and so we went to visit Francoise and her three children. When I got there I was very disappointed to see that the tire wall we had made keep water from ripping away the earth and eventually destroying Francoise’s house had been totally washed away by a rush of water from the rainy season in May.





Nevertheless, Francoise and her children were happy to see us and she had some necklaces and beads to give us to sell in the US.





My friend Daniel had invited us to his guesthouse for dinner that night, so we all went over there and had a nice dinner.



Diary of Trip to Haiti June 14-21, 2012 Day Six

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

We got up and Ed was complaining of an upset stomach. I had an early meeting with Pastor Doucet who is on the board of AIS Haiti. By the time I got back to the house, Ed said he was feeling OK, so I we jumped in the car and set out on our adventures for the day.





I had to go to the bank near the main park in Haiti named Champs de Mars. The presidential palace is in this part, as well as Haiti’s only history museum. So after doing some sight-seeing , Ed and Justin went to the museum with an AIS-Haiti co-worker, Ronald and I went to the bank.
While Ed and Justin were at the museum they got into a conversation with a Haitian-American who spoke English very well. They ended up sharing the Gospel with this young man who listened intently and thanked them afterwards for sharing such encouraging words.

However, Ed was not feeling good, so we headed back to the guesthouse and while Ed was getting the ice chest from the back of the pick-up he got dizzy and fell. At this point, I decided we had better take Ed to see a doctor. So I called up Dr. Jeudy, the same doctor who had treated me after I was shot. He called me back and said he was in his clinic and we could come right over.

After examining Ed, Dr. Jeudy said that he was dehydrated and would need at least 3 bags of intravenous serum to get re-hydrated. So they put Ed on a gurney (in the woman’s delivery room! gave him a pink hospital gown) and started the IV.
Once he was settled I went back to the guesthouse and got him an extra pillow, lots of snacks, water and his book. Justin was with him the whole time, and I also left Ronald with them. I also brought Charles, a Haitian friend who lives at the guesthouse who speaks a little English so he could translate if need be.





Then I went on to my next appointment: Talking to the Amputee soccer players who had taken part in the Ambassadors Communication business. These meetings went well and through them we better understood some of the challenges of starting a business in Haiti.

After these meetings, I went back to the hospital to pick Ed and the other guys up. Ed was feeling much better and even complained of being hungry! So we went back to the guest house and had a little dinner.