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.
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