Basketball Clinic at Petionville Club Refugee Camp

href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghPi0tuPvGRyuVnDETy4sAm9loRbGVlipOJJEmAiXiT0HvHxtU2VZlyWcsAOS3dZTf2_D-cWB_lMunIkf71-VAn0nFwVfzWlT8Z9Q2OWkNrQlaaIyX9goZZ4lTJwxovS9aXg4u8N39DP-u/s1600/100_0975.JPG">






On Wednesday the day before Thanksgiving, we had scheduled a coaching clinic with 6 Christian Schools in Port-au-Prince so that our visitor Kevin Belmont could use his basketball skills in ministry.

I had also invited Art McMahon, the basketball coach of Quisqueya Christian School, the youth Pastor and Pastor of Quisqueya Chapel, Marc Williams and Bobby Boyer, and Ronald William the administrator of AIS Haiti to help out.

We all arrived a little late at the school, but then we ended up waiting and waiting until we realized that nobody was going to show up except the assistant coach of the school where we were holding the clinic.

So we prayed and God gave me the idea of going to a refugee camp close by and doing a clinic with the kids there. So I called my contact there and he gathered about 30 children. By the time we ended, there were at least 100 kids!

We split up into six "stations" - dribbling, defense, shooting, passing, etc. and divided the kids up.

Thankfully, I had brought a portable basketball hoop which Kevin carried on his back to the middle of the camp.

Of course the conditions were not ideal with the "court" being made of uneven hard-packed mud, but the children had a great time and were all smiles. Kevin overcame the language barrier by demonstrating the moves with great animation and the help of a Haitian coach working with him.

After the clinic I had the opportunity to share the story of how I got shot and share the Gospel with these precious young men. They listened in spite of all the noise and activity all around them. I left enough evangelical books for the camp recreation leader to give one for each participant. Only God knows how the message I spoke will affect the lives of those who heard it, but we are praying that we will be able to follow up with many in the days ahead!