Soccer Saturday
(Saturday, March 18th)

Today was the big day for our Loskop Cup of Hope, a 14-team tournament sponsored by Agathos & Hope Chapel. Games started at 9am and continued through to 6pm. We were concerned about the weather…last night we walked the field and prayed for numerous things, including good weather. Rain was in the forecast, and it was raining a bit in the morning…but right around 9am, the rain stopped for the rest of the day! PRAISE GOD!


Richard went to Estcourt to get a live sheep for our Braii (cookout) tomorrow night…and the sheep gets to stay the night with us tied up outside until tomorrow… I have 3 words to say about that! Baaaaaad Animal Sadness!

Although today we were not on the move a lot, it was nice to sit back and have some fellowship with the children and the people of Loskop. While Wendy and Becky got their hair braided from the girls during some of the games and learned how to do laundry (Zulu style), the guys tried to speak with some of the locals. Our Zulu is coming along nicely! We can greet people, ask them questions, tell them “Thank you” in singular AND plural, and tell them “No Problem.” Our accents are pretty good too! You should see some of their faces when we speak Zulu to them-they are caught off guard, but really excited that we are trying to fit in. However, some of the conversations were tough. Many of the people had already heard about all the soccer cleats we had brought with us. All day long, whether people came to the Cottages or on the soccer field, we were approached and asked if we had any more cleats left. It was heart wrenching to tell them we were all out.

Throughout the day, around 1000 people came to the tournament, with hundreds in attendance for each game. The field is surrounded by a huge concrete wall, which had people sitting all around. The field itself is not in the best of shape. There are HUGE clumps of grass/weeds all over, which makes the ball bounce in ways you couldn’t even imagine. Playing on gravel or dirt would be better! I was very anxious, as my team, Ever (Eva) Smiling, did not play until the last game of the day. It was great to watch the teams play with pride and spirit as the fans watched with intensity. Brian & Mike did a fantastic job providing the ref’s with shorts, shirts, flags, and socks.

The final game was approaching…I was going to play! ( I know the soccer picture looks like the one the other day…same colors, but different team and jersey!) Although soccer is a huge passion of mine, I have an even bigger one…JESUS! I knew that if I played well enough, I would earn the respect of the town, which would make it easier for me to minister to people during our next week. Through a long warm-up of running, skipping, clapping, singing Zulu songs and stretching (It’s a good thing I have rhythm!), we were ready to start. My coach told me that I would start at the #10 position (Center Midfield-they use numbers instead of names) The crowd was chattering about this white man from America and was wondering if he could play! Right before we started, my team prayed. Out of 14 teams, they were the ONLY one who did that! I knew that God had placed me on the right team!

The game started out with a telltale sign of what was to come. The other team received 2 penalty kicks within the first 10 minutes of the game! Although they missed the first one, they converted the second, and we were down 1-0. My team had a few chances, but we went into halftime with the same score. Halftime was very interesting…not only do the players and coaches talk, but ALL of the fans from your team join in. Seriously! We had 50 –75 people at our halftime talk. An older man who was obviously very passionate about the game and our team did most of the talking!

The second half was wild…my coach moved me to the #8 position (Right Wing) to try and create scoring opportunities. Luckily enough, that’s what I did…even though I am pretty out of shape! Halfway through the second half, I jumped up and did a bicycle kick that everyone thought had scored. The ref, however, disagreed, and we played on. (there were a few other calls that did not go my way as well, and Pastor Welcome was yelling that this referee had it out for me! We later learned that the ref was from the village of the other team…hmm.) With about 10 minutes left in the game, there was a scramble in front of the goal. The ball bounced in my direction, and I put it in the back of the net….GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL! So, I did what any soccer player does when he scores a goal in a big game…I took off my shirt, waved it around, sprinted to where all the fans where, and dove head first across the ground! My teammates dove on top of me, as well as many of the fans. It was the greatest feeling I have ever had after scoring a goal! All this celebrating earned me a yellow card, which I gladly accepted…it was well worth it!

The ending, however, does not get any better…we went to Penalty Kicks with the other team, and I MISSED and we lost! Yup, from Hero to Zero just like that! Unlike other countries where I might have been laughed at, yelled at, or even shot, I was welcomed with open arms and hugs from teammates. The manager of the team asked me to play in a “friendly” game on Monday in another village. Although I do believe this “friendly” game is being played over a nice sum of money, I am going to play anyway and use it as another way to minister. All of the fans were also very encouraging, telling me that I will do better next time. Although I wanted to leave out that I missed the PK, (HA!) it paints a picture of how the hearts and souls of these people are SO Christ like! The orphans even chanted songs for me and gave me hugs as I walked through the front gates at the cottages. The Lord is laying his hand on the people of Loskop.

Back at the cottages, we listened to the joyful voices of the Ryan, Pastor Welcome, and the church choir who were practicing for service tomorrow. Being outside and taking in a lot of sun, we called it an early night…with Church and a Braai tommorrow night, we need our rest!