On Monday I had the wonderful opportunity to share with the girls in the night session. I was praying about what I wanted to do in my time with them, whether or not to share a testimony or a current preview of my life, or share the Word with them. I took a look at what has been going on in my life and decided to be real with them and share about the importance of not comparing ourselves to others and operating in our individual strengths. Lately I have been struggling with this, and God has really been showing me some amazing things in my time with Him, so I wanted to share openly with the girls on the importance of their uniqueness and individuality. I had some things prepared, but God really was speaking to me during the training session and gave me some excellent ideas of how to explain things to the girls.
(I will share briefly what the talk looked like with them): "My name is Niccole Grimaldi and I am from the United States. I'm Italian and in Italy, when we want to say a girl is really pretty we say, Ciao Bella! (and wink) :)(The girls loved this and absolutely ate it up). Today I want to talk to you about comparisons. Have you ever looked at one of your friends and wished you could be like them or look like them or have what they have? How does it make you feel when you realize that it's impossible to be just like them? For me it makes me feel really inadequate and depressed. I feel like I have no peace when I try to be like someone else and not be myself. The goal is to focus on our individual strengths. We are all unique and special in our own way. Look at your fingers and to notice your fingerprint. Did you know that you are the only person in the entire world with that fingerprint? Even if we tried to cut up our finger and shape it like someone else's print, it would be impossible, just like it is impossible for anyone to be like you, and you to be like anyone. I picture God looking down from heaven and chuckling sometimes watching us compare ourselves to others and Him thinking, what are you doing!? I made you so special and with so many amazing qualities and strengths and you're trying to be like someone else? How foolish! (I shared with them the verse in Psalms about us being fearfully and wonderfully made and how God knew us before we were formed). We are each unique and special and one of a kind. God placed strengths on the inside of us that are for His glory and His pleasure and we need to discover what those things are and do them to the best of our ability. Just as you are unique and special and one of a kind, my best friend, Jesus, is one of a kind. And because you were made in His image, you too are one of a kind. I love Jesus so much and there is no one like Him in the entire world, just like there is no one like you." Then I played the song, Shout to the Lord on my guitar and sang with the girls. One of the exciting things was that a lot of the girls knew the song in Spanish so they were able to sing it along with us in Spanish. It was really a special and Holy moment and just absolutely incredible. God is really moving in this place!
On Monday we went to a little village that we had visited the day before that is in the rural area of Catacamas, Honduras. The people in this village are very poor, and don't have much at all. Predisan is working with the people (a man and wife who are pastors take care of the people in the village) about the importance of health and sanitation. Usually what happens is people will go relieve themselves wherever they want, and the problem is that it goes down into the ground and poisons the water for drinking. The water here is not safe to drink for them, so Predisan is teaching them how to build toilet facilities and maintain water that is healthy for them to drink. The man and wife have a home on the land along with their children and the others in the village and they are starting to build these toilets. They are teaching the people to relieve themselves in the toilet instead of just wherever they want. This is really huge for these people and instilling in them proper sanitation. The people in the village were so precious and we saw a small dirt soccer field in the middle of the homes that was on very uneven ground, with goals made out of sticks they had shaved. The girls don't play soccer there, and our hearts really went out to these precious people and we wanted to visit them again.
Yesterday evening we got to do the most amazing thing since we've been here. We went back to that little village with 22 uniforms, shoes, socks and headbands. The people had no idea what we were going to do when we got there, but when we pulled up there were several people just gathered around the church waiting for us to arrive. We had all the girls go inside the church and we made 3 teams of girls and gave them as many uniforms, shoes and socks that we had. Although no everyone got a uniform, we were able to give all of them something. The great thing is that this community of people will be able to share what they have with one another. Seeing their faces light up as we handed them uniforms and shoes--like I said, most don't even have shoes to wear, and they walk on hard ground with rocks and everything else barefoot. It was such a special moment and just absolutely incredible. We went out to that little dirt field and separated them into 3 teams and joined the girls and played soccer for the first time with these girls. THEY LOVED IT!!! Oh my gosh, if I could just explain the awesomeness of this experience! It was by far the most amazing thing we've had the opportunity to do. They were so excited and had so much fun. All the men and the families made a special day out of it and lined the field cheering for their favorite team and their sisters and daughters. It was amazing. We had so much fun with them and it honestly just brought so much joy to our hearts to see their enthusiasm and their excitement.
After the playing session with them, I had the opportunity to preach to the whole crowd that was out there. There was probably at least 70-100 people there last night. During the day I had been preparing what I wanted to speak about and was just praying for God to help me know what to say to them. I had asked Kyle, the missionary who works with Predisan, what they really needed most. He said that they really needed to hear about their uniqueness, especially since the stigma here is that women work in the home and raise the kids and nothing much outside of that. I decided to do a message on dreaming big. As I prepared my notes, I just didn't feel satisfied with what I had prepared. I had a feeling that when I got there God was going to have me scrap the whole thing and just go for it. Well, the bus had taken off to bring some of the other people into town, and my guitar, and my notes were on the bus when it came time for me to preach. :) I had been praying and praying in the Spirit about what to say and just decided to go for it from my heart, trusting God to give me the words He wanted me to say. I ended up doing a message similar to the one I had spoken the previous night, but I added in a little bit on dreams and dreaming big and how God put dreams in our hearts that only we can do. I remember looking at one of the girls holding a baby and asked if it was hers--it was. I said, "Did you know that only YOU can be her mom?" She smiled and it was a really special moment. I asked the men if they had ever dreamed to be able to provide for their families--they all raised their hands that they did. It was amazing to see them really listening and responding. I used the fingerprint analogy again, but God gave me a really neat thing to say to them with the whole, one of a kind thing...I told them if they ever started feeling down on themselves to point their index finger, look at their fingerprint and remind themselves that they are ONE of a kind. It was just neat how God dropped that in my heart right on the spot. I told the girls how beautiful and special they were and how amazing it was to get to share our passion with them and spend time with them, just loving on them. Then God put another thing on my heart right on the spot and I began to talk to them about how God had a huge dream to bring humanity back to Himself so that He could be ONE with them again. I told them about how He sent Jesus to die for us so that we could spend eternity with Him and have grace and love. I then gave a salvation call and at least 20 people responded--including my teammate that came on the trip with us that wasn't saved! :) GOD YOU ARE SOOOO AMAZING!!!!!! We prayed the sinner's prayer and I then told them that they now were my sisters by blood and they all loved that. We sang Shout to the Lord again in English and Spanish and just had a time of worship. It was so annointed...some people were crying and were really touched.
Joey (our leader from FCA) then followed up after me and challenged the men to step up as men and honor their women and lead their families. He really challenged them and encouraged them to be the men that God created them to be. He told them that FCA would be back to bring uniforms and items back for the men and boys in the village, but that they would be challenged them to step up in their walk with God. It was just an incredible moment and God was so glorified! God is just doing amazing things here and I'm so excited to be a part of what He is doing in Honduras!
Please pray for me as I go talk to my teammate about her decision for Christ. I'm not 100% sure if this was an actual commitment or not from her, so please pray for wisdom and the right timing for me to talk to her, and for God to really give me the right words to say. I am going to do it sometime before the trip is over, so please really be holding that up in your prayers!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
The Drill
We have been going and going and going all day for the last few days since the inaugural day of the women's soccer league. We are running at least 3 training sessions per day for all of the girls who want to come out and practice their soccer skills. Each day we focus on a particular aspect of the game and we repeat the same training session all throughout the day for all the different sessions. The sun is very hot in Honduras so we're definitely getting some color and having to drink tons of water! It has been so awesome though! The girls are so hungry to learn about soccer and play the game. Their passion for the sport is just amazing, especially since they've grown up with it their whole lives and have never had the opportunity to actually play on a team before. The training sessions are drawing large crowds, and for the first time, people are actually paying attention to these girls. Although the United States has had way more opportunities for women to play, the girls here have so much more knowledge about the game than we do because it has been a huge part of their culture for so long. It is exciting to work with the girls and encourage them in their femininity within the sport, letting them know that it is a women's sport just as much as it is a man's sport, and they are equal on the playing field. It has also been great to teach the coaches some more techniques and drills to work with the girls on their skills, speed, etc.
We brought lots of cleats and uniforms, in addition to headbands and socks for the girls. The cleats we brought are on loan to them since we need some each session for the girls to have. The plan is to give them all away at the end to whomever is in the most need of them. When we separate the teams to play against each other, we have been using headbands of different colors to signify the teams. It is fun because the girls get to keep the headband at the end of each session, so they always have something to take away with them.
Before the session begins, we have a lady speak about the importance of the girls taking care of their bodies so we've been really stressing the importance of stretching and drinking a lot of water--most people here don't drink very much water at all, which is shocking as it is sooooo hot here! After the session we have a man who is a psychologist that works with the Predisan organization come speak to the girls about self-esteem and the way they value themselves as women. We have a pastor with us on the trip too and he gets a chance to do a short devotional with the girls, and then one of us girls goes up and tells our testimony to the girls and/or give a small preach...it has been awesome to see the girls really focus in when one of us is up there speaking.
The girls are all so full of life and excited for the chance and the opportunity to play soccer for the first time in a league. This is really the start of something new and exciting for Catacamas, Honduras. The night sessions are especially fun since the people seem to make a holiday out of the training session, bringing their families and playing Honduran music. It really has been a great few days. We have a couple sessions today with the girls and then tomorrow is our last day to train them before we leave. In the next blog I will talk more specifically about what my role(s) have been on the trip! :)
Monday, October 4, 2010
Inaugural Day
We got to Honduras safely after a short plane ride and a long, bumpy and windy bus ride. Today was a very hot day as the sun is very intense in Honduras...I am looking forward to my sun tan! The team is doing great and I am having an awesome time with the girls getting to know them and spend time with them in addition to playing with them and sharing interest in the Lord.
Today was a full day. We got to go to the inaugural ceremonies for the girl's soccer league that they began here in Honduras since we were coming to help them. It was neat to talk to most of the girls and see history in the making for the town of Catacamas. Usually these girls aren't the ones getting the attention since soccer is more of a man's sport in this country...this is now changing! :) It was great to see the excitement on their faces and the dedication to playing the game.
After the opening ceremonies, we got to visit a substance abuse clinic and hear all about what the organization we are working with, Predisan, is doing to help these people in partnership with the clinic. As we were standing in the middle of the facility, we began to juggle the soccer ball. Immediately the boys ran to their rooms to grab their cleats and begin warming up as we were having a meeting...hahaha! We ended up playing a 7v7 match against them and we tied 1-1. It was a really fun time actually getting to play them and play with one another for the first time since we've been here.
Later in the day we got to visit a family who pastor the local church in a rural area on the outskirts of town that is more poor than where we are staying. The people were so precious and we got to see their families, their homes, their gardens and their lives. One of the ways Predisan is working with these families is by helping them build toilet facilities. Since Malaria is an epidemic in Honduras and the water is unsanitary to drink, Pedisan is helping to make the environment healthier for these people. They have a drinking facility that now provides for 30 people. Additionally, they are building toilets and encouraging sanitation by making it a point to remind people to use the bathroom facilities now instead of just going wherever they want...this will help the sanitation of the water, and the food for the families. We got to go see all the places they are building and it is really neat to see what they are doing and how much it is helping them. After the tour, we went to their church and had a beautiful time of Honduran worship followed by a Word that our pastor on the trip prepared to preach. It was such a nice time with the people...they have such beautiful hearts.
After the home visit, we headed off to the stadium facility to catch the end of a division 2 men's professional team, right before our game. We played some of the girls that we will be training during the week on the field. We ended up beating them 6-0 and had a really fun time with one another. The girls we played also had a great time...this is the first time that they are actually getting the attention in the sport of soccer, so it was huge that it drew a crowd for them, especially since the girl's league is just now starting. Although I didn't play as well as I would have liked to, I was proud of myself for reminding myself that it's okay...I just needed to cut myself a little slack and realize that I haven't played for 2 years and of course I'm going to be a little bit rusty. After the game I was a little bummed, but I gave myself 2 options: 1.) sulk and be miserable and beat myself up and not have any fun with my teammates, or 2.) drop it and move on and don't let it rob my joy and my time with my teammates. I am pleased to announce, I chose option #2! :) yay!!!
Because I chose the higher road, I ended up having a great time with my teammates at dinner when we went out to eat and there were 5 of us that had amazing conversations about Jesus, the Bible, life, Free Chapel church, Christine Caine, Lisa Bevere, and the list goes on...it is so amazing to just be doing life with these girls and learning about their lives, their families, and where they are in their walk with Jesus. It was also a great time of subtle ministry as one of the girls I was sitting with is not saved yet. Join with me to believe for her salvation and that God so reveals Himself to her that it is absolutely undeniable!
Tomorrow is a full day of training the girls...I'm off to bed now...
Prayer Requests:
1.) That Jesus' name would be made famous in Honduras
2.) Health and safety of everyone on the trip
3.) Doors to be open to minister within the team, and outside the team
4.) My feet (been causing me a lot of pain) and my nose (smashed it in the car door)
5.) For me to choose joy and not be so hard on myself
6.) For all of us to have FUN!!!!
Today was a full day. We got to go to the inaugural ceremonies for the girl's soccer league that they began here in Honduras since we were coming to help them. It was neat to talk to most of the girls and see history in the making for the town of Catacamas. Usually these girls aren't the ones getting the attention since soccer is more of a man's sport in this country...this is now changing! :) It was great to see the excitement on their faces and the dedication to playing the game.
After the opening ceremonies, we got to visit a substance abuse clinic and hear all about what the organization we are working with, Predisan, is doing to help these people in partnership with the clinic. As we were standing in the middle of the facility, we began to juggle the soccer ball. Immediately the boys ran to their rooms to grab their cleats and begin warming up as we were having a meeting...hahaha! We ended up playing a 7v7 match against them and we tied 1-1. It was a really fun time actually getting to play them and play with one another for the first time since we've been here.
Later in the day we got to visit a family who pastor the local church in a rural area on the outskirts of town that is more poor than where we are staying. The people were so precious and we got to see their families, their homes, their gardens and their lives. One of the ways Predisan is working with these families is by helping them build toilet facilities. Since Malaria is an epidemic in Honduras and the water is unsanitary to drink, Pedisan is helping to make the environment healthier for these people. They have a drinking facility that now provides for 30 people. Additionally, they are building toilets and encouraging sanitation by making it a point to remind people to use the bathroom facilities now instead of just going wherever they want...this will help the sanitation of the water, and the food for the families. We got to go see all the places they are building and it is really neat to see what they are doing and how much it is helping them. After the tour, we went to their church and had a beautiful time of Honduran worship followed by a Word that our pastor on the trip prepared to preach. It was such a nice time with the people...they have such beautiful hearts.
After the home visit, we headed off to the stadium facility to catch the end of a division 2 men's professional team, right before our game. We played some of the girls that we will be training during the week on the field. We ended up beating them 6-0 and had a really fun time with one another. The girls we played also had a great time...this is the first time that they are actually getting the attention in the sport of soccer, so it was huge that it drew a crowd for them, especially since the girl's league is just now starting. Although I didn't play as well as I would have liked to, I was proud of myself for reminding myself that it's okay...I just needed to cut myself a little slack and realize that I haven't played for 2 years and of course I'm going to be a little bit rusty. After the game I was a little bummed, but I gave myself 2 options: 1.) sulk and be miserable and beat myself up and not have any fun with my teammates, or 2.) drop it and move on and don't let it rob my joy and my time with my teammates. I am pleased to announce, I chose option #2! :) yay!!!
Because I chose the higher road, I ended up having a great time with my teammates at dinner when we went out to eat and there were 5 of us that had amazing conversations about Jesus, the Bible, life, Free Chapel church, Christine Caine, Lisa Bevere, and the list goes on...it is so amazing to just be doing life with these girls and learning about their lives, their families, and where they are in their walk with Jesus. It was also a great time of subtle ministry as one of the girls I was sitting with is not saved yet. Join with me to believe for her salvation and that God so reveals Himself to her that it is absolutely undeniable!
Tomorrow is a full day of training the girls...I'm off to bed now...
Prayer Requests:
1.) That Jesus' name would be made famous in Honduras
2.) Health and safety of everyone on the trip
3.) Doors to be open to minister within the team, and outside the team
4.) My feet (been causing me a lot of pain) and my nose (smashed it in the car door)
5.) For me to choose joy and not be so hard on myself
6.) For all of us to have FUN!!!!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
I'm Going to Honduras!!!
Dear Family & Friends,
I hope this letter finds you well and enjoying the summertime. I spent the summer (9-weeks) in Italy and in the UK working with Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) doing sports ministry and receiving missions training. Italy is absolutely beautiful—if you didn’t know that already—and it was such an amazing experience and exciting for me to go back to my roots and live among my fellow Italians. I learned so much during my time away about myself and about serving people through missions, and I’m excited about the things that God has placed on my heart.
When I got back to the States I received a phone call from a friend who works for FCA asking me if I was interested in doing a soccer missions trip with FCA in Honduras. Of course my ears perked at the words “soccer,” “missions” and “Honduras,” so I was definitely on board for the trip. Before I tell you about the trip I just want to share my heart for a minute about why this trip has tugged on my heart so strongly. Think about the things that God has placed on the inside of you that just make sense…for me, it’s athletics, and soccer in particular. Now imagine if the Body of Christ (the Church) actually used their God-given abilities and passions to win souls for Christ and bridged the gap between “their world” and “the Church”…it would be absolutely amazing. After my collegiate career was over, my direct access to the athletic realm at the university seemed to fall away, as did my influence with that athletic demographic. I believe that God has been calling my heart back to my first love—other than Jesus of course—soccer. My heart beats for being able to share my sport with kids all over the world, particularly in Latin America. To see their faces light up when you pull a ball out of a backpack is unreal. I believe that this will be a life-changing experience for the people we will work with in Honduras, for the team of people on the trip, and for me, and I sincerely look forward to being a part.
I will be going to Honduras with Women’s Professional Soccer Players and the trip will be from October 2nd-9th, 2010. I’m particularly excited about this because there will be ministry opportunities within the team as well as in Honduras, and I have been working on getting in shape to play soccer semi- or professionally again so it will be fun to jump in with the girls and play while we are there. There is also a chance that we will have an opportunity to play a women’s team from Honduras so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for that! We will hold camps for local coaches and athletes to support the sport in the Orphanages & Community. Most all of the girls in the orphanages have been sexually abused/raped, but we have the opportunity to share Christ's love with them. We are serving along with Catamas, Honduras (www.pedisan.org) which is the local Honduran church. While in Honduras, we will also spend a half-day repairing houses for families whose weekly income is around $50. The family we will help build a house for has never had their own house before so I am looking forward to being able to be a blessing to this family and the others we will serve. There may also be opportunities for me to work with some of the families in the area of business, similar to what I was able to do in South Africa with the entrepreneurs in the Townships. Many of the children in the area of which we will serve in Honduras have never heard about Christ, and most do not know the impact of Christ through sports ministry. How exciting it will be to impact the world for Jesus while playing sports that they love, and that we love!
First and foremost I want to ask you to please keep us in your prayers as we are training and preparing our hearts for this trip. Please pray for God to prepare the hearts of all the people in Honduras we will encounter so that they will be open to hearing the message of salvation and will accept Jesus into their lives. Please pray for protection and for good health as we are there and traveling, and for wisdom, safety and provision. Everyone on the team is working on raising support to be able to go on this trip, so if you can also pray for our needs to be met financially as well, we would all greatly appreciate it.
In order for me to serve with FCA in Honduras, I have been asked to raise $700 to cover the cost of airfare, lodging and food. The total cost of the trip is $1,400, but I received a $700 scholarship to apply towards the airfare so I now only have to raise $700...I obviously could not pass up this opportunity! Please consider partnering with me to minister to the children and orphans through soccer! All donations are 100% tax deductible (tax notice is given at the end of the year). You can donate online at www.atlantafca.org/soccermission. You just need to choose my name from the drop-down menu option. There isn’t a place to put what kind of card you are using, so you can just write Visa/Mastercard/Etc. in the “Special Instructions” box at the bottom of the screen. If you prefer to donate by check, they can be made payable to “The FCA Missions – Honduras” with my name on the memo line. You can send the checks to my new address: 3220 Cypress Mill, Stillwater, OK 74074.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and for your prayers and consideration of supporting me for this trip. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to call me, I’d love to hear from you! My cell number is (562) 754-7021.
Changing the World in Christ,
Niccole Grimaldi
I hope this letter finds you well and enjoying the summertime. I spent the summer (9-weeks) in Italy and in the UK working with Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) doing sports ministry and receiving missions training. Italy is absolutely beautiful—if you didn’t know that already—and it was such an amazing experience and exciting for me to go back to my roots and live among my fellow Italians. I learned so much during my time away about myself and about serving people through missions, and I’m excited about the things that God has placed on my heart.
When I got back to the States I received a phone call from a friend who works for FCA asking me if I was interested in doing a soccer missions trip with FCA in Honduras. Of course my ears perked at the words “soccer,” “missions” and “Honduras,” so I was definitely on board for the trip. Before I tell you about the trip I just want to share my heart for a minute about why this trip has tugged on my heart so strongly. Think about the things that God has placed on the inside of you that just make sense…for me, it’s athletics, and soccer in particular. Now imagine if the Body of Christ (the Church) actually used their God-given abilities and passions to win souls for Christ and bridged the gap between “their world” and “the Church”…it would be absolutely amazing. After my collegiate career was over, my direct access to the athletic realm at the university seemed to fall away, as did my influence with that athletic demographic. I believe that God has been calling my heart back to my first love—other than Jesus of course—soccer. My heart beats for being able to share my sport with kids all over the world, particularly in Latin America. To see their faces light up when you pull a ball out of a backpack is unreal. I believe that this will be a life-changing experience for the people we will work with in Honduras, for the team of people on the trip, and for me, and I sincerely look forward to being a part.
I will be going to Honduras with Women’s Professional Soccer Players and the trip will be from October 2nd-9th, 2010. I’m particularly excited about this because there will be ministry opportunities within the team as well as in Honduras, and I have been working on getting in shape to play soccer semi- or professionally again so it will be fun to jump in with the girls and play while we are there. There is also a chance that we will have an opportunity to play a women’s team from Honduras so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for that! We will hold camps for local coaches and athletes to support the sport in the Orphanages & Community. Most all of the girls in the orphanages have been sexually abused/raped, but we have the opportunity to share Christ's love with them. We are serving along with Catamas, Honduras (www.pedisan.org) which is the local Honduran church. While in Honduras, we will also spend a half-day repairing houses for families whose weekly income is around $50. The family we will help build a house for has never had their own house before so I am looking forward to being able to be a blessing to this family and the others we will serve. There may also be opportunities for me to work with some of the families in the area of business, similar to what I was able to do in South Africa with the entrepreneurs in the Townships. Many of the children in the area of which we will serve in Honduras have never heard about Christ, and most do not know the impact of Christ through sports ministry. How exciting it will be to impact the world for Jesus while playing sports that they love, and that we love!
First and foremost I want to ask you to please keep us in your prayers as we are training and preparing our hearts for this trip. Please pray for God to prepare the hearts of all the people in Honduras we will encounter so that they will be open to hearing the message of salvation and will accept Jesus into their lives. Please pray for protection and for good health as we are there and traveling, and for wisdom, safety and provision. Everyone on the team is working on raising support to be able to go on this trip, so if you can also pray for our needs to be met financially as well, we would all greatly appreciate it.
In order for me to serve with FCA in Honduras, I have been asked to raise $700 to cover the cost of airfare, lodging and food. The total cost of the trip is $1,400, but I received a $700 scholarship to apply towards the airfare so I now only have to raise $700...I obviously could not pass up this opportunity! Please consider partnering with me to minister to the children and orphans through soccer! All donations are 100% tax deductible (tax notice is given at the end of the year). You can donate online at www.atlantafca.org/soccermission. You just need to choose my name from the drop-down menu option. There isn’t a place to put what kind of card you are using, so you can just write Visa/Mastercard/Etc. in the “Special Instructions” box at the bottom of the screen. If you prefer to donate by check, they can be made payable to “The FCA Missions – Honduras” with my name on the memo line. You can send the checks to my new address: 3220 Cypress Mill, Stillwater, OK 74074.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and for your prayers and consideration of supporting me for this trip. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to call me, I’d love to hear from you! My cell number is (562) 754-7021.
Changing the World in Christ,
Niccole Grimaldi
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Prayer Requests
I will update the blog from all the happenings today tomorrow since it's so late, but I wanted to send out a blog to let you know the immediate prayer requests we need to come our way for tomorrow:
1) Anna and I are having dinner with the female leader of the youth center in the Muslim community...please pray for open doors and wisdom for us as we speak and build a relationship with the girl. This is huge that we were invited to her home and that she is picking us up, so please keep it in your prayers constantly throughout the day. We are looking to have a meal with her around 7pm.
2) All five of us are going again to the park tomorrow to try and play soccer with the older boys and really just have a good time continuing to build relationships with them. Please pray that the boys show up and that there will be opportunities for us to mention God if possible...we cannot provoke, but we can answer if asked.
3) Continued unity for our entire team.
4) We have an outreach tomorrow with some kids so please pray that the kids have a great time and that they feel the love of Jesus and that God just radiates out of all of us who will be involved in the day.
5) Pray that we will be able to set up another soccer day for the boys and a rescheduled girls night with the girls for Friday evening.
1) Anna and I are having dinner with the female leader of the youth center in the Muslim community...please pray for open doors and wisdom for us as we speak and build a relationship with the girl. This is huge that we were invited to her home and that she is picking us up, so please keep it in your prayers constantly throughout the day. We are looking to have a meal with her around 7pm.
2) All five of us are going again to the park tomorrow to try and play soccer with the older boys and really just have a good time continuing to build relationships with them. Please pray that the boys show up and that there will be opportunities for us to mention God if possible...we cannot provoke, but we can answer if asked.
3) Continued unity for our entire team.
4) We have an outreach tomorrow with some kids so please pray that the kids have a great time and that they feel the love of Jesus and that God just radiates out of all of us who will be involved in the day.
5) Pray that we will be able to set up another soccer day for the boys and a rescheduled girls night with the girls for Friday evening.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Catching You Up to Speed...
Friday:learned slumdog millionaire dance, boys club, home visit, cricket, made dinner for everyone
Saturday:moved down town, worked out, showered and got dressed up, major storming
Sunday:team devotional, major storming, church, futbol game, world cup finals, major storming
Monday:team devotional, some storming, ran, girls from youth center, starting to plan, ice cream
I'll just fill you guys in on some of the major points of what happened since Friday and if you have additional questions about what I wrote above, feel free and email or post a comment on the blog and I will expand when I get some extra time. On Friday the boys got to play futbol with a few boys and spend some time with them in the boys club. The boys said that the kids were pretty mischievious and really didn't respect them and wouldn't allow them to form the teams but they instead picked their own teams. This culture is interesting and has presented us all with so many challenges in the planning and execution of things we are wanting to do. We are constantly on our toes and having to really keep in sync with the culture and the best way to just serve and love the people, knowing that there is a team on the ground here for the long haul and we want to make sure that we represent them well and don't cause any problems for them. This community is very tight knit where everyone knows each other. Reputations can be lost in the snap of a finger and typically when they go down the pot, there's no coming back. While the boys were with the young boys, us girls got to go visit the girl that we visited a couple of days ago and her brothers as well. It was a fun little visit as they wanted Anna and I to perform our dance that we learned earlier that day from Slumdog Millionarie. We were all bored earlier in the day so the boys and us girls found the dance they do to Jai-Ho in Slumdog Millionarie and definitely filmed a music video...absolutely hilarious...I promise to show you later on but it can't be put anywhere public due to the discression here. Anyways, the girl and her brothers wanted Anna and I to do it so we totally did and made fools out of ourselves, but we all had a really fun time and they all began to really open up to us. The boys wanted to teach us how to play cricket so we all went outside and played, which was fun. I had never played before or really seen it before, so it was a cool and cultural experience. The neat thing was that our host girl told us that the boys don't warm up to her friends very well and although Anna and I had done some things wrong in our visit (due to cultural standards), the boys were begging us to come back the next day, and the girl loves us and was laughing so hard the whole time we were together, so that was just God working in the midst of that situation. Oh how I love the favor of the Lord!
On Saturday we moved from the house we were staying at to the base for the organization we're working with. We are staying in a room with bunk beds and several girls in one room and community showers. I've been sleeping well so no complaints on my end. I think everyone is doing well here too, but we are just making commuting trips back and forth to the Muslim community in the car that we were given to drive, which is pretty cool. The team has trusted us with a car and a lot of freedom so that is super awesome. After leaving the Muslim community for the day we all took long showers and got all dolled up and went out to try and watch the Germany v. Uruguay game...Anna and I hadn't felt much like girls all week since we've been in super baggy clothing from head to toe in addition to having to pull our hair back everyday, so it was nice to put on a tank top, jeans and have our hair down and make-up on. It was also nice to wash my hair since it hadn't happened in a few days so that was a much needed thing. After going out we definitely went home and stormed it out with each other over some things, so that really began the storming process for the team that I talked about in the previous blog.
On Sunday I led a team devotional before we went to church. We traveled about 30 minutes to church and actually attended a very spirit-filled church that was awesome. We all loved the service and really had a great time of worship and hearing a couple from the church speak about some of their experiences in sharing about Jesus in their workplaces. It was a great time for our team to get to go to church and to go to one that was spirit-filled. It was great to just be in the house with other believers and really cry out to God. After the service the pastor announced that the church would be getting together later on to watch the finals of the World Cup at the church, but that they would also be playing a futbol match together before the game. Our ears definitely perked up, especially Anna and I since we've been unable to play as much as we've wanted to in the community we've been in. We decided that we'd do that and ended up having a great time. The boys were actually pretty good and the game was legit so that was really cool. They told me that I was the first girl to come to "Monday Night Futbol" (although it was on Sunday due to the game), so that was pretty cool becasue I was able to hang in with them well, and then Anna joined and did a great job as well. It was great to get to play and to really be challenged. It took a little bit of time for them to trust all of us that played, even the boys, but once we all proved to be "worthy" then we got more passes and more respect on the field so that was cool. All of the players weren't from the church so it was neat to see how the church was using futbol as a ministry as well. To all of their credit, the game was under control, no one was swearing or chewing the other out, and we really had a lot of fun. I believe God smiled on us as we were playing! :)
On Sunday evening we had some major storming among the group. We tried to talk it out before bedtime so that the sun wouldn't go down on our wrath, but unfortunately it did. :( I spent time in my bed praying and journaling and just asking God to convict me and speak to my heart about my attitude and my frustrations and what-not. I almost ended up setting the facility on fire as well as I decided that it would be a smart idea to lean up against a pillow over the floresent light that we each have on our bed...I started smelling a burning smell which ended up being a hole burnt through my pillow and also burned the outside of the bulb...I was thankful that I smelled it since I also have an allergy cold at the moment and so grateful that I did not start a fire because if it would have been on there any longer, I'm sure a small flame would have emerged. Thank you Jesus! When I woke up in the morning, I put on my worship music and began to read the Word and really continue to reflect over our storming. Last night I was literally ready to quit and leave my team forever and book a plane out of here. I was so angry and frustrated and had no clue how I was ever going to work with them. I told God that if marriage was anything like this then maybe I needed to stay single for the rest of my life...hahaha (but not really funny). It was bad. But thankfully God is faithful and He pointed me to an amazing set of scripture in Romans that really spoke to me and changed my heart. In our team meeting in the morning, I decided to apologize to the team and ask forgiveness on my end for my short comings and frustrations. I also told them that I'd like them to read the passages of Romans for us to discuss on Tuesday, so I think that will be great. You can just continue to pray for unity in our team.
Today was absolutely amazing. Anna and I were able to host six girls from the youth center in the Muslim community to our facility to play futbol, which never happens in this community...girls really don't meet together and they certainly don't go outside to a new location to meet with one another. That was a huge wall broken down. The girls ended up not being interested in futbol at all and we did some Tae Kwon-Do with them, and then opened up the gym for them to play pool and xbox. Anna and I were able to connect with the youth center leader and her friend that also works with her and she actually invited us to her house to talk more and get to know each other better. That was huge! We're actually going to go to her house on Thursday and she's going to pick us up so you can just be praying that she will see Jesus in Anna and I and that God gives us wisdom in the things we say to her and/or our responses to her. There are several key words we're not to say while we're here, so we really need to be intentional in everything we do and say. The girl from the youth center is definitely more modern in her approach to Islam and approaches the life of a Muslim woman a lot differently than the others in the community. She works with the girls on identity issues and also encourages the girls to do the things that they enjoy doing. We are really believing for her salvation since she has amazing reach with the community and the girls in the community. To be honest, she was the 100% best contact we could have made here to really help develop a relationship with her and really be Jesus to her. We're going to bring one of the girls on the team here with us on Thursday to meet with her since she is here long-term and will be here when we are gone so we're praying that they really connect well as well so keep that in your prayers. It's so amazing how God works. They found out that I sang and they wanted me to sing and told me that it was okay if I sang a Christian song so I ended up singing the bridge to Father of My Life, so that was really neat. We were able to share some things with them in addition to talking about neutral subjects such as human trafficking and also talked about their culture and the dynamics of home-life. I am just praying for the two girls that they will really see Jesus and accept Him as their Savior so that they can be apart of the Body of Christ, and also so they can partner with us in affecting these girls in the long-term. How amazing would it be if she was saved and was able to do identity with the girls from a Christian perspective instead of a Muslim perspective? Amazing!!! Continue to keep all of this in your prayers and I will update you all again in a day or two!
Love you much!!!
Saturday:moved down town, worked out, showered and got dressed up, major storming
Sunday:team devotional, major storming, church, futbol game, world cup finals, major storming
Monday:team devotional, some storming, ran, girls from youth center, starting to plan, ice cream
I'll just fill you guys in on some of the major points of what happened since Friday and if you have additional questions about what I wrote above, feel free and email or post a comment on the blog and I will expand when I get some extra time. On Friday the boys got to play futbol with a few boys and spend some time with them in the boys club. The boys said that the kids were pretty mischievious and really didn't respect them and wouldn't allow them to form the teams but they instead picked their own teams. This culture is interesting and has presented us all with so many challenges in the planning and execution of things we are wanting to do. We are constantly on our toes and having to really keep in sync with the culture and the best way to just serve and love the people, knowing that there is a team on the ground here for the long haul and we want to make sure that we represent them well and don't cause any problems for them. This community is very tight knit where everyone knows each other. Reputations can be lost in the snap of a finger and typically when they go down the pot, there's no coming back. While the boys were with the young boys, us girls got to go visit the girl that we visited a couple of days ago and her brothers as well. It was a fun little visit as they wanted Anna and I to perform our dance that we learned earlier that day from Slumdog Millionarie. We were all bored earlier in the day so the boys and us girls found the dance they do to Jai-Ho in Slumdog Millionarie and definitely filmed a music video...absolutely hilarious...I promise to show you later on but it can't be put anywhere public due to the discression here. Anyways, the girl and her brothers wanted Anna and I to do it so we totally did and made fools out of ourselves, but we all had a really fun time and they all began to really open up to us. The boys wanted to teach us how to play cricket so we all went outside and played, which was fun. I had never played before or really seen it before, so it was a cool and cultural experience. The neat thing was that our host girl told us that the boys don't warm up to her friends very well and although Anna and I had done some things wrong in our visit (due to cultural standards), the boys were begging us to come back the next day, and the girl loves us and was laughing so hard the whole time we were together, so that was just God working in the midst of that situation. Oh how I love the favor of the Lord!
On Saturday we moved from the house we were staying at to the base for the organization we're working with. We are staying in a room with bunk beds and several girls in one room and community showers. I've been sleeping well so no complaints on my end. I think everyone is doing well here too, but we are just making commuting trips back and forth to the Muslim community in the car that we were given to drive, which is pretty cool. The team has trusted us with a car and a lot of freedom so that is super awesome. After leaving the Muslim community for the day we all took long showers and got all dolled up and went out to try and watch the Germany v. Uruguay game...Anna and I hadn't felt much like girls all week since we've been in super baggy clothing from head to toe in addition to having to pull our hair back everyday, so it was nice to put on a tank top, jeans and have our hair down and make-up on. It was also nice to wash my hair since it hadn't happened in a few days so that was a much needed thing. After going out we definitely went home and stormed it out with each other over some things, so that really began the storming process for the team that I talked about in the previous blog.
On Sunday I led a team devotional before we went to church. We traveled about 30 minutes to church and actually attended a very spirit-filled church that was awesome. We all loved the service and really had a great time of worship and hearing a couple from the church speak about some of their experiences in sharing about Jesus in their workplaces. It was a great time for our team to get to go to church and to go to one that was spirit-filled. It was great to just be in the house with other believers and really cry out to God. After the service the pastor announced that the church would be getting together later on to watch the finals of the World Cup at the church, but that they would also be playing a futbol match together before the game. Our ears definitely perked up, especially Anna and I since we've been unable to play as much as we've wanted to in the community we've been in. We decided that we'd do that and ended up having a great time. The boys were actually pretty good and the game was legit so that was really cool. They told me that I was the first girl to come to "Monday Night Futbol" (although it was on Sunday due to the game), so that was pretty cool becasue I was able to hang in with them well, and then Anna joined and did a great job as well. It was great to get to play and to really be challenged. It took a little bit of time for them to trust all of us that played, even the boys, but once we all proved to be "worthy" then we got more passes and more respect on the field so that was cool. All of the players weren't from the church so it was neat to see how the church was using futbol as a ministry as well. To all of their credit, the game was under control, no one was swearing or chewing the other out, and we really had a lot of fun. I believe God smiled on us as we were playing! :)
On Sunday evening we had some major storming among the group. We tried to talk it out before bedtime so that the sun wouldn't go down on our wrath, but unfortunately it did. :( I spent time in my bed praying and journaling and just asking God to convict me and speak to my heart about my attitude and my frustrations and what-not. I almost ended up setting the facility on fire as well as I decided that it would be a smart idea to lean up against a pillow over the floresent light that we each have on our bed...I started smelling a burning smell which ended up being a hole burnt through my pillow and also burned the outside of the bulb...I was thankful that I smelled it since I also have an allergy cold at the moment and so grateful that I did not start a fire because if it would have been on there any longer, I'm sure a small flame would have emerged. Thank you Jesus! When I woke up in the morning, I put on my worship music and began to read the Word and really continue to reflect over our storming. Last night I was literally ready to quit and leave my team forever and book a plane out of here. I was so angry and frustrated and had no clue how I was ever going to work with them. I told God that if marriage was anything like this then maybe I needed to stay single for the rest of my life...hahaha (but not really funny). It was bad. But thankfully God is faithful and He pointed me to an amazing set of scripture in Romans that really spoke to me and changed my heart. In our team meeting in the morning, I decided to apologize to the team and ask forgiveness on my end for my short comings and frustrations. I also told them that I'd like them to read the passages of Romans for us to discuss on Tuesday, so I think that will be great. You can just continue to pray for unity in our team.
Today was absolutely amazing. Anna and I were able to host six girls from the youth center in the Muslim community to our facility to play futbol, which never happens in this community...girls really don't meet together and they certainly don't go outside to a new location to meet with one another. That was a huge wall broken down. The girls ended up not being interested in futbol at all and we did some Tae Kwon-Do with them, and then opened up the gym for them to play pool and xbox. Anna and I were able to connect with the youth center leader and her friend that also works with her and she actually invited us to her house to talk more and get to know each other better. That was huge! We're actually going to go to her house on Thursday and she's going to pick us up so you can just be praying that she will see Jesus in Anna and I and that God gives us wisdom in the things we say to her and/or our responses to her. There are several key words we're not to say while we're here, so we really need to be intentional in everything we do and say. The girl from the youth center is definitely more modern in her approach to Islam and approaches the life of a Muslim woman a lot differently than the others in the community. She works with the girls on identity issues and also encourages the girls to do the things that they enjoy doing. We are really believing for her salvation since she has amazing reach with the community and the girls in the community. To be honest, she was the 100% best contact we could have made here to really help develop a relationship with her and really be Jesus to her. We're going to bring one of the girls on the team here with us on Thursday to meet with her since she is here long-term and will be here when we are gone so we're praying that they really connect well as well so keep that in your prayers. It's so amazing how God works. They found out that I sang and they wanted me to sing and told me that it was okay if I sang a Christian song so I ended up singing the bridge to Father of My Life, so that was really neat. We were able to share some things with them in addition to talking about neutral subjects such as human trafficking and also talked about their culture and the dynamics of home-life. I am just praying for the two girls that they will really see Jesus and accept Him as their Savior so that they can be apart of the Body of Christ, and also so they can partner with us in affecting these girls in the long-term. How amazing would it be if she was saved and was able to do identity with the girls from a Christian perspective instead of a Muslim perspective? Amazing!!! Continue to keep all of this in your prayers and I will update you all again in a day or two!
Love you much!!!
Let the storming begin!
So management literature tells us that a team goes through five stages on the way to becoming a true team: forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning...we have officially entered the storming phase here! Although it is a healthy and necessary aspect for all teams to go through, it is a very painful and frustrating process. We are definitely a family here and frustrations with one another and with the team are coming out. The enemy is at work to come in and cause division, but we are pressing through and continuing to discuss, pray and work through the trials and frustrations. We believe that God has huge things planned for us while we are here--we are already seeing many walls come down in just this short time--so you better believe that Satan will attack at this point. Please keep our team in your prayers for unity, patience, grace and love with one another. The last couple of days were rough, but thank Jesus we stormed it out for those days and really got back on board making sure we were praying and doing our team devotionals with each other and today was a fantastic day (I will write about it in the next blog). Greater things are yet to come!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Day of Prayer
Today was a very long day for us as we traveled into the city and spent the day in prayer with the whole team here. We prayed with "our senses" so we had various rooms devoted to sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell and specific things for us to pray about in each room. It was really neat because the team set everything up for us and there was literature to read and my heart just broke for some of the things that I read that we prayed about. For instance, Dalits (aka untouchables) are considered the lowest class of the caste system and basically trash in the Muslim society. No one wants to touch them, talk to them or value them so they are nothing to everyone. it absolutely broke my heart for these people. How could they continue to follow a religion like Islam that so devalues them? We need to really pray for these people. The whole time of prayer was awesome and we really got to pray for some different things that I never even knew about so it was great. We had a meal with the whole team and just spent some good quality time together.
After the day of prayer we got to meet with the guy who runs sports ministry in Pakistan and the guy who runs sports ministry in Egypt. It was so awesome to talk to them and hear about how their ministry is going and where we could fit into the mix if we ever decide to be a part of their team. Unfortuntatly there are no playing opportunities for Anna and I there, but you never know what God may have planned and in store for me! I'm just opened to be used at this point and these Muslim people absolutely need Jesus!
We just got home a few minutes ago so we'll be resting and relaxing the rest of the evening. Tomorrow and Saturday are big days for us so I will keep you all posted! Continue to keep us in your prayers!
After the day of prayer we got to meet with the guy who runs sports ministry in Pakistan and the guy who runs sports ministry in Egypt. It was so awesome to talk to them and hear about how their ministry is going and where we could fit into the mix if we ever decide to be a part of their team. Unfortuntatly there are no playing opportunities for Anna and I there, but you never know what God may have planned and in store for me! I'm just opened to be used at this point and these Muslim people absolutely need Jesus!
We just got home a few minutes ago so we'll be resting and relaxing the rest of the evening. Tomorrow and Saturday are big days for us so I will keep you all posted! Continue to keep us in your prayers!
Testing the Waters
Yesterday was an absolutely amazing day for all of us. The morning started off by us walking around the town and going shopping for a few more appropriate things to wear. It was a lot of fun going in the different shops and yes, I definitely bought some stuff that is amazing...I cannot wait to sport my new gear! It is interesting walking on the streets and really trying to fit into the culture. We cannot hold the gaze of a man for longer than a blink and we have to be covered up, except that we do not cover our heads...if we cover our heads, they will think that we are converted Muslims. I was a lot more relaxed walking around the town than the day before and felt like I could be myself a little more, so that was really good.
We had a sit down meeting with our head leader guy and the other guy that is the leader of the program facility that we are working at. It was a little bit frustrating/confusing because they kind-of reversed some of the things they had told us the day before, so now they told us that Anna and I could go play futbol (soccer) with the boys in the park as long as the boys were with us and that we were covered up on the bottom with pants, but they did allow us to wear t-shirts. I was a bit frustrated because I felt like this meeting was almost exactly opposite as the last meeting where I cried, so I was just confused and wanted to know who was telling me the right thing (not that it was wrong, but it just was conflicting messages). I of course expressed my feelings openly, but respectfully, because I want to make sure that I am doing what I need to be doing for the culture, and also for the team on the ground here. I want to be a good representation of the team, and of Jesus. They cleared up some things so the verdict was that we would go to the park after our meeting and try to lure some kids in to play futbol.
After the meeting, we walked to the park and first went in the little youth center that is near by. We talked to the girl that runs the center and she said there are a group of girls that come in on Mondays that she works with and so we scheduled them to come to our facility to do indoor soccer with them this coming Monday, and then also to do tae kwon-do with Vlad once Anna and I are finished working with them and spending time with them. It is so neat how God opens doors. I was so distraught after the first day thinking there was no way I'd be able to share my passion with these girls/boys at all, but God really opened the door for that to happen and we are definitely looking forward to Monday evening. While we were in the youth center, there were some teenage boys in there and they saw us with futbols and asked if we wanted to play a match...to which we responded, "absolutely yes!!!"
We played the match on a basketball court that is also converted to a futbol court. We played our team verses the Pakistani boys. It was an absolute blast! At first the boys thought that Anna and I sucked and that we were pushovers and got super cocky...that changed REAL quick! hahahaha...we took them to school a few times which was absolutely hilarious so they really respected us as players. They were very respectful of us on the court and we really had a good time with them. We had to make sure that we didnt't hold conversations with them for longer than a minute...we still aren't supposed to look in their eyes for more than a blink, which we definitely screwed up on, but it'll get better. Unfortunately we lost both games, hahaha, but it was so much fun regardless, and the boys really had a lot of fun too. It will be great for us to continue to meet these boys from time-to-time to really be able to build a relationship with them and continue to pray for them so that we get ministry opportunities with them to tell them about Jesus. You all can definitely be praying for the boys that we are playing with that God will begin to soften their hearts and open their eyes to a revelation of the truth. Pray for wisdom for all of us in conducting ourselves...pray for Anna and I to really do what is necessary in the culture, even though it is extremely difficult for us, and pray for our boys to really be able to get in there and build strong relationships with the boys since it would be inappropriate for Anna and I to do so.
There is much frustration for me in all of this because I so want to develop relationships with the boys and minister to them through sport, but it is just not possible for us to do so because of the culture. It breaks my heart, but I need to be flexible and really focus my attention on the girls and really encourage and support our boys to be the ones to get in there and build the relationships and make an impact through futbol. Anna and I will focus more on the girls, and we can plays futbol with them, but it is more private. We also have to be careful not to empower them too much because the culture is soooo different. While I may think that they should get to play if they want to, they may not really want that, and honestly, they really can't due to the culture and the way the Muslim world works...it is so sad and unfortunate. I have to remember as well that just because it is desired in my culture or I may think things should be done a certain way, I do not know it all and those that work specifically with this culture really have the wisdom we need to help make it work. Just pray for strength for Anna and I as we are having to learn some different things and really just submit to what is going on here. This is the first time that this team has decided to try sports ministry, so we are pioneers for the program. We are essentially testing the waters and challenging ways of doing things as well to see what works and what doesn't work. They have a lot of faith and trust in us, but it will take a lot of prayer, work and effort to really get a sports program going here on a consistent basis as these things typically take a lot of time. For instance, it took over a year to get full permission to start running an exercise class for the women just once a week. Please pray for open hearts and minds, favor and wisdom for us and those in charge of the program in helping to start a sports ministry here.
Anna and I got to go with a friend here to visit a 18-year old Muslim girl at her house and really just spend some time with here being girls and talking about anything and everything. She painted henna tattoos on our hands and made us some amazing samosas so that was pretty cool! Our friend here has been building a relationship with here for over a year now, so it was really exciting to see how much she has changed since when they first became friends. She has a great view of what Christians are like and has really made huge strides in her life. She used to drink and smoke and do a lot of terrible things, but she hasn't been doing any of that stuff anymore. Unfortunately, she had cuts on her wrist when we went over there, so we need to just continue to hold her up in prayer that she will know who she is in Jesus. She said if it wasn't for our friend here be-friending her, she wouldn't be alive...that is the power of Jesus and the power of relationships. Please continue to pray. Anna and I will be meeting with her a few more times as well so pray for wisdom and opportunities to speak into her life about Jesus, her identity and anything else that she is facing.
We had a sit down meeting with our head leader guy and the other guy that is the leader of the program facility that we are working at. It was a little bit frustrating/confusing because they kind-of reversed some of the things they had told us the day before, so now they told us that Anna and I could go play futbol (soccer) with the boys in the park as long as the boys were with us and that we were covered up on the bottom with pants, but they did allow us to wear t-shirts. I was a bit frustrated because I felt like this meeting was almost exactly opposite as the last meeting where I cried, so I was just confused and wanted to know who was telling me the right thing (not that it was wrong, but it just was conflicting messages). I of course expressed my feelings openly, but respectfully, because I want to make sure that I am doing what I need to be doing for the culture, and also for the team on the ground here. I want to be a good representation of the team, and of Jesus. They cleared up some things so the verdict was that we would go to the park after our meeting and try to lure some kids in to play futbol.
After the meeting, we walked to the park and first went in the little youth center that is near by. We talked to the girl that runs the center and she said there are a group of girls that come in on Mondays that she works with and so we scheduled them to come to our facility to do indoor soccer with them this coming Monday, and then also to do tae kwon-do with Vlad once Anna and I are finished working with them and spending time with them. It is so neat how God opens doors. I was so distraught after the first day thinking there was no way I'd be able to share my passion with these girls/boys at all, but God really opened the door for that to happen and we are definitely looking forward to Monday evening. While we were in the youth center, there were some teenage boys in there and they saw us with futbols and asked if we wanted to play a match...to which we responded, "absolutely yes!!!"
We played the match on a basketball court that is also converted to a futbol court. We played our team verses the Pakistani boys. It was an absolute blast! At first the boys thought that Anna and I sucked and that we were pushovers and got super cocky...that changed REAL quick! hahahaha...we took them to school a few times which was absolutely hilarious so they really respected us as players. They were very respectful of us on the court and we really had a good time with them. We had to make sure that we didnt't hold conversations with them for longer than a minute...we still aren't supposed to look in their eyes for more than a blink, which we definitely screwed up on, but it'll get better. Unfortunately we lost both games, hahaha, but it was so much fun regardless, and the boys really had a lot of fun too. It will be great for us to continue to meet these boys from time-to-time to really be able to build a relationship with them and continue to pray for them so that we get ministry opportunities with them to tell them about Jesus. You all can definitely be praying for the boys that we are playing with that God will begin to soften their hearts and open their eyes to a revelation of the truth. Pray for wisdom for all of us in conducting ourselves...pray for Anna and I to really do what is necessary in the culture, even though it is extremely difficult for us, and pray for our boys to really be able to get in there and build strong relationships with the boys since it would be inappropriate for Anna and I to do so.
There is much frustration for me in all of this because I so want to develop relationships with the boys and minister to them through sport, but it is just not possible for us to do so because of the culture. It breaks my heart, but I need to be flexible and really focus my attention on the girls and really encourage and support our boys to be the ones to get in there and build the relationships and make an impact through futbol. Anna and I will focus more on the girls, and we can plays futbol with them, but it is more private. We also have to be careful not to empower them too much because the culture is soooo different. While I may think that they should get to play if they want to, they may not really want that, and honestly, they really can't due to the culture and the way the Muslim world works...it is so sad and unfortunate. I have to remember as well that just because it is desired in my culture or I may think things should be done a certain way, I do not know it all and those that work specifically with this culture really have the wisdom we need to help make it work. Just pray for strength for Anna and I as we are having to learn some different things and really just submit to what is going on here. This is the first time that this team has decided to try sports ministry, so we are pioneers for the program. We are essentially testing the waters and challenging ways of doing things as well to see what works and what doesn't work. They have a lot of faith and trust in us, but it will take a lot of prayer, work and effort to really get a sports program going here on a consistent basis as these things typically take a lot of time. For instance, it took over a year to get full permission to start running an exercise class for the women just once a week. Please pray for open hearts and minds, favor and wisdom for us and those in charge of the program in helping to start a sports ministry here.
Anna and I got to go with a friend here to visit a 18-year old Muslim girl at her house and really just spend some time with here being girls and talking about anything and everything. She painted henna tattoos on our hands and made us some amazing samosas so that was pretty cool! Our friend here has been building a relationship with here for over a year now, so it was really exciting to see how much she has changed since when they first became friends. She has a great view of what Christians are like and has really made huge strides in her life. She used to drink and smoke and do a lot of terrible things, but she hasn't been doing any of that stuff anymore. Unfortunately, she had cuts on her wrist when we went over there, so we need to just continue to hold her up in prayer that she will know who she is in Jesus. She said if it wasn't for our friend here be-friending her, she wouldn't be alive...that is the power of Jesus and the power of relationships. Please continue to pray. Anna and I will be meeting with her a few more times as well so pray for wisdom and opportunities to speak into her life about Jesus, her identity and anything else that she is facing.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Among the Veils...
Greetings from our newest destination. We are living in a Pakistani community among Muslims in the area where we are ministering. We got in late last night and today was our first day to be briefed on some of the stuff we will be doing while we are here for the two weeks. It was an extremely emotional day for me and for a couple of my other teammates. The day started off with the team in the location talking about how their weeks went. We then went on to learn about the culture where we are staying and how we will be living for the next two weeks. I began to cry when I learned that girls and boys in this community do not play sport together, and that girls basically do not play in public. Anna and I were under the impression that we would be playing soccer with the girls and running sports camps with the boys, but this is not the case. It was absolutely heart breaking for me to hear that and just frustrating that a culture could devalue women so much. The boys are welcome to play, however the girls are not. My heart broke for this as well since sharing my passion for soccer with the girls was something I really wanted to do, but I'm reminding myself that it's not about me...it's about God and His purposes and I'm here to serve in whatever capacity He needs me.
In the area where we are living, we have to be completely covered except for our feet, and we do not have to wear the veil over our heads, but we leave it draped on our neck just in case we need it. It is very warm here in the summer time, so the dress was a bit warm today until it cooled down a bit. Tight clothing is out, and women must wear long enough t-shirts to cover their butts and long enough jackets to cover their elbows and almost to the wrist. In carrying ourselves, we are to basically walk behind the men, and we are not allowed to make eye contact with a Muslim man or shake his hand or touch him at any time. We also are not to be touched by them. When we do talk to a man, we are to look at his shoulder or his chest or the top of his head, but eye contact is not appropriate. Smiling is also not appropriate when engaging with a male. The reason for these things is that males in the Muslim culture are extremely driven by sex and view women as objects that they just use for their enjoyment. Men have extremely wandering eyes and minds and when they look at you, you can see exactly what they're thinking and what they would want to do with you...it is disgusting. Women must keep covered to help the men not have wandering eyes and minds. There are a lot of affairs in this culture and men often seek prostitutes as well...I asked about diseases among the women, but the women basically never go to the doctor, so the answer to that question is uncertain, but most likely it is yes, there are diseases transmitted. This is only the first day, but it is taking some time to learn these things within the culture so that we can be culturally sensitive and build relationships with the people to then be able to minister to them.
We did an outreach today in the downtown area and passed out tacks and books to Muslims and non-Muslims and basically got to talk and debate with some about Christianity. It was an interesting experience trying to figure out how to engage in a conversation with a man while not looking into his eyes, but still being myself as much as possible. We just need to make sure that we do everything possible to not make life difficult for the team that stays here while we are gone, so we dress the part and act the part the whole way through because we are constantly watched and we want to make sure to build the relationship. I saw Satan working significantly today as we were passing things out in just listening to the various debates and I'm pretty sure I talked to someone who was strongly into New Age. I also got to talk to a man who acted like he knew the Bible, but was clearly a messenger from Satan sent to cause division among the Body of Christ by talking bad about the other organization who was working alongside us this afternoon. The enemy is cunning and sneaky and thank God that He gives us wisdom to discern the schemes and evil devices of the enemy. I began to just pray and pray in the Spirit to intercede. Another interesting thing was when Muslim women came to the table and picked up books and literature, a Muslim missionary was watching them and took the books from them and trashed them and told them what we were saying was rubbish. After talking to our leader tonight, we walked away with interesting insight on this: Muslim missionaries take a risk in doing this because they are basically communicating to their people that there is something to be feared about Christianity since they are so adamant about them not reading or looking at the literature. We can watch movies and preaching sermons on Islam and it wouldn't change our view about Christianity, but they fear that Christianity will change the Muslim view. The prayer for us now is for the Muslims to come to do that so that those searching and hungry will see that there is something powerful about Christianity...we are believing for those women to start to question now. Please pray for all of the lives that were touched and impacted today by our outreach.
The boys had a tough time today too seeing the culture from a different angle. A couple of them were pretty torn up watching Anna and I basically be stripped of our "natural rights" as American women. They struggled when they went to hand a leaflet to a Muslim woman who could not look them in the eyes. They so badly wanted to be there for the women, and for Anna and I. It hurt me to see them hurting as well. Men in this culture can do whatever they want, whenever they want. Our boys had to wear pants today to make sure they were culturally sensitive, especially since they are obviously not Muslim. We are all definitely being stretched and challenged in this task. We are believing for God to work in us and through us, and praying for the opportunity to come up to be able to use sports wherever God would lead us.
Over the next couple of days, Anna and I get to spend time with the women in the community and just love on them and encourage them. These women take time to open up, but once they do, there is so much hidden under the veil. Many of the women cut themselves and want to just kill themselves because it would be better than the life they are living now. My heart is breaking so badly for these women and I just want to hold them. Luckily for us girls, being touchy-feely is an okay thing and the women are very touchy with one another. (Men are also very touchy with one another and will often walk down the street holding hands, and it is not gay). This is definitely a different world and a different culture and I am getting stretched beyond belief in just this one day. I'm excited to grow and learn all I can so that I can be more understanding and compassionate and really be able to help empower women to live for Jesus and go for their goals and the things God placed on the inside of them. It is my desire to be able to encourage the girls here who love soccer to be able to play and use their talents and gifts as worship to God.
Please continue to pray for our team that is here and for safety: Niccole, Anna, Brian, Vlad and Gabr. This experience is eye opening and very difficult. Pray for wisdom for us in all situations, and pray that God will continue to give us the words to say at the appropriate time. Also pray that relationships continue to form between the team that is on the ground here and the men/women in the community. We also have teams in 3 other countries at the moment so pray for their protection, strength and growth as well in this process.
God is doing huge things in me...I have changed so much and it is just amazing to see God at work on the inside of me. I love you all very much and would love your words of encouragement for myself and for my other teammates (niccole.grimaldi@gmail.com).
Niccole
In the area where we are living, we have to be completely covered except for our feet, and we do not have to wear the veil over our heads, but we leave it draped on our neck just in case we need it. It is very warm here in the summer time, so the dress was a bit warm today until it cooled down a bit. Tight clothing is out, and women must wear long enough t-shirts to cover their butts and long enough jackets to cover their elbows and almost to the wrist. In carrying ourselves, we are to basically walk behind the men, and we are not allowed to make eye contact with a Muslim man or shake his hand or touch him at any time. We also are not to be touched by them. When we do talk to a man, we are to look at his shoulder or his chest or the top of his head, but eye contact is not appropriate. Smiling is also not appropriate when engaging with a male. The reason for these things is that males in the Muslim culture are extremely driven by sex and view women as objects that they just use for their enjoyment. Men have extremely wandering eyes and minds and when they look at you, you can see exactly what they're thinking and what they would want to do with you...it is disgusting. Women must keep covered to help the men not have wandering eyes and minds. There are a lot of affairs in this culture and men often seek prostitutes as well...I asked about diseases among the women, but the women basically never go to the doctor, so the answer to that question is uncertain, but most likely it is yes, there are diseases transmitted. This is only the first day, but it is taking some time to learn these things within the culture so that we can be culturally sensitive and build relationships with the people to then be able to minister to them.
We did an outreach today in the downtown area and passed out tacks and books to Muslims and non-Muslims and basically got to talk and debate with some about Christianity. It was an interesting experience trying to figure out how to engage in a conversation with a man while not looking into his eyes, but still being myself as much as possible. We just need to make sure that we do everything possible to not make life difficult for the team that stays here while we are gone, so we dress the part and act the part the whole way through because we are constantly watched and we want to make sure to build the relationship. I saw Satan working significantly today as we were passing things out in just listening to the various debates and I'm pretty sure I talked to someone who was strongly into New Age. I also got to talk to a man who acted like he knew the Bible, but was clearly a messenger from Satan sent to cause division among the Body of Christ by talking bad about the other organization who was working alongside us this afternoon. The enemy is cunning and sneaky and thank God that He gives us wisdom to discern the schemes and evil devices of the enemy. I began to just pray and pray in the Spirit to intercede. Another interesting thing was when Muslim women came to the table and picked up books and literature, a Muslim missionary was watching them and took the books from them and trashed them and told them what we were saying was rubbish. After talking to our leader tonight, we walked away with interesting insight on this: Muslim missionaries take a risk in doing this because they are basically communicating to their people that there is something to be feared about Christianity since they are so adamant about them not reading or looking at the literature. We can watch movies and preaching sermons on Islam and it wouldn't change our view about Christianity, but they fear that Christianity will change the Muslim view. The prayer for us now is for the Muslims to come to do that so that those searching and hungry will see that there is something powerful about Christianity...we are believing for those women to start to question now. Please pray for all of the lives that were touched and impacted today by our outreach.
The boys had a tough time today too seeing the culture from a different angle. A couple of them were pretty torn up watching Anna and I basically be stripped of our "natural rights" as American women. They struggled when they went to hand a leaflet to a Muslim woman who could not look them in the eyes. They so badly wanted to be there for the women, and for Anna and I. It hurt me to see them hurting as well. Men in this culture can do whatever they want, whenever they want. Our boys had to wear pants today to make sure they were culturally sensitive, especially since they are obviously not Muslim. We are all definitely being stretched and challenged in this task. We are believing for God to work in us and through us, and praying for the opportunity to come up to be able to use sports wherever God would lead us.
Over the next couple of days, Anna and I get to spend time with the women in the community and just love on them and encourage them. These women take time to open up, but once they do, there is so much hidden under the veil. Many of the women cut themselves and want to just kill themselves because it would be better than the life they are living now. My heart is breaking so badly for these women and I just want to hold them. Luckily for us girls, being touchy-feely is an okay thing and the women are very touchy with one another. (Men are also very touchy with one another and will often walk down the street holding hands, and it is not gay). This is definitely a different world and a different culture and I am getting stretched beyond belief in just this one day. I'm excited to grow and learn all I can so that I can be more understanding and compassionate and really be able to help empower women to live for Jesus and go for their goals and the things God placed on the inside of them. It is my desire to be able to encourage the girls here who love soccer to be able to play and use their talents and gifts as worship to God.
Please continue to pray for our team that is here and for safety: Niccole, Anna, Brian, Vlad and Gabr. This experience is eye opening and very difficult. Pray for wisdom for us in all situations, and pray that God will continue to give us the words to say at the appropriate time. Also pray that relationships continue to form between the team that is on the ground here and the men/women in the community. We also have teams in 3 other countries at the moment so pray for their protection, strength and growth as well in this process.
God is doing huge things in me...I have changed so much and it is just amazing to see God at work on the inside of me. I love you all very much and would love your words of encouragement for myself and for my other teammates (niccole.grimaldi@gmail.com).
Niccole
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Dreams
Key points from today's lecture from Herman the German (David's dad):
1. It is right to have dreams and even to write them down
2. Each dream coming from God can be a reality
3. Prayer strengthens us in dreaming
4. "May God give us a task that we are totally unable to finish without Him."
5. Now we move from looking at the clouds to building the stairs, step by step
6. As long as you operate in your own power, life will be unfulfilling
7. If God's spirit is burning inside of you, then you can go for the long-term
8. If what's burning inside of you is your own fire, it will eventually burn out
Today we got to go off by ourselves after the lecture and spend an hour with God, our Bibles and our journals and just talk to Him about the things that are on our hearts that we have been dreaming about, or the things that God is revealing to us to dream about. It was such a great and blessed time for me as it has been a while since I have sat down and allowed myself to dream without putting myself in a box. After we got back, we got into groups of two and shared our dreams with our partners and spent time praying for one another and then we each had to make a commitment to the other that we would pray for the other's dreams for a year. Herman told us to dream, whether it was realistic or not. It's funny because the first thing I put on my dream list is the same dream that's been on there since I was a little girl... why did I ever lose sight of it!? I am believing for God to just reveal His perfect timing for everything as I re-learn to dream without boundaries.
I would just encourage anyone reading this blog to take an hour away from everyone and everything and spend some time talking to God about the things that are on the inside of your heart. Dream without boundaries and write down everything that you would love to do. The Bible says we have not because we ask not. Where God guides, He will always make the provision. My heart is leaping and getting so excited at the endless possibilities of my dreams when I can just dream without letting my human realism come to steal away the hope.
Here are a few verses that God encouraged me with today. I hope they can be encouraging to you as well:
2 Corinthians 5:1-10 The theme with these verses is that our goals, regardless of what they are, should be to always please God.
Galatians 3:1-14 The theme with these verses is that it is not by human effort that we can do anything... it MUST come from God!
I hope everyone is doing well. Please continue to pray for me and my teammates as we are going through this process of God revealing stuff to us and working on our hearts. I'd love to hear from each of you so please drop me an email line with some encouragement! niccole.grimaldi@gmail.com
I love you and miss you all!
Niccole
1. It is right to have dreams and even to write them down
2. Each dream coming from God can be a reality
3. Prayer strengthens us in dreaming
4. "May God give us a task that we are totally unable to finish without Him."
5. Now we move from looking at the clouds to building the stairs, step by step
6. As long as you operate in your own power, life will be unfulfilling
7. If God's spirit is burning inside of you, then you can go for the long-term
8. If what's burning inside of you is your own fire, it will eventually burn out
Today we got to go off by ourselves after the lecture and spend an hour with God, our Bibles and our journals and just talk to Him about the things that are on our hearts that we have been dreaming about, or the things that God is revealing to us to dream about. It was such a great and blessed time for me as it has been a while since I have sat down and allowed myself to dream without putting myself in a box. After we got back, we got into groups of two and shared our dreams with our partners and spent time praying for one another and then we each had to make a commitment to the other that we would pray for the other's dreams for a year. Herman told us to dream, whether it was realistic or not. It's funny because the first thing I put on my dream list is the same dream that's been on there since I was a little girl... why did I ever lose sight of it!? I am believing for God to just reveal His perfect timing for everything as I re-learn to dream without boundaries.
I would just encourage anyone reading this blog to take an hour away from everyone and everything and spend some time talking to God about the things that are on the inside of your heart. Dream without boundaries and write down everything that you would love to do. The Bible says we have not because we ask not. Where God guides, He will always make the provision. My heart is leaping and getting so excited at the endless possibilities of my dreams when I can just dream without letting my human realism come to steal away the hope.
Here are a few verses that God encouraged me with today. I hope they can be encouraging to you as well:
2 Corinthians 5:1-10 The theme with these verses is that our goals, regardless of what they are, should be to always please God.
Galatians 3:1-14 The theme with these verses is that it is not by human effort that we can do anything... it MUST come from God!
I hope everyone is doing well. Please continue to pray for me and my teammates as we are going through this process of God revealing stuff to us and working on our hearts. I'd love to hear from each of you so please drop me an email line with some encouragement! niccole.grimaldi@gmail.com
I love you and miss you all!
Niccole
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Soccer Camp
Family and Friends,
I wanted to just type out a page from my journal about the sports camp from last week and post some pictures (I will post more pictures later):
"Today was the final day of camp in Torre Pellice [which is about 10 minutes from Bobbio Pellice where I'm staying.] It's sad to think I probably will never see the vast majority of any of those kids ever again. I'm not sure what all is going on with me but I feel both joyful and sad and just and sad and just feel like crying. I'm glad i'll get to see Sam and Luca again and their little sister Julia is the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen. I love those kids so much. It's crazy to think that in just a couple of days I could love someone so much. How much more does my Father love me!? Watching the kids sing the praise and worship songs with the Georgia team was absolutely beautiful and so incredibly amazing. I'm just praying and believing for the salvation of those children and their parents. Apparantly some of the parents were crying while watching their kids sing and perform...just a testiment to God and His ability to work on their hearts. I can't help but think of the movie, Field of Dreams, and the line that says, 'if you build it, they will come.' Operation Mobilization (OM) is building and the kids are coming. If we could just pour out ourselves in the various athletic areas, coupled with some teachign and worship, in addition to modeling to the kids how to be good sports and nice to one another, God will change their hearts. Those kids would have to be different leaving Saturday than they came in on Monday. God just asks us if we're willing to pour out so He can use it for His glory. God was so glorified in all that was done this week and it is my prayer that the progress keeps coming and more and more lives get changed. I believe that God was pleased. Today I remembered to pray for God to be pleased and for me to be able to sense and experience His pleasure. I also prayed that He would help me not to get too competitive, but to just have so much fun. I had fun and I'm so glad I was able to have the little ones in my group because they were so distracted that competition wasn't even an issue and I ended up running around after them all day. But to have them sit in my lap and hold my hand and smile at me made it all worth it. Just to be able to love on them makes me so joyful. I really just want to be able to play again and coach kids and spend time in a different culture. I believe I was born to do what I'm doing right now."
The camp was an awesome opportunity to play all different sports with the kids, share our testimonies at break time, and another team of people came in to do music, arts and crafts with them while teaching Bible stories. It rained for a few of the days so we had about 45-60 kids crammed into a very small gym, but it was absolutely amazing and we learned to be flexible and to just go with the flow. We do this little dance with the kids to get them warmed up which is absolutely hilarious and they love it. I have learned some Italian since I've been here so I was able to converse with the kids a little bit. It is fun to speak their language with them and to just spend time with them and play soccer with them. Some of them have so much potential to play so we got to just encourage them to play and not quit their teams because they didn't like their coaches. It's so awesome just to see the different dynamics here with the kids and their siblings. I wish we loved our siblings as much as family is valued here...truly amazing that young kids actually understand what sharing is and putting others first. It was so ministering to all of us. We went to church last Sunday at a Brethern church in Torre. It was really neat because it was in Italian and English. I loved that we could sing in both languages and hear the message translated from English to Italian. The service was so relaxed and I just loved the simplicity of it. I got a little choked up when the guy came around to collect the offering and I put some change in the bag and his face lit up with gratefulness and surprise. It is so amazing to see the hearts of the people here and how much they love the Lord so purely. Sitting there I just felt tso comfortable and at peace and I just loved it. My friend Brian got to give a recap on the camp from the week and it was so amazing and touching. I just wanted to share his story with you all because I believe it sums up the camp so perfectly:
"What I saw: My name is Brian Mathay and I have the incredible opportunity to talk to you today, to get to represent perhaps the most amazing team of people I have had the opportunity to be a part of. As much as I would love to talk about them today, I have been given the purpose to talk about this last week of camp. So what I saw this week. The camp was incredible. With a total language barrier, I saw connections made between the kids and the coaches. Legitimate relationships were created when words were not available. From this camp, there is one thing I am sure of now. Love is not words. Love is an action. It is an action to love as Jesus loves; to give all we are to those around us, in total humility and in every way filled with the purpose of building God’s kingdom. And when we do that, amazing things happen around us, like the amazing things that happened at camp. This week, I saw joy. I saw kids become so happy that they lost their problems and worries and they became caught up in the incredible spirit of the camp. In this Joy from the Lord, I saw kids shouting and proclaiming the name of Jesus. I saw courage come out in a young boy that volunteered to pray for the entire camp. I saw compassion in the heart of this team focused on loving kids, on showing Christ with everything in them, focused on giving their bodies and spirits to kids with absolute humility. In this humble sacrifice I saw my teammates grow in amazing ways, right along with the kids. I also saw humility in the campers, when kids gave up their own needs, mostly food, to share with those around them for no other reason than to be kind. This week I saw miracles. I saw rainy days, when all was thought to be lost, that turned into the most incredible ministry opportunities. I saw God’s plans overtake our own, and I saw how truly good it was. I saw love, it was in the way that a brother treated a younger sister, as he regarded her needs as more important than his. A 14 year old boy understood loving someone else as himself. I saw passion. I saw God given passion in the heart of children expressed through sports. I saw eyes light up when a goal was scored, a ball was hit, or a basket sunk. I saw their passion turned into dreams. I saw kids get to dream that maybe, just maybe, they could for a day be exactly what they wanted to be. I saw a girl, who on any other week would be looked over, become the focal point of the entire staff. I saw the teachings of Jesus on the kingdom of heaven become very real. Jesus says that in the kingdom, the last shall be first, the lowest will be the exalted the most. A girl at the camp was mentally handicapped, and she received constant love and attention the whole week. Normally she was last and merely and afterthought, but she was, at least for a week, first and the apple of everyone’s eye. This does not happen in the world. The only place this type of experience is possible is in the kingdom of God. In Matthew 19:14 Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven belongs to children, such as these. So I know that heaven is a place where dreams come true. In heaven the name of Jesus is exalted, proclaimed. In heaven there is courage, humility and uninhibited love. In heaven there is joy and compassion, and the last are always first. With that in mind, I guess I saw a glimpse of heaven this past week."
I wanted to just type out a page from my journal about the sports camp from last week and post some pictures (I will post more pictures later):
"Today was the final day of camp in Torre Pellice [which is about 10 minutes from Bobbio Pellice where I'm staying.] It's sad to think I probably will never see the vast majority of any of those kids ever again. I'm not sure what all is going on with me but I feel both joyful and sad and just and sad and just feel like crying. I'm glad i'll get to see Sam and Luca again and their little sister Julia is the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen. I love those kids so much. It's crazy to think that in just a couple of days I could love someone so much. How much more does my Father love me!? Watching the kids sing the praise and worship songs with the Georgia team was absolutely beautiful and so incredibly amazing. I'm just praying and believing for the salvation of those children and their parents. Apparantly some of the parents were crying while watching their kids sing and perform...just a testiment to God and His ability to work on their hearts. I can't help but think of the movie, Field of Dreams, and the line that says, 'if you build it, they will come.' Operation Mobilization (OM) is building and the kids are coming. If we could just pour out ourselves in the various athletic areas, coupled with some teachign and worship, in addition to modeling to the kids how to be good sports and nice to one another, God will change their hearts. Those kids would have to be different leaving Saturday than they came in on Monday. God just asks us if we're willing to pour out so He can use it for His glory. God was so glorified in all that was done this week and it is my prayer that the progress keeps coming and more and more lives get changed. I believe that God was pleased. Today I remembered to pray for God to be pleased and for me to be able to sense and experience His pleasure. I also prayed that He would help me not to get too competitive, but to just have so much fun. I had fun and I'm so glad I was able to have the little ones in my group because they were so distracted that competition wasn't even an issue and I ended up running around after them all day. But to have them sit in my lap and hold my hand and smile at me made it all worth it. Just to be able to love on them makes me so joyful. I really just want to be able to play again and coach kids and spend time in a different culture. I believe I was born to do what I'm doing right now." The camp was an awesome opportunity to play all different sports with the kids, share our testimonies at break time, and another team of people came in to do music, arts and crafts with them while teaching Bible stories. It rained for a few of the days so we had about 45-60 kids crammed into a very small gym, but it was absolutely amazing and we learned to be flexible and to just go with the flow. We do this little dance with the kids to get them warmed up which is absolutely hilarious and they love it. I have learned some Italian since I've been here so I was able to converse with the kids a little bit. It is fun to speak their language with them and to just spend time with them and play soccer with them. Some of them have so much potential to play so we got to just encourage them to play and not quit their teams because they didn't like their coaches. It's so awesome just to see the different dynamics here with the kids and their siblings. I wish we loved our siblings as much as family is valued here...truly amazing that young kids actually understand what sharing is and putting others first. It was so ministering to all of us. We went to church last Sunday at a Brethern church in Torre. It was really neat because it was in Italian and English. I loved that we could sing in both languages and hear the message translated from English to Italian. The service was so relaxed and I just loved the simplicity of it. I got a little choked up when the guy came around to collect the offering and I put some change in the bag and his face lit up with gratefulness and surprise. It is so amazing to see the hearts of the people here and how much they love the Lord so purely. Sitting there I just felt tso comfortable and at peace and I just loved it. My friend Brian got to give a recap on the camp from the week and it was so amazing and touching. I just wanted to share his story with you all because I believe it sums up the camp so perfectly:
"What I saw: My name is Brian Mathay and I have the incredible opportunity to talk to you today, to get to represent perhaps the most amazing team of people I have had the opportunity to be a part of. As much as I would love to talk about them today, I have been given the purpose to talk about this last week of camp. So what I saw this week. The camp was incredible. With a total language barrier, I saw connections made between the kids and the coaches. Legitimate relationships were created when words were not available. From this camp, there is one thing I am sure of now. Love is not words. Love is an action. It is an action to love as Jesus loves; to give all we are to those around us, in total humility and in every way filled with the purpose of building God’s kingdom. And when we do that, amazing things happen around us, like the amazing things that happened at camp. This week, I saw joy. I saw kids become so happy that they lost their problems and worries and they became caught up in the incredible spirit of the camp. In this Joy from the Lord, I saw kids shouting and proclaiming the name of Jesus. I saw courage come out in a young boy that volunteered to pray for the entire camp. I saw compassion in the heart of this team focused on loving kids, on showing Christ with everything in them, focused on giving their bodies and spirits to kids with absolute humility. In this humble sacrifice I saw my teammates grow in amazing ways, right along with the kids. I also saw humility in the campers, when kids gave up their own needs, mostly food, to share with those around them for no other reason than to be kind. This week I saw miracles. I saw rainy days, when all was thought to be lost, that turned into the most incredible ministry opportunities. I saw God’s plans overtake our own, and I saw how truly good it was. I saw love, it was in the way that a brother treated a younger sister, as he regarded her needs as more important than his. A 14 year old boy understood loving someone else as himself. I saw passion. I saw God given passion in the heart of children expressed through sports. I saw eyes light up when a goal was scored, a ball was hit, or a basket sunk. I saw their passion turned into dreams. I saw kids get to dream that maybe, just maybe, they could for a day be exactly what they wanted to be. I saw a girl, who on any other week would be looked over, become the focal point of the entire staff. I saw the teachings of Jesus on the kingdom of heaven become very real. Jesus says that in the kingdom, the last shall be first, the lowest will be the exalted the most. A girl at the camp was mentally handicapped, and she received constant love and attention the whole week. Normally she was last and merely and afterthought, but she was, at least for a week, first and the apple of everyone’s eye. This does not happen in the world. The only place this type of experience is possible is in the kingdom of God. In Matthew 19:14 Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven belongs to children, such as these. So I know that heaven is a place where dreams come true. In heaven the name of Jesus is exalted, proclaimed. In heaven there is courage, humility and uninhibited love. In heaven there is joy and compassion, and the last are always first. With that in mind, I guess I saw a glimpse of heaven this past week."
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Day 26
Hello family and friends!
Just thought I'd drop a little line to let everyone know how I'm doing and how everything is going. I'm having such a blast even though it is a difficult internship with lots of information, lots of challenges and major stretching. I love my family here and we are all getting so close that it's going to be so hard to say bye when the time comes. 4 people plus myself will be going to another country for 2 weeks and we will leave next week. The details about where we will be and what we are doing are confidential. Please keep us in your prayers for safe travels and for God to use us and speak through us as talking to this demographic will require much wisdom.
I've been learning much about how to really play for Jesus and to really represent Him on the field and off the field in a more intentional way. The other night was a really powerful night for me and really just broke me down. I was really challenged in my thinking with how I look at performing and winning in soccer and in life. I've been so driven by performance and winning my whold life, and I thought I had it under control since soccer has been over and I've worked on chilling out a bit with the need to win and "just play for fun." Being with a bunch of other athletes and using my soccer skills have really brought my competitiveness out, and I'm basically unbarrying the root issue that never got uprooted...I just covered it up. When Dan (FCA guy) asked me what my definition of winning was, I said, "Having more points on the board than the other team by the end of the game." It was weird hearing myself say that because as it was coming out of my mouth I was thinking, "That's not correct thinking," and "Is thar eally how I define winning?...Shocking!!!" Dan went on to takl about Biblical truths about winning and competition to correct my wrong thinking. My whole life a lot of my identity has been in my performance. That's why it was so hard when it all came to an end too becasue I didnt' have the sport or my accolades to show people "who I was." Dan asked if when we're out on the pitch (soccer field) if we experience and sense God's pleasure. I honestly had a hard time remembering times or instances when I had felt like God was pleased with me on the field. (At the time I couldn't think of any...but I have since picked out a couple of moments, but I want to experience it every time I'm out there). The thought of this really bothered me and I just broke down crying. Here all this time I've been thinking I was playing "for God" by leading my team in prayer, not going to the parties or cussing, them knowing I was a Christian and standing for what was right...instead of playing "in Christ" and using my talents to help make my team better, my opponents better, and anyone else linked to me playing. How totally selfish I had been in much of my playing experience. Sure I coudl win things and give God the glory, but the real question is, "who did I impact for Christ?" I know that it's not about me, and that is part of the problem, and I just pray that He was and is still able tow rok on their hearts and that he is able to get ahold of them. I'd love to be able to have one of them call because they remembered something I said, or if they needed advice and thought of me because they knew I was Godly..."God, please entrust me again." It just broke my heart because I felt like I kind-of blew it. I knwo I am extremely hard on myself too, but I just want a chance to do better. Dan encouraged us to pray before goign on the field, "Lord, I want to experience and sense your pleasure today when I play/practice/coach. I want You to be pleased with me when I step on and off the pitch." I dont' even know what this woudl look like or feel like for me because it's such a new and foreign concept. When we played soccer in the mud and rain with the Italian kids at the camp and had such a blast, it was just sooooo much fun and amazing!!! If that feeling is anything like what feeling God's pleasure is, that would be absolutely euphoric. My goal is to really renew my mind through the help of Jesus and really train myself to remember to pray before everything for His pleasure in all I do. I'm excited for what this will do in and through my life, but I now realize that this thinking I've had is so far engrained into me that I will NEVER be able to do it myself...I need God and I need others to help me. It will be a constant fight every time for the rest of my life, but I believe that with God's help, I can do ALL THINGS! So God has revealed one of my major weaknesses to me, since this trickles into many other areas of my life--performance, competition, pleasing others, doing things for myself, doing things myself--and I am believing for freedom. Although I don't believe that God took soccer away from me to teach me this lesson the hard way, I do believe that me doing things in my own way put a wedge between me and soccer to the point where I became so busy with everything else that playing wasn't really even an option, and with that, I just kind-of list interest because I knew I wasn't going to be able to play anymore, so why make it harder on myself? I believe that God used the season in between to lay some groundwork and make it easier for me to cope and not thinki about it as much because my attention was directed elsewhere. I believe He is using this time to work on my heart and specifically the other night, He is using the Italy trip to bring things back into the light so that God can work on my heart directly. I miss playing so much, but before I could play again, there needed to be space in between for God to work on my heart and show me these things before He can entrust me again with the gift and opportunity. I pray that God will entrust me again with the gift to play soccer at a high level. Althought I'd love to play again and get the chance to do it right the second time, I cant' get bogged down and motivated for the wrong reasons. It has to be purely for God and His people, but I also believe that He wants me to be hapy and joyful too and to play becasue I love to play and utilize the gifts He has given me. I believe I'm ready to play again, and I'm feeling like God is ready to entrust me again with the opportunity to use my gifts to help win others to Christ. The question of, "What would you do if you could do anything and you knew you wouldn't fail?" has always yielded this response from me, "Become a professional soccer player." Now I dont' know if that will ever happen or not, but I'd like to try and see. I beleive I'm ready now to try again becasue I now realize that I CANNOT do this without God helping me to get back into shape, find the right team and place, giving me favor, opening all the right doors and creating the windows of opportunity. I acknowledge that in my weakness in all these areas, God will give me and be my strength. "God, if it is Your will, I'd love to be entrusted again with the gift and passion to play soccer at a high level. Please give me favor and help and be my strength and my everything. My desire is to please you and experience Your pleasure doing the things I love while being a great example and leading others to Jesus. Amen!"
Friends and family...if you can continue to keep me in your prayers for God's wisdom and guidance in my life. This week my roomate Anna and I will start training and getting back into shape for when we go to England for the soccer camps. We're believing for God to open up awesome windows of opportunity for us to play soccer again.
Just thought I'd drop a little line to let everyone know how I'm doing and how everything is going. I'm having such a blast even though it is a difficult internship with lots of information, lots of challenges and major stretching. I love my family here and we are all getting so close that it's going to be so hard to say bye when the time comes. 4 people plus myself will be going to another country for 2 weeks and we will leave next week. The details about where we will be and what we are doing are confidential. Please keep us in your prayers for safe travels and for God to use us and speak through us as talking to this demographic will require much wisdom. I've been learning much about how to really play for Jesus and to really represent Him on the field and off the field in a more intentional way. The other night was a really powerful night for me and really just broke me down. I was really challenged in my thinking with how I look at performing and winning in soccer and in life. I've been so driven by performance and winning my whold life, and I thought I had it under control since soccer has been over and I've worked on chilling out a bit with the need to win and "just play for fun." Being with a bunch of other athletes and using my soccer skills have really brought my competitiveness out, and I'm basically unbarrying the root issue that never got uprooted...I just covered it up. When Dan (FCA guy) asked me what my definition of winning was, I said, "Having more points on the board than the other team by the end of the game." It was weird hearing myself say that because as it was coming out of my mouth I was thinking, "That's not correct thinking," and "Is thar eally how I define winning?...Shocking!!!" Dan went on to takl about Biblical truths about winning and competition to correct my wrong thinking. My whole life a lot of my identity has been in my performance. That's why it was so hard when it all came to an end too becasue I didnt' have the sport or my accolades to show people "who I was." Dan asked if when we're out on the pitch (soccer field) if we experience and sense God's pleasure. I honestly had a hard time remembering times or instances when I had felt like God was pleased with me on the field. (At the time I couldn't think of any...but I have since picked out a couple of moments, but I want to experience it every time I'm out there). The thought of this really bothered me and I just broke down crying. Here all this time I've been thinking I was playing "for God" by leading my team in prayer, not going to the parties or cussing, them knowing I was a Christian and standing for what was right...instead of playing "in Christ" and using my talents to help make my team better, my opponents better, and anyone else linked to me playing. How totally selfish I had been in much of my playing experience. Sure I coudl win things and give God the glory, but the real question is, "who did I impact for Christ?" I know that it's not about me, and that is part of the problem, and I just pray that He was and is still able tow rok on their hearts and that he is able to get ahold of them. I'd love to be able to have one of them call because they remembered something I said, or if they needed advice and thought of me because they knew I was Godly..."God, please entrust me again." It just broke my heart because I felt like I kind-of blew it. I knwo I am extremely hard on myself too, but I just want a chance to do better. Dan encouraged us to pray before goign on the field, "Lord, I want to experience and sense your pleasure today when I play/practice/coach. I want You to be pleased with me when I step on and off the pitch." I dont' even know what this woudl look like or feel like for me because it's such a new and foreign concept. When we played soccer in the mud and rain with the Italian kids at the camp and had such a blast, it was just sooooo much fun and amazing!!! If that feeling is anything like what feeling God's pleasure is, that would be absolutely euphoric. My goal is to really renew my mind through the help of Jesus and really train myself to remember to pray before everything for His pleasure in all I do. I'm excited for what this will do in and through my life, but I now realize that this thinking I've had is so far engrained into me that I will NEVER be able to do it myself...I need God and I need others to help me. It will be a constant fight every time for the rest of my life, but I believe that with God's help, I can do ALL THINGS! So God has revealed one of my major weaknesses to me, since this trickles into many other areas of my life--performance, competition, pleasing others, doing things for myself, doing things myself--and I am believing for freedom. Although I don't believe that God took soccer away from me to teach me this lesson the hard way, I do believe that me doing things in my own way put a wedge between me and soccer to the point where I became so busy with everything else that playing wasn't really even an option, and with that, I just kind-of list interest because I knew I wasn't going to be able to play anymore, so why make it harder on myself? I believe that God used the season in between to lay some groundwork and make it easier for me to cope and not thinki about it as much because my attention was directed elsewhere. I believe He is using this time to work on my heart and specifically the other night, He is using the Italy trip to bring things back into the light so that God can work on my heart directly. I miss playing so much, but before I could play again, there needed to be space in between for God to work on my heart and show me these things before He can entrust me again with the gift and opportunity. I pray that God will entrust me again with the gift to play soccer at a high level. Althought I'd love to play again and get the chance to do it right the second time, I cant' get bogged down and motivated for the wrong reasons. It has to be purely for God and His people, but I also believe that He wants me to be hapy and joyful too and to play becasue I love to play and utilize the gifts He has given me. I believe I'm ready to play again, and I'm feeling like God is ready to entrust me again with the opportunity to use my gifts to help win others to Christ. The question of, "What would you do if you could do anything and you knew you wouldn't fail?" has always yielded this response from me, "Become a professional soccer player." Now I dont' know if that will ever happen or not, but I'd like to try and see. I beleive I'm ready now to try again becasue I now realize that I CANNOT do this without God helping me to get back into shape, find the right team and place, giving me favor, opening all the right doors and creating the windows of opportunity. I acknowledge that in my weakness in all these areas, God will give me and be my strength. "God, if it is Your will, I'd love to be entrusted again with the gift and passion to play soccer at a high level. Please give me favor and help and be my strength and my everything. My desire is to please you and experience Your pleasure doing the things I love while being a great example and leading others to Jesus. Amen!"
Friends and family...if you can continue to keep me in your prayers for God's wisdom and guidance in my life. This week my roomate Anna and I will start training and getting back into shape for when we go to England for the soccer camps. We're believing for God to open up awesome windows of opportunity for us to play soccer again.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Day 1 of Sports Camp... Day 14
Dear Family and Friends,
I apologize that it has been such a long time since I have updated my blog. We have been very busy with team building exercises, mini field trips, preparing for sports camps, classroom training and the start of the World Cup. In addition, I dropped my computer last week and it doesn't seem to want to work very well, so I am borrowing other people's computers from time to time to be able to check email on occasion. I'd love to update more about the time in between Day 3 (my last post) and now, but it may have to wait for a little while, or you may have to ask me when I get back and/or send me an email if it doesn't happen that I can get to it. I just want to say that I am being challenged and stretched in all areas of my life right now. This internship is intense and God is really doing a work in my heart and really shaving some things off of my life so that He can use me even more. I love all my teammates and we have had amazing speakers come in and teach us about leadership, evangelism, and giving testimonies thus far. I have been learning a lot of stuff and I love that we use the Word every day in our classroom training. In addition, Italy is absolutely beautiful and it has been so awesome to go running, hiking, and play soccer and other sports during some of our free time to relax. While God is working on me, if you could please keep the following things in your prayers for me:
1. God to completely heal my heart of any past hurts or pains so that I can move on from the past, enjoy the present, and walk into the future with a new heart that will have everything I need.
2. Rest - for me to get enough sleep to really be effective during the days.
3. My stomach hasn't quite gotten used to the change of foods yet and from traveling, so just pray for all to function properly.
4. As we are working on disciplining our thoughts, words and actions, we are doing pushups as a team and individually for things that are not pleasing to God... my arms are getting buff - haha - needless to say, my arms are hurting because I have been doing ALOT of pushups! I want to not do so many pushups, but there is some work to be done...Love the process!!!
5. God to reveal Himself to me and show me the areas where my passions lie and also to show me the things that really excite me, make me cry and the things I can dream about.
6. God to reveal the next step I'm supposed to take after the internship by way of going into missions, going back to school, working, moving, etc.... I know He has big plans for me, and I know that His timing is perfect, so I am believing for complete clarity in ALL areas of my life.
7. Purging the need to always be in control and be perfect in all situations. There is an excellence factor to life, but there is a fine line and I need freedom in some of these areas.
8. To be 100% selfless and always consider God first, others second and self last.
9. Patience when I do not agree with things Biblically or when I get frustrated with people that I am on the trip with. I'm also believing that the Holy Spirit will tell me when it is time for me to speak up and to speak truth in a situation. I want my motivation to always be spirit-lead, and not for me to just be right or to make a point, or to show that I know better.
10. I asked God to humble me... which if you've ever prayed that you will understand why I need prayer. I want God to remove the sources of pride in my life so that the roots of my life are grounded in humility so that God can produce virtue in my life.
Today was the first day of the sports camp that we are having for the kids all week. We spent some time the last couple of weeks passing out fliers and marketing the sports camp in the local towns for the kids to come. We had about 35 kids show up today to play soccer, volleyball, basketball, baseball/softball, cheer, karate, and ultimate frisbee. After the sports portion of the camp is over, the kids go to English lessons that are being taught by a missions team from Georgia that joined us this week. Please pray for the following things as we continue the camp this week:
1. Good weather - we are supposed to get rain all week since we are in the mountains, but thankfully God was able to hold back the rain today, but now it is pouring...please pray that we get absolutely no rain until camp is over so that we don't have to fit everyone into the gym.
2. Kids to return and bring others - we are believing that the same kids will come back and that they will bring friends with them, and/or that more kids will come because they saw us playing, saw signs, etc.
3. Us to be able to build and form relationships with the kids - in Italy, winning lives for Jesus is a very difficult process since the Catholic Church is very different here than in the United States, in addition to the fact that the culture is very relationship oriented. It is important for us to build a strong relationship with the kids before they ever will let us in to talk to them about Jesus.
4. Our testimonies will be used by God to minister salvation - each day one of us gives a testimony of how we came to know the Lord so please be praying for hearts to be open and prepared to hear the testimony so that they'll ask questions and seek to know Jesus.
5. Patience, flexibility and rest - with the language barrier and other circumstances that arise, please pray that we will be patient and flexible with everything thrown our way. In addition, we have breakfast at 7:30am everyday and then do the camp with the kids from 9am to 1pm and then come home and have about 4-5 hours of lectures and what-not in the classroom. With the heat of the sun and all the energy expended, in addition to the heaviness that comes from the lectures (which are amazing) we are very tired.
I'll just mention a little bit about how the day went for me today. We had quite a few kids choose to come over and play soccer with us. Once some of the bigger kids started coming over, we realized that they really needed to be separated from the small ones. I ended up taking the bigger kids--all of them boys--and tried to work with them on some skills and what-not. It was a frustrating day for me because of the language barrier and me wanting so bad to really be able to communicate with them instead of in broken Italian, in addition to the fact that they didn't seem to want to listen to me. I started earning their respect a little bit once I started playing with them and could show them that I could play, but it is still a challenge for me, especially as a girl. We have translators in part of the day, but that is tricky too because they will often look to the translator instead of us and it could mean that the relationship between the kids and myself does not form all the way. I just need to remind myself that it's okay when plans change and when things don't quite go the way we had hoped or had planned. I need to remember that this is about having fun and I just need to be patient and ask God to help me. Perfectionism is a good thing, but it also has an ugly side that will rob you of your joy if you let it. I let it rob me for a good portion of the day, but I know that my Father is gracious and with His help, I will not let this happen tomorrow. I'm stirring up my spirit and my passion for these kids and really spending some time tonight putting together something that will really help them tomorrow so that they can develop into better players.
I apologize that it has been such a long time since I have updated my blog. We have been very busy with team building exercises, mini field trips, preparing for sports camps, classroom training and the start of the World Cup. In addition, I dropped my computer last week and it doesn't seem to want to work very well, so I am borrowing other people's computers from time to time to be able to check email on occasion. I'd love to update more about the time in between Day 3 (my last post) and now, but it may have to wait for a little while, or you may have to ask me when I get back and/or send me an email if it doesn't happen that I can get to it. I just want to say that I am being challenged and stretched in all areas of my life right now. This internship is intense and God is really doing a work in my heart and really shaving some things off of my life so that He can use me even more. I love all my teammates and we have had amazing speakers come in and teach us about leadership, evangelism, and giving testimonies thus far. I have been learning a lot of stuff and I love that we use the Word every day in our classroom training. In addition, Italy is absolutely beautiful and it has been so awesome to go running, hiking, and play soccer and other sports during some of our free time to relax. While God is working on me, if you could please keep the following things in your prayers for me:
1. God to completely heal my heart of any past hurts or pains so that I can move on from the past, enjoy the present, and walk into the future with a new heart that will have everything I need.
2. Rest - for me to get enough sleep to really be effective during the days.
3. My stomach hasn't quite gotten used to the change of foods yet and from traveling, so just pray for all to function properly.
4. As we are working on disciplining our thoughts, words and actions, we are doing pushups as a team and individually for things that are not pleasing to God... my arms are getting buff - haha - needless to say, my arms are hurting because I have been doing ALOT of pushups! I want to not do so many pushups, but there is some work to be done...Love the process!!!
5. God to reveal Himself to me and show me the areas where my passions lie and also to show me the things that really excite me, make me cry and the things I can dream about.
6. God to reveal the next step I'm supposed to take after the internship by way of going into missions, going back to school, working, moving, etc.... I know He has big plans for me, and I know that His timing is perfect, so I am believing for complete clarity in ALL areas of my life.
7. Purging the need to always be in control and be perfect in all situations. There is an excellence factor to life, but there is a fine line and I need freedom in some of these areas.
8. To be 100% selfless and always consider God first, others second and self last.
9. Patience when I do not agree with things Biblically or when I get frustrated with people that I am on the trip with. I'm also believing that the Holy Spirit will tell me when it is time for me to speak up and to speak truth in a situation. I want my motivation to always be spirit-lead, and not for me to just be right or to make a point, or to show that I know better.
10. I asked God to humble me... which if you've ever prayed that you will understand why I need prayer. I want God to remove the sources of pride in my life so that the roots of my life are grounded in humility so that God can produce virtue in my life.
Today was the first day of the sports camp that we are having for the kids all week. We spent some time the last couple of weeks passing out fliers and marketing the sports camp in the local towns for the kids to come. We had about 35 kids show up today to play soccer, volleyball, basketball, baseball/softball, cheer, karate, and ultimate frisbee. After the sports portion of the camp is over, the kids go to English lessons that are being taught by a missions team from Georgia that joined us this week. Please pray for the following things as we continue the camp this week:
1. Good weather - we are supposed to get rain all week since we are in the mountains, but thankfully God was able to hold back the rain today, but now it is pouring...please pray that we get absolutely no rain until camp is over so that we don't have to fit everyone into the gym.
2. Kids to return and bring others - we are believing that the same kids will come back and that they will bring friends with them, and/or that more kids will come because they saw us playing, saw signs, etc.
3. Us to be able to build and form relationships with the kids - in Italy, winning lives for Jesus is a very difficult process since the Catholic Church is very different here than in the United States, in addition to the fact that the culture is very relationship oriented. It is important for us to build a strong relationship with the kids before they ever will let us in to talk to them about Jesus.
4. Our testimonies will be used by God to minister salvation - each day one of us gives a testimony of how we came to know the Lord so please be praying for hearts to be open and prepared to hear the testimony so that they'll ask questions and seek to know Jesus.
5. Patience, flexibility and rest - with the language barrier and other circumstances that arise, please pray that we will be patient and flexible with everything thrown our way. In addition, we have breakfast at 7:30am everyday and then do the camp with the kids from 9am to 1pm and then come home and have about 4-5 hours of lectures and what-not in the classroom. With the heat of the sun and all the energy expended, in addition to the heaviness that comes from the lectures (which are amazing) we are very tired.
I'll just mention a little bit about how the day went for me today. We had quite a few kids choose to come over and play soccer with us. Once some of the bigger kids started coming over, we realized that they really needed to be separated from the small ones. I ended up taking the bigger kids--all of them boys--and tried to work with them on some skills and what-not. It was a frustrating day for me because of the language barrier and me wanting so bad to really be able to communicate with them instead of in broken Italian, in addition to the fact that they didn't seem to want to listen to me. I started earning their respect a little bit once I started playing with them and could show them that I could play, but it is still a challenge for me, especially as a girl. We have translators in part of the day, but that is tricky too because they will often look to the translator instead of us and it could mean that the relationship between the kids and myself does not form all the way. I just need to remind myself that it's okay when plans change and when things don't quite go the way we had hoped or had planned. I need to remember that this is about having fun and I just need to be patient and ask God to help me. Perfectionism is a good thing, but it also has an ugly side that will rob you of your joy if you let it. I let it rob me for a good portion of the day, but I know that my Father is gracious and with His help, I will not let this happen tomorrow. I'm stirring up my spirit and my passion for these kids and really spending some time tonight putting together something that will really help them tomorrow so that they can develop into better players.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Forterocca & The Waldensians
I meant to send this blog way earlier, but that obviously didn't happen so here it goes:
A couple of weeks ago we learned all about the significance of the place where we're staying and also got to go on an excursion to learn about the Waldensian people who were front-runner missionaries in the Body of Christ who became martyrs for Jesus. Their sacrifices allow us as the Church to have access to the Bible and the truth of the Word of God, in addition to the opportunity to worship, pray and read the Bible freely without having to do it in secret...
For specific information aside from what I will write in this blog, I would encourage everyone to read the little brief history about the place I am so that you appreciate the simple freedoms we take for granted everyday!
http://www.om.org/en/article/r12046
http://www.forterocca.it/
The place where we are staying is called Forterocca which means, "solid rock." It's a very plain burnt orange building and the rooms are a bit small with two single beds in each room, a window, a closet dresser for two, two end tables and a bathroom. It's a cute little place, but definitely a place of quietness and solitude. Sergio and Anna are the people who built it and they are little old people with spunk and Italian passion! I love them so much. Anna is the cutest thing ever and I want to smuggle her home in my suitcase hahaha. They are absolutely selfless people and the hardest workers and kindest people.
Anyways...where Forterocca was built is very significant. The very first missions training was done here in this valley where we're stayng, so it is significant that several years later we are being trained in missions. David (our leader) had us look up into the mountains at two particular areas to show us where the missionaries were pushed off the mountain cliff for not denying their love for Jesus by the Catholics who were unhappy that these people were teaching against their doctrines. Hundreds of people were pushed off the mountain and died for their faith right behind Forterocca. The significance of the valley is that the blood of the men that died for the cause of Christ flows down the mountain when it rains or when the snow melts to cover the valley and that's why this place is so special...we are on holy ground.
We also went on an excursion during the day/night to see the area where the first Christians--the Waldensians--settled after coming over the mountains from France. These people were getting killed for their faith and sought shelter and protection hidden deep in the valley. Where the Catholic church wouldn't allow people to see the Bible, people would come afar to the valley to read a single Bible in secret so they wouldn't be killed. They woudl gather secretly in a room with a single Bible opened and faced toward them so they could all read what the truth said, not what theh Catholics preached. (Sidenote: the Catholic church in Italy is very very very different from the Catholic church in the United States, which is more rooted in Christianity.) We got to see their dwelling place and drink from the well. The valley was so incredibly beautiful that words cannot even express. The Waldensian people would read the Bible and receive training to go out and preach the good news, knowing that once they went out, they woudl not be returning as they were typically killed for their faith; they were martyrs for Christ. It is absolutely amazing. These people died and paved the way so that we can have the freedom to read the Word of God and declare His truth!
We also got to see their church and the Bible faced outward to the congregation so the people coudl see the Word for themselves, unlike the Catholic church at the time that faced the Bible toward the Father/Priest so no one coudl see it. Outside the church was another little well and the metal thing that you see in the picture is symbolic...can't remember the exact meaning, but it also comes down and parallel so that little babies can be baptized.
We then went on to another excursion to a cave where the Christians woudl meet in secret, but who were one day found and were killed as torches were thrown in from the top of the cave and hundreds of them died by being burned and torchered to death. Although I felt a bit disconnected from everything I had seen so far, this portion of the excursion hit home a little more--I was standing in the place where people would have to meet in secret to worship God, study His Word, and who literally died by flame on the very ground I was standing on. Wow...this really puts some things into perspective even though I still cannot imagine what that life and that experience would have been like. In the cave we sang a couple of old hymn worship songs all together with just two tea lights giving us a bit of light to see in the cave. It was so annointed. We flowed in the Spirit and some people felt led to pray. I felt like God wanted me to start to sing another song after the prayers so I opened my mouth and stepped out in faith and began to sing, "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus." It was awesome becasue I was a little nervous but I just stepped out anyway, and everyoen immediately joined in to sing--it was just such a sweet and annointed time. We prayed one last time and then left the cave, helping one another back to the vans since it was dark outside and we didn't have much light...what an amazing moment.
A couple of weeks ago we learned all about the significance of the place where we're staying and also got to go on an excursion to learn about the Waldensian people who were front-runner missionaries in the Body of Christ who became martyrs for Jesus. Their sacrifices allow us as the Church to have access to the Bible and the truth of the Word of God, in addition to the opportunity to worship, pray and read the Bible freely without having to do it in secret...
For specific information aside from what I will write in this blog, I would encourage everyone to read the little brief history about the place I am so that you appreciate the simple freedoms we take for granted everyday!
http://www.om.org/en/article/r12046
http://www.forterocca.it/
The place where we are staying is called Forterocca which means, "solid rock." It's a very plain burnt orange building and the rooms are a bit small with two single beds in each room, a window, a closet dresser for two, two end tables and a bathroom. It's a cute little place, but definitely a place of quietness and solitude. Sergio and Anna are the people who built it and they are little old people with spunk and Italian passion! I love them so much. Anna is the cutest thing ever and I want to smuggle her home in my suitcase hahaha. They are absolutely selfless people and the hardest workers and kindest people.
Anyways...where Forterocca was built is very significant. The very first missions training was done here in this valley where we're stayng, so it is significant that several years later we are being trained in missions. David (our leader) had us look up into the mountains at two particular areas to show us where the missionaries were pushed off the mountain cliff for not denying their love for Jesus by the Catholics who were unhappy that these people were teaching against their doctrines. Hundreds of people were pushed off the mountain and died for their faith right behind Forterocca. The significance of the valley is that the blood of the men that died for the cause of Christ flows down the mountain when it rains or when the snow melts to cover the valley and that's why this place is so special...we are on holy ground.
We also went on an excursion during the day/night to see the area where the first Christians--the Waldensians--settled after coming over the mountains from France. These people were getting killed for their faith and sought shelter and protection hidden deep in the valley. Where the Catholic church wouldn't allow people to see the Bible, people would come afar to the valley to read a single Bible in secret so they wouldn't be killed. They woudl gather secretly in a room with a single Bible opened and faced toward them so they could all read what the truth said, not what theh Catholics preached. (Sidenote: the Catholic church in Italy is very very very different from the Catholic church in the United States, which is more rooted in Christianity.) We got to see their dwelling place and drink from the well. The valley was so incredibly beautiful that words cannot even express. The Waldensian people would read the Bible and receive training to go out and preach the good news, knowing that once they went out, they woudl not be returning as they were typically killed for their faith; they were martyrs for Christ. It is absolutely amazing. These people died and paved the way so that we can have the freedom to read the Word of God and declare His truth!
We also got to see their church and the Bible faced outward to the congregation so the people coudl see the Word for themselves, unlike the Catholic church at the time that faced the Bible toward the Father/Priest so no one coudl see it. Outside the church was another little well and the metal thing that you see in the picture is symbolic...can't remember the exact meaning, but it also comes down and parallel so that little babies can be baptized.
We then went on to another excursion to a cave where the Christians woudl meet in secret, but who were one day found and were killed as torches were thrown in from the top of the cave and hundreds of them died by being burned and torchered to death. Although I felt a bit disconnected from everything I had seen so far, this portion of the excursion hit home a little more--I was standing in the place where people would have to meet in secret to worship God, study His Word, and who literally died by flame on the very ground I was standing on. Wow...this really puts some things into perspective even though I still cannot imagine what that life and that experience would have been like. In the cave we sang a couple of old hymn worship songs all together with just two tea lights giving us a bit of light to see in the cave. It was so annointed. We flowed in the Spirit and some people felt led to pray. I felt like God wanted me to start to sing another song after the prayers so I opened my mouth and stepped out in faith and began to sing, "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus." It was awesome becasue I was a little nervous but I just stepped out anyway, and everyoen immediately joined in to sing--it was just such a sweet and annointed time. We prayed one last time and then left the cave, helping one another back to the vans since it was dark outside and we didn't have much light...what an amazing moment.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Day 3
This week we have been doing team building exercises and really getting to know each other and learn to work together as a team and as a cohesive unit. Today was a tough day for me as God is definitely working on my heart and the inside of me...bringing out my strengths, and my weaknesses. The day began with working in partners and leading each other up and down from the 3rd floor of our building blindfolded. We had to learn to listen and trust the voice of the person leading us. It was a great little game and everyone really did a great job with it and was feeling encouraged and inspired.
The next game we played involved working in partner teams of 2, and there were 7 teams total. Our instructions were for us to draw a tree and then come show it to David. We did this multiple times over the course of an hour. My partner and I tried to think of every picture that could possibly represent a tree. I think we exhausted all the options in the scriptures: I am the vine and you are the branches, I am the tree of life, tree starting as a seed and growing and producing fruit...etc. Every time each group went up David would just say, "no, that's not what I'm looking for." Then we would go back and try again. Finally he gave us a little hint and my partner and I finally caught on that the goal was for every group to draw a part of the tree and then come together to form the whole tree. I misunderstood the directions or else we would have probably caught on a little bit sooner (not much, but some)...we were one of the last groups to catch on which was frustrating. At the end of the exercise, once finally complete over an hour later, David proceeded to tell us that this assignment was only supposed to take 15-20 minutes and that our group took the longest time that anyone has ever taken that he has worked with. He said we all still had a long way to go until we could finally begin to think of the whole team, and not just ourselves or our unit. After we heard this, we all just kind-of felt like we failed. We were all frustrated and just felt down on ourselves for not catching on sooner, since we had really felt like we were coming together as a team. Finally we were taking steps forward, and now we had taken a few steps back. I was a little bit mad because I thought we were doing so good and wanted to really hear that we had come a long ways, even though we still had things to work on, but I guess we don't always need a pat on the back in every situation...sometimes it takes hard lessons to really learn the lesson.
The next task was a competition between two teams. We competed in various exercises from 2:30pm to 6:00pm. The catch was this: one person in each of the groups was "blind" and would be blindfolded the ENTIRE time, NEVER taking the blindfold off. Another person in the group could never touch the ground, and had to be constantly carried. And then another person could not speak or make any kinds of sounds or noises with their mouth. With all the stuff that has been going through my mind about just dying to self and not always being the one to speak, this couldn't have worked out any perfectly as I was chosen by David to be the one on my team that would not speak. :( I'm sure you can sense my frustration already. I couldn't even say, "mmmmhmm" or else it would be a penalty and points would be deducted from my group. Points were deducted for various things and awarded for others. This was an extremely difficult task for both teams as the blind person had to really work on trusting and not being able to see for 3.5 hours of the day, and the other person had to rely on others to carry her for the entire 3.5 hours...which was difficult to do. I was extremely frustrated during the time I couldn't speak. Some strengths I have are in leading and giving direction and communicating. It was hard to do this without a voice. I felt like I had my legs cut out from under me as I was unable to lend my strength to the team and spent a lot of the time figuring out how I could compensate and communicate. Oh...I also couldn't move my lips to mouth the words. I began communicating with my hands and with snaps and claps and with really just spelling things out for people and trying to help in all situations. Between each activity we had to do as many push-ups in a 3-minute period and I knew that was something I could do. I ended up doing a little over 300 push-ups today, so I'm not too excited to see how my arms feel tomorrow! :) haha... I helped lead the blind person by holding his hand while my other group mate held his other hand and was able to verbally instruct him. Some of the tasks included: going from the 3rd floor to the river and each picking up a rock to stack in a row without falling, blind person putting together a puzzle but not allowed to talk and the others only allowed to say "no, yes, up, down, right, left" and me not being able to speak at all but just point to the group. I was eventually allowed to guide his arm to help him while the others were still limited in their speech, and then the person who couldn't walk was finally able to speak as well as the blind person to ask questions. What we were doing was putting together a puzzle which was a map of the world...it took a while but we eventually completed it. Another task was basically a web made out of rope where we had to get all of the members through the holes of the web, without touching the rope, to the other side. We could only use a space one time so we had to be strategic with everything, especially with the blind person and the person who couldn't walk. Our group was able to finally get all 7 people over to the other side without touching once! The last task was to put the rocks back into the river and go back up to the 3rd floor.
During this whole no-talking experience, I just felt like I couldn't express myself or give encouragement to others for things I wanted to help them with. It was very difficult for me as these are things that I love to do. I even cried at one point out of pure frustration with not being able to talk and lend my full strength and also with the point scorer. It was definitely a day...
Things learned from the no-talking experience:
1. If I do not speak or speak up, I will be frustrated all of the time.
2. When I do speak, I need to know when the time is to speak, and when the time is to be quiet and listen and/or hold my tongue.
3. My voice and my encouragement is my strength...to not use it is to handicap myself and disable myself from having the fullness of God working in my life.
4. I can still communicate without my voice, but it will be difficult, and people need it!
After debriefing from this experience, we had dinner and then a bible study time with the whole group. We are going through the book of Romans. I am finding that I do not necessarily agree with everything, and I am learning when the time is to be quiet and just test the things for myself against the Word, and when the time is to speak up and speak truth. Tonight I got to pour into the group some and remind them that they are the righteousness of God in Christ. That there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. That the Holy Spirit came to convince believers of their righteousness, but to convict unbelievers of their need for a Savior. That the Holy Spirit is here to remind us of our righteousness and our ability to do all things through Christ. Also that grace is unearned, undeserved, unmerited favor and blessing of God for all believers. Again a testament to using my voice to speak up and proclaim truth, the entire group woke up from literally sleeping during our Bible study discussion time and began to engage in the conversation and speak up about struggles with this particular topic. I was able to pour into them and remind them that God thinks they are rock stars. Yes we understand that we are sinners and did not deserve everything Jesus did for us, but that because of Jesus, God sees us as perfect because He looks at us through the eyes of Jesus and calls us perfect...we have been perfected forever! I also got to remind them that they are Champions and conquerors and that although we are undeserving, God says we do deserve His grace and we need to take hold of that! We need to walk in confidence of Who is living on the inside of us, but not to be cocky. It was so awesome to just get to talk with some of them individually and hear from their perspective and see that it encouraged and inspired them, and they even encouraged me to speak up more.
Niccole = "Victory of the People"...I'm proclaiming that!
The next game we played involved working in partner teams of 2, and there were 7 teams total. Our instructions were for us to draw a tree and then come show it to David. We did this multiple times over the course of an hour. My partner and I tried to think of every picture that could possibly represent a tree. I think we exhausted all the options in the scriptures: I am the vine and you are the branches, I am the tree of life, tree starting as a seed and growing and producing fruit...etc. Every time each group went up David would just say, "no, that's not what I'm looking for." Then we would go back and try again. Finally he gave us a little hint and my partner and I finally caught on that the goal was for every group to draw a part of the tree and then come together to form the whole tree. I misunderstood the directions or else we would have probably caught on a little bit sooner (not much, but some)...we were one of the last groups to catch on which was frustrating. At the end of the exercise, once finally complete over an hour later, David proceeded to tell us that this assignment was only supposed to take 15-20 minutes and that our group took the longest time that anyone has ever taken that he has worked with. He said we all still had a long way to go until we could finally begin to think of the whole team, and not just ourselves or our unit. After we heard this, we all just kind-of felt like we failed. We were all frustrated and just felt down on ourselves for not catching on sooner, since we had really felt like we were coming together as a team. Finally we were taking steps forward, and now we had taken a few steps back. I was a little bit mad because I thought we were doing so good and wanted to really hear that we had come a long ways, even though we still had things to work on, but I guess we don't always need a pat on the back in every situation...sometimes it takes hard lessons to really learn the lesson.
The next task was a competition between two teams. We competed in various exercises from 2:30pm to 6:00pm. The catch was this: one person in each of the groups was "blind" and would be blindfolded the ENTIRE time, NEVER taking the blindfold off. Another person in the group could never touch the ground, and had to be constantly carried. And then another person could not speak or make any kinds of sounds or noises with their mouth. With all the stuff that has been going through my mind about just dying to self and not always being the one to speak, this couldn't have worked out any perfectly as I was chosen by David to be the one on my team that would not speak. :( I'm sure you can sense my frustration already. I couldn't even say, "mmmmhmm" or else it would be a penalty and points would be deducted from my group. Points were deducted for various things and awarded for others. This was an extremely difficult task for both teams as the blind person had to really work on trusting and not being able to see for 3.5 hours of the day, and the other person had to rely on others to carry her for the entire 3.5 hours...which was difficult to do. I was extremely frustrated during the time I couldn't speak. Some strengths I have are in leading and giving direction and communicating. It was hard to do this without a voice. I felt like I had my legs cut out from under me as I was unable to lend my strength to the team and spent a lot of the time figuring out how I could compensate and communicate. Oh...I also couldn't move my lips to mouth the words. I began communicating with my hands and with snaps and claps and with really just spelling things out for people and trying to help in all situations. Between each activity we had to do as many push-ups in a 3-minute period and I knew that was something I could do. I ended up doing a little over 300 push-ups today, so I'm not too excited to see how my arms feel tomorrow! :) haha... I helped lead the blind person by holding his hand while my other group mate held his other hand and was able to verbally instruct him. Some of the tasks included: going from the 3rd floor to the river and each picking up a rock to stack in a row without falling, blind person putting together a puzzle but not allowed to talk and the others only allowed to say "no, yes, up, down, right, left" and me not being able to speak at all but just point to the group. I was eventually allowed to guide his arm to help him while the others were still limited in their speech, and then the person who couldn't walk was finally able to speak as well as the blind person to ask questions. What we were doing was putting together a puzzle which was a map of the world...it took a while but we eventually completed it. Another task was basically a web made out of rope where we had to get all of the members through the holes of the web, without touching the rope, to the other side. We could only use a space one time so we had to be strategic with everything, especially with the blind person and the person who couldn't walk. Our group was able to finally get all 7 people over to the other side without touching once! The last task was to put the rocks back into the river and go back up to the 3rd floor.
During this whole no-talking experience, I just felt like I couldn't express myself or give encouragement to others for things I wanted to help them with. It was very difficult for me as these are things that I love to do. I even cried at one point out of pure frustration with not being able to talk and lend my full strength and also with the point scorer. It was definitely a day...
Things learned from the no-talking experience:
1. If I do not speak or speak up, I will be frustrated all of the time.
2. When I do speak, I need to know when the time is to speak, and when the time is to be quiet and listen and/or hold my tongue.
3. My voice and my encouragement is my strength...to not use it is to handicap myself and disable myself from having the fullness of God working in my life.
4. I can still communicate without my voice, but it will be difficult, and people need it!
After debriefing from this experience, we had dinner and then a bible study time with the whole group. We are going through the book of Romans. I am finding that I do not necessarily agree with everything, and I am learning when the time is to be quiet and just test the things for myself against the Word, and when the time is to speak up and speak truth. Tonight I got to pour into the group some and remind them that they are the righteousness of God in Christ. That there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. That the Holy Spirit came to convince believers of their righteousness, but to convict unbelievers of their need for a Savior. That the Holy Spirit is here to remind us of our righteousness and our ability to do all things through Christ. Also that grace is unearned, undeserved, unmerited favor and blessing of God for all believers. Again a testament to using my voice to speak up and proclaim truth, the entire group woke up from literally sleeping during our Bible study discussion time and began to engage in the conversation and speak up about struggles with this particular topic. I was able to pour into them and remind them that God thinks they are rock stars. Yes we understand that we are sinners and did not deserve everything Jesus did for us, but that because of Jesus, God sees us as perfect because He looks at us through the eyes of Jesus and calls us perfect...we have been perfected forever! I also got to remind them that they are Champions and conquerors and that although we are undeserving, God says we do deserve His grace and we need to take hold of that! We need to walk in confidence of Who is living on the inside of us, but not to be cocky. It was so awesome to just get to talk with some of them individually and hear from their perspective and see that it encouraged and inspired them, and they even encouraged me to speak up more.
Niccole = "Victory of the People"...I'm proclaiming that!
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