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.