Discipleship, Soccer & Growth

Discipleship, Soccer & Growth

I can’t begin to describe how grateful I am to God every day for the ministry he has given me in the bordos with the youth boys.  I have seen them grow for the past four years and God is doing wonderful things in their lives.  I have seen the boys dreaming about a future, establishing goals for their life, and picking up or starting a new with their studies.  There is a personal desire for growth in their lives and, above all, their hearts have a craving to follow Jesus Christ.

It all began with the game of soccer, which has been a great tool for us to connect and invest in the boy’s lives.  We still host weekly games with the boy’s one evening each week and they have become “soccer with a purpose.”  Just a few months ago, we started asking the boys to set a goal at the beginning of each match.  The goals are less about how they play, but more about improving their character.  After each game, we sit down for a few minutes to reflect and some of the boys share about how they did.

Shortly after starting the goal setting, the topic of our weekly discipleship class was on setting an example with our attitudes, love, and being the light of God to those around us.  I even challenged the boys to use our weekly soccer games with purpose to set an example.  I encouraged them that God would use our attitudes on the field and the way we treated our opponents, win or lose, would speak loudly.

THEN, of course, later that week, we found ourselves in a hotly contested game.  We were playing a random team from the city and they were disputing ever call or foul.  The match was pretty physical and our opponents begin to play a bit rough.  A lot of times, once our opponents find out our team is from the bordos, they try to take advantage of them and show them little respect.  It was no different on this night.

And I kinda lost my cool a bit.  Or maybe, it was A LOT.

I got frustrated and began to become more physical and playing rough.  I lost my focus and the next thing I knew, I was arguing loudly and strongly with a man from the opposing team.  It got pretty heated.  It didn’t lead to a fight, but it was pretty close!

Once the game ended, I immediately was overcome with embarrassment.  I knew I needed to apologize to the man I had argued with, but I was more overcome with how poorly I had acted in front of the boys.  I had just challenged them to set an example on the field.  Be the light of God to our opponents.

I had set a goal for our team.  And I had FAILED.

During our post game reflection, the first thing I did was apologize for having failed at setting the right example.  I let my emotion and desire to win overcome our “real purpose.”  I told them how ashamed I felt.  I was very disappointed in myself.

Their reaction was unbelievable.

“Cristian,  don’t worry about failing.  We all fail at times. Even as a leader, you are going to be vulnerable. You do not have to apologize to us.  Just know that we love you.  And if it is okay, we would like to pray for you right now,”

WOW! At the moment, the boys surrounded me and each one embraced me while they began to pray.  The amount of peace and joy that filled my soul cannot be explained in words.  Watching my boys show grace, mercy and love to me in a moment like this could only be from God.  Oh, how I gave Glory to God for their growth.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. –1 Thessalonians 5:11

It was a great reminder of that perfect love that God gives us, not judging, but forgiving and edifying each other and praying for each other. I was filled with humility and encouragement at the same time. God is good all the time!

After that night we continued our soccer matches every other Monday by always setting personal goals before each game.  One of the boys, Jose Ever, recently shared that a group of strangers who were watching the group play noticed how different our group was.  They told Jose, “Man, it’s great to see you all play without fighting or cussing and instead encouraging each other during the game.”  Jose Ever shared that it was very amazing to see how different they are now.  He never imagined it would be possible for all of them to compete and play soccer, while also creating an atmosphere of harmony and peace.  With God, all is possible!!

God is always teaching us new things and giving us new lessons for growth.  I pray that we all can grow together every day.  I know many of my boys are going to take different paths as they grow and become adults, but I pray these lessons, even on a soccer field, will remain in their hearts forever.

Will you pray with me!

God Bless, Cris

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