In this issue: 'Camp, Mobs & Trash' - A Lost Son - By Prayer
Camp, Mobs, & Trash
Recently, we were asked to attend a sports camp in the Kairobangi slum. It’s only eight miles away from us, but on a typical day it will take an hour and a half to get there because of traffic. It has been raining lately, so that doesn’t help either. Especially because as soon as we drive into the slum we have to navigate the muddy “roads,” trying to avoid splashing mud on the roadside vendors and numerous pedestrians—and then there are the goats wandering the streets looking for food scraps.
As we drove, I noticed a man cooking in a large makeshift rectangular pan. He was using garbage as the cooking fuel and a shovel to stir what looked like rice or corn. I asked Bernard (our friend and coach at the church we were visiting) what the man was cooking. He said that it was porridge that would be fermented and turned into illicit brew. This alcohol is called Bussa and is notorious for causing blindness in those who drink it. Life is hard in Kairobangi and many adults, and even teens, turn to cheap alcohol to forget about their struggles.
Christ can redeem these people, and coach Bernard and others are working to show them how.
We were excited to be joining Bernard during their sports camp. I had the opportunity to share the Word with about 100 teens at the beginning of their day. We spoke about honesty and the impact, or lack of impact, that it can have on their lives. We then broke up into groups of about ten to talk more specifically about how to apply what they were learning from the Bible to their lives.
A few months back, Bernard sent me a picture of a dead teen lying on the ground severely beaten and bloodied. He was a former player who had stopped playing with the team and had turned to crime. The teen was caught trying to rob a house; a mob of nearby residents judged him and carried out his sentence. I wondered why Bernard sent me this picture, but this is life in Kariobangi; it is hard and making Godly choices does not seem sustainable to many young people.
There is a group of boys who play on Bernard’s team that are choosing to walk a different path. They collect thrown-out plastic bottles, plastic bags, other recyclables, and food scraps found along the road, in ditches, or in burn piles. They sell the recyclables to those who repurpose them and the food scraps are sold to pig and goat farmers. While it’s a dirty job, it provides more than twice the income that could be made by a construction worker. They have shunned a life of crime because of the impact of a Sports Friends ministry.
As Bernard coaches these boys and others in soccer, he is also discipling them, helping them make choices that are good for themselves, their communities, and the Kingdom. –Greg
A Lost Son
While there are times that we hear hard stories like the young man who was killed by the mob, there are the ones we rejoice over as well.
There was a young teen, Adam, who had been coming to soccer practice. About two months ago he just stopped coming. It was later determined that Adam was lost.
During camp registration Adam was recognized! It turned out that Adam had run away from home. When authorities found him they put him in a children’s home, which had just happen to bring a team of players for the camp. He was reunited with his mother. Coach Bernard reported to us, “his mother is too happy because she found a missing child and with this son she now comes to church to worship God.”
Pray that Adam and his family would resolve any differences that may still exist between them and that God’s grace would draw them all closer to Him.
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”
Psalms 145:18
By Prayer
* Pray for the expansion of the prison ministry. We have done two Basic Trainings and are looking forward to what God will do with the new coaches.
* Pray for strategic planning that will be taking place regarding the baseball ministry.
* Pray for us to maintain a healthy family structure when our ministry structure is inconsistent.
* Pray for wisdom from the Lord as we seek to guide and teach our children in a way that is effective for their personalities.
End of the year gifts:
As the year is coming to a close, would you consider making a tax deductible contribution to assist in our ministry with Sports Friends?
Year-end gifts help us reach our required support budget.
Together with us, you can Transform Lives and Strengthen Communities.
