World Cup and the 5 month mark have just passed me

Wow so been here 5 months now and the World Cup has just passed by. I haven't been the greatest with updating this blog and apologize to anyone who has actually been checking lately, i hope that this update makes up for that.

So where should i start?

How about we go from just before the world cup to right now.

So i think i wrote in my last Blog that i was being placed in a small township church to help them start up a sports ministry. Most of my time in the month preceding the world cup was meant to be dedicated to doing this but unfortunately it really didnt work out how we wished it would. Basically in the end the conclusion was that they weren't really ready to start a sports ministry, so i ended up pulling out of that initiative and as a whole that month was very difficult and frustrating. God definitely taught me lessons through it as he has done throughout my time here but it wasn't an easy time and im glad the world cup month came when it did as i really wanted to leave at that point.

June 11 Finally came the kick off of the 2010 World Cup. I was in Durban with Murray where we were ready to watch Australia play Germany on the 14th and we wont mention the result ha ha. But the atmosphere and excitement was just something that i cant explain and it was awesome to be a part of all the hype and the explosion of what was years of expectation and excitement from the South African people. It was finally here and many could not believe it was actually occuring a World Cup in Africa.

Returned home to Cape Town after the Socceroos match and straight away got stuck into 4 intense weeks of intense holiday activity with the kids.
1s week was a soccer school with St Johns church in a suburb called Wynberg. A soccer school is basically a 3-5 day soccer clinic where we coach kids in the basic skills of football, teach them some lessons from the bible and organize a mini world cup tournament for them to participate in. This week was really great, had a great group of kids, awesome group of leaders and good facilities. Oh and that friday was also lucky enough to get tickets for England vs Algeria, wasn't the greatest game as you know but was still awesome to see England play and experience the vibe their fans brought.

2nd week was another soccer school with Gleemore Baptist Church in Athlone. Athlone is a far more disadvantaged area on the Cape flats of Cape Town compared to Wynberg and there were many more challenges faced. The kids came and went everyday making it difficult in terms of numbers. A lot of them clearly didn't have the same educational opportunites as the kids from the previous week, which made it much harder to communicate and follow through with some of the material we were teaching them and the fascilities weren't as good. However despite all these challenges this week was probably the most rewarding. It was just a privelage to be able to encourage these kids and bring them hope through football and the Good news of Jesus. So many of these kids just came from really tough homes and backgrounds and the tears that preceded each day during the debrief amongst the coaches just showed how they were impacting our lives through their resiliance maybe even more so than what we were hoping to do for them.
For me the best part of the week was seeing the kids in my team, sing and dance silly war cries that we made up and just be kids without worrying about any problems that they face. it took a little while for the walls to come down and i have to say that some mornings i didn't feel like getting up and going again but it was definitely worth it.

3rd week- Soccer schools took a break for one week and this week i was involved in a Holiday club with St Johns Wynberg the same church as the first soccer school. A holiday club is sought of like a week long camp where we as leaders ran a kids program in the morning and then a teen program in the evening. The leaders all stayed at the church and it was awesome to finally meet and get to know some amazing young people here in South Africa. It was a really tiring week and i struggled with food especially, due to my special stomach condition but once again was awesome. The highlights for me were just being a fool for God during the kids program and seeing lots of barriers broken in young teenagers lives during teen program along with building relationships with the leaders.

Unfortunately i had to miss the last day as i had tickets for the Netherlands vs Brazil match In PE which is 800 km away, i know i was upset a well. So we left at 7 am on the morning of the match and got back at 5 am the next day. 22 hours and 16 + were in the car hectic! that is what the world cup does to you especially if you love football "feel it, it is here" (that was the slogan if you have no idea why i said that). Oh yeh the game was awesome got beer spilt all over me from a crazy brazilian fan and saw all the goals down my end. Definitely once in a life time when do you get to see Brazil play with the likes of Kaka against a top quality european team- answer: only if your very lucky.

Ok week 4 we did our final soccer school with New Destiny church in Silvertown a similar area to Athlone. This was only 3 days and im sought of glad that was the case as i was really struggling to go on, was so tired. Highlights were going into the newly turfed Athlone stadium for the final matches of our little world cup tournament, i thought it was just a mean joke they were telling the kids but we actually went in so awesome. We were the second people after the Netherlands team to use the new grounds. But definitely have to say the main highlight was when one of the kids in my team who had been giving me a hard time, gave me a 2 hugs as we said our goodbyes. So Lukien came up to me gave me a hug and said thanks for being his coach and then started walking off with his friends, but suddenly turned around came back and asked if he could give me another hug and say bye again. Of course i said yes! and yeh was just blown away by how much it meant to him as i thought that he really wasn't enjoying the week, which was so encouraging to me as at times i have struggled to believe that i've been making a difference, which is definitely encouraging to know.

So obviously there a more stories than that but they will have to wait untill i get back and we can chat face to face.

In summary was an awesome month, God definitely prepared me for it before hand and im sought of glad that i was frustrated and itching to get stuck into something as it made me so eager to get involved and push through the tiredness that the month brought with it.

Now am getting more involved with the Prison ministry (2 days a week) and Cape United (1 day, 1 evening a week). Car is going well, i just got sick of trying to buy one and hired one for 3 months its name is Louise if you were interested and its a old bomb as well just a much better bomb than my beatle lol.

Still missing everyone back home and will be interesting to see where God takes me in the next few months im not sure if they will all be spend in South Africa anymore, a few things have come up and im thinking and praying about them and will hopefully update everyone a little quicker than i did this time.

Much Love,

Chef