Senor Bigote- Translation "Mr. Mustache". Yes, I went to Mexico and grew a Mustache...
Sorry for any anticipation, we went to Mexico and made it back safely... I was unable to access the internet during my time down there and have so much to tell all of you that I just don't know if I can do it in one sitting... We'll see how this goes. Also, word on the street is that people are having trouble leaving comments so I will look into that as well and can hopefully get some info up here shortly that might help with that.
As for MEXICO y "los Caballitos del Mar" (little horses of the sea) as they called us... It was amazing. When going on Missions trips I try to have the mind set that God is always working and not to enter into any missions opportunities with my own agenda. Meaning that I feel that showing up with a set plan, and believing that this is what will happen, (or if it doesn't I am going to continue like it does) really is entering less prepared than those with less planing and much more flexibility. That is what missions are all about flexibility. Luckily for me the last few missions trips I have been on I have not been sure of what to expect, which helps me to remain flexible and open to any "unexpected" happenings.
First things first... We flew from LAX to Mexico City where we had a 5 hour layover before flying into Acapulco where we were met by the Nathan and Tim Wood (Son and Father of the missionary family who we were partnering with)... from there we had to drive another four hours to Pinotepa where our first two matches were going to be played, it was about an hour away from Ometepec, the second city we stayed in... From Acapulco to Pinotepa, we counted (in spanish of course) speed bumps or "reducires de trafico"... 119 in the four hours we traveled. We played four games... started off with a couple draws in Pinotepa... And in Ometepec we finished up with a win and a loss.
Leading up to each game we advertised by passing out flyers in the street with little information about some of our staff, the team, and what we believe to be true about salvation on the back and how soccer is a means for us to glorify God all over the world... just like there in Pinotepa and Mexico. We did clinics at schools during the week and at the stadium on saturday, we played with the kids, told them about the games and about our team and were often able to share our testimonies of how God has called us into Sports ministry. The welcome we got from the kids was amazing and with the little that they had I was humbled to see how much joy they still had in their lives. Sometimes the clinics were a bit chaotic, but in the end we had a little bit of organization and a lot of fun... the two favorite games we played were "Delanteros y Porteros" (Forwards and Keepers) and "Robar el Jamon" (Steal the Ham)... Sometimes we would end up with hundreds of kids and only 4 or 5 balls to occupy them for an hour or so...
Our first day in Ometepec we drove on the back of a big truck that had a large flatbed and we rigged up speakers with a generator and had a mix that one of Nate's friends put together that was mainly Techno and included information about our Game... "Los Caballitos Del Mar Contra Selecionados de Ometepec" It was the party truck, we drove all over the city and passed out flyers of the truck bed and invited people to the games.
In each city were had dinner with the opposing teams and were able to perform a short song and skit... the song- "Jesus is Lord" and the skit was about the Wiseman who built his house on the Rock for the rock was sound. My roll in the skit was the river, and had to do the worm across the stage in front of the house.... but it wasn't nearly as cool as the rain dance that our goalkeeper (forward on this trip) pulled out "when the rains came"... haha.
The games were great, the fields took a little getting used because of their lack of grass, but when the final whistle blew we were able to meet a lot of the people we had invited and had the Gospel of John available to pass out with information on local churches for anyone who wanted them. The conversations were not always easy, even though a lot of my teammates used me to translate as best I could, I don't know if I was always able to get my point across. The first game was a highlight for me, my friend John and I were able to talk with a group of teenagers who asked us great questions about being Christians and Athletes and the struggles we have... the cultural differences that we may have the they don't understand... and why we think it is important to have God as the center of all aspects of our lives, including soccer. All these questions really caught me off guard, so we tracked down Nate Wood to translate for us since I didn't have the vocabulary in spanish to get my point across fully. In the end this proved to be a good choice, Nate really had them understanding how God has changed our focus from soccer first... to God first.
The second game I shared my testimony at halftime with my friend Paul Shedd translating for me... Much of my story includes God challenging me to learn how to not let competition ruin everything that God has blessed me with. It took me a long time growing up before I was able to balance competition and God, and I will admit that it is something that I still struggle with. Winning to me was all that competition was about, and it wasn't until a friend of mine told me how different I was at soccer than when we were hanging out that I finally realized that my competition had hurt quite a few of my relationships, and most importantly my relationship with God. Our last game I was really challenged to remain in control, we played a game that was very fair in its officiating and ended up playing 2 men down due to red cards... I can't find any justification for any of the 10+ cards we received... in the end we still lost, but it always seems to leave a sour taste in your mouth when you lose something that seems unjust. And I was reminded that to be angry is not a sin, however to act out of my anger IS a sin, and is very hard not to do.
The best part about it was after our last game, and losing 2-0, the people just came pouring down onto the field... Tim Wood asked the questions later in our debriefing it we had felt that had we won would the people have just come down onto the field like they did to meet us. I was able to invite a group of teens to join us for church, meet with a lot of the players, and give a little encouragement to a few of the kids there who said they were christians... they said that being a Christian there in Ometepec is rarely easy, and I just pray they can be encouraged by our presence there to keep searching for Truth.
Being in Mexico and being able to share my story and how God desires a relationship with us really reinforced the verses I've been studying in I Corinthians 9-
"To the weak I became weak, so as to win the Weak. I have become ALL things to ALL men so that I by all possible means I might win some..." We must meet people where they are at, that is the most powerful means of reaching them. Soccer has given us the opportunity to meet a lot of people where they are at in mexico.... but at the same time I had to become aware of the cultural and economic differences to reach others.
Being able to share this time and this opportunity with my teammates was an experience in itself outside our ministering. We challenged each other to love life like God intended us to and to get to know each other and learn from each other. God gives us all very different gifts so it was great to see everyone using their gifts as much as possible. Just to top our amazing week off, we drove back to Acapulco where me and a few of the guys went and played on the beach till 2:15 in the morning before we topped of an amazing night with ice cream sandwiches and street tacos... mmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmm.... love it.
I want to continue to thank all of you for your prayers and support, I can't tell you how much this experience has meant to me and the directions that God continues to take me is motivation enough to get up every morning. Thank you... or as we say in Mexico... Muchas Gracias.
Prayer requests:
-For all the gospels that were passed out to be read and used.
-For all the people in Ometepec and Pinotepa who we met.
-The Wood family, that they'd be able to find the help they need to run all their ministries through their church, school, soccer club and camp.
-For me and the Seahorses as we want to continue to share God's love with these people and showing them God cares by returning on a regular basis.
-For the season and our ministries here in LA, that we continue to glorify God in all that we do... especially soccer.
