My trip was organized by the ministry called athletes in action (AIA) and I am the chairperson of the ministry at the University of Johannesburg. AIA is a sports ministry where we teach students how to share their faith in sports, so we use sports as a media to reach out to young students.My trip started on the 15th of May. I went there alone, I took a flight from SA to Atlanta and there was a quick stop in Senegal. I went to Michigan which is in Detroit, to the city called East Lansing. I stayed there for three days with the other family. Those were the most wonderful days I have ever spent in my life; I took a walk around Michigan State University which is quite an amazing campus. The family was very welcoming and treated me very special. I took a flight from Detroit to Denver with the husband of the family and we went to Colorado, Fort Collins. With your prayers and financial support I spent the week of May 24-31st, 2009 in Fort Collins, Colorado at the campus of Colorado State University which is the most beautiful campus I have ever seen. Most of the people I met did not know what the camp was about they thought they just came to a training camp but quite surprised when talks were given. Each day we learned one of the five principles. Each principle builds on the previous one, I’ll briefly explain them. The purpose of the AIA Principle is to transform sport into an opportunity to worship God and to create a learning experience (through discussions, labs and the “SPECIAL”) so that we can learn to participate in sport in a way that honors Him. Principle 1 is called “Audience of One” where we were asked ‘who or what do I worship?’ here we learned about what can become our idols (anything we put before God) in sports and that God alone is worthy of our worship. Principle 2 is “Inside the Game” where we were asked ‘what motivates me?’ We learned that our identity in Christ frees us to compete with a “grace motivation”. Principal 3 is “Holy Sweat” which answered the question ‘how do I grow?’ this expanded on how we are to mature and learn to live more fully in the grace of God through spiritual disciplines. We were then introduced to the idea of having a focal point (scar on your body, something written on your T-shirt or your shoe etc) to remind us of the spiritual disciplines within the competition. The fourth principle is “Hurting for Certain” where we were asked ‘How do I deal with pain?’ We learned that trials and suffering are part of God’s game plan and that sports can be God’s avenue for teaching us to respond appropriately to trials. The last principle is “Victory beyond completion” which asked ‘Does it matter how I live today?’ We learned that we were each given unique talents and abilities and we will give an account to God for what we do with our time, talents treasures. We were encouraged to invest our talents, leave a legacy and make an impact. In order to practice applying the principles we were placed in three different teams/groups throughout the week. The first was a discussion group consisting of four other guys and an intern who led discussions about the principle we were learning and how to fit them into our lives. Another group we had was a volleyball team. After we learned the principle for the day we had ‘volleyballs labs’ where we all went outside and played volleyball to try to apply them. We had different experience levels and only had two legitimate volleyball players but we all learned a lot from playing. In order to make the game as realistic to real competition as possible everything was timed and scored. In order to nail down the application at the camp, players had to experience the same feelings of frustration, fear, fatigue and sometimes failure that they would if they were competing on their respective teams at home.Our third group, called our “S.P.E.C.I.A.L” team was formed at the end of the week. The SPECIAL was a climax of the week (and many of our lives thus far). It started at 5:20pm on Thursday and ended Friday around 1pm. There were 20 teams, most of which consisted of 8 or 9 athletes. We started with really competitive volleyball matches. When one game ended teams ran to the next court. Next was ultimate Frisbee with ten large fields land up, we had to run constantly during the games and then to our next field. Next we did tug-of-war, pushup relays, basketball and swimming until about 1:30 that night. at that point we had a written test over the principles, when we finished we allowed to go to bed until our team’s report time in the morning which was assigned based on your rank among the other 20 teams we came the fourth. The obstacle course included 11 stops involving activities like the army crawl, shooting basketball free throws, lunges, up-down, 200m piggyback with teammate. After that we played kick ball while every member on the team was fielding, kicking or doing a specially assigned exercise on the sideline. After kickball we did team relays including bear crawl, crab walk, regular sprints etc. the bottom line is we were being pushed absolutely beyond our limits many had cramps and some were crying.The very last event was not part of the competition: it was between us and God. We were bused to the nearby Rockies up a mountain and then we were told the story of the crucifixion of Jesus. Each of us had most likely heard the story before but we had never experienced this kind of pain. The story was made completely personal being absolutely overwhelmed that Jesus went through even more pain to die for us while we were sinners. I think that every person there now has a different perspective on pain and complaining in general.So now that we were all having even walking our final task was to run down and then back up this 1600m course carrying a 2-by-4 plank on the way down and putting it across our back on the way like a cross. Most of us had already realized that our strength was only coming from the Lord at this point but those that didn’t had no choice but to beg for strength during the last challenge; we knew there was NO chance we could do it on our own. This was where I was broken when I was walking up the hill because I knew at that point I am physically drained out and I needed Jesus to pull me through to finish the race and when I got to the finishing line I was rejoicing and worshiping him. The next night (after a good bit of relaxing) we had people sharing their experiences. Hearing people’s stories was incredible. I heard about 25 of people who came to know Christ as their savior. That was the rest of my trip all in all. Thank you so much for your support and prayers. I know it was no accident that I was a part of the Athletes in Action Ultimate Training Camp 2009; thank you so much for helping me get there!
Sammy
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
What a privilege!
This sentence I've heard a lot the last few weeks. Since our team from the Netherlands arrived in South-Africa on the 10th of July, almost every person we've met said this sentence at least once to us. But that's not the way we see it. We came here to serve the people we were going to meet. So it's not a privilege for the South-African people that we came here, but it is a privilege for us to be here and see how your country looks like.
And I can tell you: we are amazed by your kindness. Everywhere we come, doors are going widely open for us and we can have supper wherever we are. So you can understand that it's really great to be here at this moment. There is only one thing we don't understand: during the day we have the feeling that it's summertime, but you South-Africans still wear a lot of clothes and have blankets all around you! It's so strange to see and experience that difference.
Till this moment we've met a lot of interesting people from different backgrounds. Last week we were in Eersterust, Pretoria where we were connected to a local church. During the week we did a sportsprogram for al the children and youngsters in and around Eersterust. At the end of the week we've showed them 'the Jesus movie' and gave them the opportunity to choose for a life with Christ. It was so great to see that many of the children accepted Jesus that night!
As I already mentioned, we've met a lot of interesting people with totally different backgrounds. For us as 'Dutchies', it's difficult to see the differences between rich and poor people. It is also hard to see that there are areas with a lot of HIV-infected children. But on the other hand we've met children and youngsters at Grey College for example and spent a lot of time with them, telling them about Jesus.
To come to a conclusion: it`s our privilege to be here and serve the country of South-Africa. It's great to see that a lot of you already know the Lord. But there is stil so much work to do in South-Africa for God's Kingdom. And that's why I want to encourage you to join Athletes in Action or any other kind of missions organization to share and spread the Gospel through your country!
And I can tell you: we are amazed by your kindness. Everywhere we come, doors are going widely open for us and we can have supper wherever we are. So you can understand that it's really great to be here at this moment. There is only one thing we don't understand: during the day we have the feeling that it's summertime, but you South-Africans still wear a lot of clothes and have blankets all around you! It's so strange to see and experience that difference.
Till this moment we've met a lot of interesting people from different backgrounds. Last week we were in Eersterust, Pretoria where we were connected to a local church. During the week we did a sportsprogram for al the children and youngsters in and around Eersterust. At the end of the week we've showed them 'the Jesus movie' and gave them the opportunity to choose for a life with Christ. It was so great to see that many of the children accepted Jesus that night!
As I already mentioned, we've met a lot of interesting people with totally different backgrounds. For us as 'Dutchies', it's difficult to see the differences between rich and poor people. It is also hard to see that there are areas with a lot of HIV-infected children. But on the other hand we've met children and youngsters at Grey College for example and spent a lot of time with them, telling them about Jesus.
To come to a conclusion: it`s our privilege to be here and serve the country of South-Africa. It's great to see that a lot of you already know the Lord. But there is stil so much work to do in South-Africa for God's Kingdom. And that's why I want to encourage you to join Athletes in Action or any other kind of missions organization to share and spread the Gospel through your country!
Niels Norg, teamleader of the Dutch team.
Picture: "The Dutchies in Bloem!"
Dutch outreach in Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein is freezing cold, especially today!! But I trust that many children’s hearts are being made warm by the love and joy of Jesus Christ.
A team of 9 from Holland arrived 10 July in Johannesburg. The first week they worked in Eersterust, Pretoria. I had the privilege of joining them on Saturday, 18 July to have an outreach in Bloemfontein. Mainly we are visiting schools where the Dutch play various sport with the children, perform some dramas and also share their testimonies and the Gospel. The schools that we visit are extremely diverse, from Grey College on Monday to several schools in townships where there are many broken windows and nothing but a black board on the walls.
I feel very blessed that I could also do my little part in sharing the Gospel three times so far at different schools. Normally I share the Gospel more on an one-on-one level and this has actually been a new experience for me to share with so many people at once. But I thoroughly enjoy it!
Tomorrow we will spend most of the day at the prison just outside Bloemfontein.
LOUISA KRUGER
A team of 9 from Holland arrived 10 July in Johannesburg. The first week they worked in Eersterust, Pretoria. I had the privilege of joining them on Saturday, 18 July to have an outreach in Bloemfontein. Mainly we are visiting schools where the Dutch play various sport with the children, perform some dramas and also share their testimonies and the Gospel. The schools that we visit are extremely diverse, from Grey College on Monday to several schools in townships where there are many broken windows and nothing but a black board on the walls.
I feel very blessed that I could also do my little part in sharing the Gospel three times so far at different schools. Normally I share the Gospel more on an one-on-one level and this has actually been a new experience for me to share with so many people at once. But I thoroughly enjoy it!
Tomorrow we will spend most of the day at the prison just outside Bloemfontein.
LOUISA KRUGER
Monday, July 13, 2009
India Tour
Well, well what can I say? It was an amazing feeling, one of personal fulfillment and realizing that as you accept to be used by God you are actually fulfilling His purpose for your life which in turn brings a satisfaction within self that no amount of money can buy.
IN INDIA
Once we got engaged with our work in India, the three of us started to realize something happening inside of us. A joy that can not be explainable, a fulfillment and an understanding of what God was showing us. In India we were involved in coaching soccer to a group of young, enthusiastic soccer players and at the same time sharing our testimonies to this part of the world where Hinduism has a stronghold on these young men and women. For me personally I began to realize why in the first place Satan wanted us to lose focus on this great mission that God had planned for us. The bible says the harvest is plenty but the laborers are few. India is an huge harvest for the lost souls and to do it (winning souls for Jesus) using the gift of soccer that God gave me made it a whole lot easier. Day after day these kids would always look forward to the following training sessions. During training sessions we would show love to these campers thereby preparing them for the Gospel presentation that usually happend in the evening presented by Benjamin Thomas. I began to see things differently as we were encouraged to always show love to the campers whether they made a mistake or not. We were not supposed to shout at any kids but to put our hands over their shoulders and correct them with the love of Jesus. This made a huge impact on these kids and made them draw closer to us and for them to notice that there was something different in us. Even myself I began to also understand more about how God loves me unconditionally and if I happen to coach one day that is exactly how I would treat my players. We would also give testimonies and this became an opportunity to know how to share your testimony in those kinds of setups.
In the midst of all this, I began to thank God for giving me this opportunity to tell people about Jesus. I knew money I did not have, but I had my knowledge of soccer which I could give and ultimately lead people to salvation. This also gave me a perfect opportunity to learn how to conduct such kind of a camp and I wouldn’t have learnt it from anyone other than Benjamin Thomas who was organizing all the proceedings. A great man of God who is passionate about the work he does. Each evening he made a Gospel presentation, more than 90% of the campers would always receive Jesus for the first time. The way he presents the Gospel is irresistible to any sinner or any stubborn demons, as I listened to Ben call people to Jesus I also wanted to raise my hand and receive Jesus for the second time. He really makes the Gospel to be ‘Good News’. I also made it a priority to sit down with Ben and ask him some questions about his ministry and how he manages to set up a camp in India. We are planning to do similar sports camps in South Africa.
Then there was discipleship time for our team of coaches. During this time we would spent time together studying various aspects of the Bible and getting to know each other more personal. This was another precious time I so much valued that happened in India. You will never come to a stage where you feel I know it all especially if you are the one always teaching others. There is an element of complacentcy that creeps in to those who normally lead bible studies. I normally lead bible studies in our teams so it was exciting this time to be led or taught by someone especially from a total different background from mine. Again Luke and his wife Alicia did a fantastic job teaching us the word of God. The contribution of everyone as well just broadened my understanding of certain aspects of our personal relationship with Christ. I know that a bigger impact was with my two friends Charles and Kujo whom I have discipled for quite some time. Coming on this trip I knew pretty well where they were at in their spiritual life. I immediately began to see a change in these guys. Charles started asking me a lot of questions about spiritual matters and this was something that normally never happened before. He even started sending scripture verses to his girlfriend much to her surprise of course. At this stage in India we totally forgot about the hardships at home, actually the three of us realized that it was God’s plan to take us away from that environment to refreshen us through something very fulfilling than any worldly success.Another humbling experience was to see how Campers Crusade for Christ India does their ministry. I mean these guys are really champions for Jesus. They work under very difficulty conditions just to reach out to the lost. Sometimes they have to walk long distances in order to put the message across. They are limited in terms of resources but they depend on the greatest resource they have that is Jesus. This made me look at myself and I wondered if I would be willing to sacrifice for Jesus as these true disciples are doing? Support raising is a big challenge to these brothers and sisters, some do not even get 50% of their budgets met but everyday you see on their face a great determination to spread the Gospel. May God bless these servants of Christ; this is my every day prayer.
When I left India coming back home I felt joy in my spirit that I had mad an impact in someone’s life, I felt I had made a good decision to go on this trip despite my predicament, this was faith in action. I now trust God more than before especially when I am called for duty; I am always ready to serve in His Kingdom. And to see my friend Charles growing spiritually like he did on this tour was even more a blessing to me. So all my thanks to the people who contributed to this trip whether financially, through prayer or otherwise. I am very grateful and may God continue to multiply in any areas of your need. God put me on another level in my desire to see many pro-soccer players know Jesus.
Elasto
IN INDIA
Once we got engaged with our work in India, the three of us started to realize something happening inside of us. A joy that can not be explainable, a fulfillment and an understanding of what God was showing us. In India we were involved in coaching soccer to a group of young, enthusiastic soccer players and at the same time sharing our testimonies to this part of the world where Hinduism has a stronghold on these young men and women. For me personally I began to realize why in the first place Satan wanted us to lose focus on this great mission that God had planned for us. The bible says the harvest is plenty but the laborers are few. India is an huge harvest for the lost souls and to do it (winning souls for Jesus) using the gift of soccer that God gave me made it a whole lot easier. Day after day these kids would always look forward to the following training sessions. During training sessions we would show love to these campers thereby preparing them for the Gospel presentation that usually happend in the evening presented by Benjamin Thomas. I began to see things differently as we were encouraged to always show love to the campers whether they made a mistake or not. We were not supposed to shout at any kids but to put our hands over their shoulders and correct them with the love of Jesus. This made a huge impact on these kids and made them draw closer to us and for them to notice that there was something different in us. Even myself I began to also understand more about how God loves me unconditionally and if I happen to coach one day that is exactly how I would treat my players. We would also give testimonies and this became an opportunity to know how to share your testimony in those kinds of setups.
In the midst of all this, I began to thank God for giving me this opportunity to tell people about Jesus. I knew money I did not have, but I had my knowledge of soccer which I could give and ultimately lead people to salvation. This also gave me a perfect opportunity to learn how to conduct such kind of a camp and I wouldn’t have learnt it from anyone other than Benjamin Thomas who was organizing all the proceedings. A great man of God who is passionate about the work he does. Each evening he made a Gospel presentation, more than 90% of the campers would always receive Jesus for the first time. The way he presents the Gospel is irresistible to any sinner or any stubborn demons, as I listened to Ben call people to Jesus I also wanted to raise my hand and receive Jesus for the second time. He really makes the Gospel to be ‘Good News’. I also made it a priority to sit down with Ben and ask him some questions about his ministry and how he manages to set up a camp in India. We are planning to do similar sports camps in South Africa.
Then there was discipleship time for our team of coaches. During this time we would spent time together studying various aspects of the Bible and getting to know each other more personal. This was another precious time I so much valued that happened in India. You will never come to a stage where you feel I know it all especially if you are the one always teaching others. There is an element of complacentcy that creeps in to those who normally lead bible studies. I normally lead bible studies in our teams so it was exciting this time to be led or taught by someone especially from a total different background from mine. Again Luke and his wife Alicia did a fantastic job teaching us the word of God. The contribution of everyone as well just broadened my understanding of certain aspects of our personal relationship with Christ. I know that a bigger impact was with my two friends Charles and Kujo whom I have discipled for quite some time. Coming on this trip I knew pretty well where they were at in their spiritual life. I immediately began to see a change in these guys. Charles started asking me a lot of questions about spiritual matters and this was something that normally never happened before. He even started sending scripture verses to his girlfriend much to her surprise of course. At this stage in India we totally forgot about the hardships at home, actually the three of us realized that it was God’s plan to take us away from that environment to refreshen us through something very fulfilling than any worldly success.Another humbling experience was to see how Campers Crusade for Christ India does their ministry. I mean these guys are really champions for Jesus. They work under very difficulty conditions just to reach out to the lost. Sometimes they have to walk long distances in order to put the message across. They are limited in terms of resources but they depend on the greatest resource they have that is Jesus. This made me look at myself and I wondered if I would be willing to sacrifice for Jesus as these true disciples are doing? Support raising is a big challenge to these brothers and sisters, some do not even get 50% of their budgets met but everyday you see on their face a great determination to spread the Gospel. May God bless these servants of Christ; this is my every day prayer.
When I left India coming back home I felt joy in my spirit that I had mad an impact in someone’s life, I felt I had made a good decision to go on this trip despite my predicament, this was faith in action. I now trust God more than before especially when I am called for duty; I am always ready to serve in His Kingdom. And to see my friend Charles growing spiritually like he did on this tour was even more a blessing to me. So all my thanks to the people who contributed to this trip whether financially, through prayer or otherwise. I am very grateful and may God continue to multiply in any areas of your need. God put me on another level in my desire to see many pro-soccer players know Jesus.
Elasto
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