Play For Hope

Three hours later, the Play For Hope American team was concluding our first day of hosting the tournament.  Next thing I know, the same kid we had fed earlier was standing right beside of Brian and me.  We kicked a soccer ball with him for a few minutes then gave him a high five and thumbs up.  He gave us a huge smile in return. 

This moment didn’t really hit me until a few days later (today).  I almost came to tears just thinking about how we were able to bless a child with joy simply by showing compassion.  Based on the kid’s appearance, it would be safe to say that he might not have had anything else worth smiling about all day.  These opportunities are always available.  We are often in places where we can give a kid joy in the midst of a life of no hope.  May we all continue to place ourselves around the least of these and watch God give us opportunities to be a source of joy.

On Wednesday and Thursday, we held a soccer tournament for two male divisions and one female division.  Fans were able to see Play For Hope children showcase their skills in healthy competition.  Winners of each division were given equipment for their teams.  God was glorified in the tournament as the gospel was presented to each team after the matches.  American teammates Seth Taylor, Cory Hand, and Dan Redwine refereed the matches.  After serving as a referee, each shared their testimonies to the kids and presented an opportunity for the kids to enter an everlasting relationship with Christ. Many showed a desire to accept the gospel message and our prayers moving forward is that the coaches we’ve trained can continue to teach them the ways of Christ in our absence.  Photo and video coverage of the tournament will be made available upon my return to America.  

On Monday, we ended our coaching training.  We spent Wednesday through Monday developing 11 Play For Hope coaches in sports ministry.  It is an amazing thing to see people catching the vision of using sports as a vehicle to minister the love and hope of Jesus Christ to children.

The Play For Hope team has spent the first couple days gaining a grasp of where we are as a ministry. I am so pleased at the progress of the ministry since my first trip here. We now have 11 Play For Hope teams, 8 soccer teams and 3 basketball teams. Each team has equipment and scheduled practices every week. The large majority of the children on these teams are former or current street kids. Many coaches have given testimonies of the change they have seen in their children as they have truly used sports as a way to teach the love and hope found in Christ. I observed one of our teams practice and it did my heart so good to see God’s work. We have our own office in town where we can have coaches meetings twice a month along with storage space for our equipment. Also, we have more experienced Americans coming to Rwanda as our December team includes three professional soccer coaches.

But what most excites me about the growth of Play For Hope is that we are still very much dreaming and praying for God to do some amazing things in the future. Team members have various aspirations such as a discipleship retreat for the coaches to connect with God on a new level, adding more teams to our organization as the Lord provides resources, and how to meet the material needs of the children we work with. As the Lord provides, we will build.