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Stories, news, and events from Soccer Chaplains United’s grant program to help distribute new and used soccer gear for use in local and global projects.

Cancha in Costa Rica

Driving through some of the towns and villages in Costa Rica, it was amazing to see some things which stood out. Namely, the cancha fields. Here in the midst of tin roof buildings on the side of a road would be a beautiful turf field with lights and netting. “Cancha” in Spanish means court. The small-sided field would host a 5 v. 5 match. Games were fast-paced. The ball, more like a futsal ball, had less bounce and a softer feel. (I know because one hit my face!)

After several hours at the work site, our Valor Discovery Team made up of members of the boys and girls soccer team at Valor Christian High School would play small-sided games against local teams from the surrounding towns. After the games, which would sometimes feature a mixing of the players in order to build relationships, the Valor team would hand out soccer cleats. Several of the Ticos only had tennis shoes to play in and no studs. They would gather around the bags and say which number or size they would like to try on.

With a beautiful Costa Rican sunset in the background, the team poses before starting to play a small-sided game in “La Cancha.”

On one night, the team leaders were invited to mix-in and play with the students before the local teams showed up. Reluctantly, I got situated in goal. Goalkeeper. Great. There was a slight fear and trepidation in me as I had seen how hard some of the student athletes had fired the ball on their local opponents. To be honest, I did better than I thought I would and it was fun to engage with the students in this way.

I did make a “Scott Sterling” type of save with my face and took some studs in the thigh, but tried to hold my own.

The redemptive nature to our time in the evenings was in the relationship building and the provision of soccer gear to those who had so very little. A goalkeeper with duct tape to hold his gloves together. A player with holes in his cleats. Another wearing shoes too small. Another with shoes too big for him.

We are not possessors. We are not consumers. We are stewards.

As Christian people, when we realize that everything we have has been given to us by God, we realize that we are called to steward what we have. We are not possessors. We are not consumers. We are stewards. The new and slightly used boots (cleats) that we would give away at the end of the night might be regarded as garbage or unusable in American culture, but here, they became prized possessions.

I met Josef the first night — a spry, goalkeeper he found a pair of boots (cleats) that fit him just right.

But more important than a new pair of boots or gloves, is showing the love of Jesus. Many of these young people come from homes broken. Many have little in this world to call their own. I heard one story of a flood last year. As the waters rose, a young man we were playing with put all of this prized possessions into his hammock some 5 feet off the ground — a pair of cleats, a ball, and a jersey out of the floodwaters. Everything else was ruined or washed away.

The Bible says,

Better is one day in your courts
    than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

The cancha fields of Costa Rica are not the reason why Valor went down to Costa Rica. Rather, it was to introduce those that we played with and against to a heavenly court, God’s court. And while many might appreciate the beauty of a nicely laid out, turf field there is a better place where we can run, and live, and breathe. An eternal place.

Casas in Costa Rica

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The third stop over on my recent 10-day business trip was in Costa Rica. The Valor Boys and Girls Soccer Teams had a Discovery Trip. Discovery is a program through Valor Christian High School that gives students experiences serving others around the world. This particular trip combined members from the boys and girl’s teams. The students and leaders worked during the day to build two homes. After a short break in the afternoon, the students would then dress and get ready to play small-sided soccer games against local Ticos (Costa Ricans) or to host soccer camps and clinics for children in the different towns and villages.

As the chaplain for the boys soccer team, one of my roles on the trip (besides a lot of lifting and painting) was to help add spiritual insight and guidance to the team. As team members were confronted with issues of poverty, language and cultural barriers, and spiritual issues I was there to help guide conversation and encourage students to see the greater spiritual realities beyond what was plainly visible.

Below is an excerpt of something I shared with team members, one particular evening after a tough couple days of work on the casas (houses),

Today I observed a lot of frustration — yesterday, both teams hadn’t been able to complete enough work at their sites and for one team, our machine broke leaving us stranded in finishing the concrete work.

The truck in the background hauls off our broken concrete mixing machine and Team Fuego smiles and soldiers on!

With memories still fresh, the foreman (Manuel) came and began to direct both combined work teams. I could see and feel many of the team members (including myself) as we frustratingly put materials into piles. Manuel seemed stubborn. “No, here.” He would point. It didn’t make sense to us. Many of us felt that there might be more efficient ways of doing the work or sorting the materials, or something! We didn’t want a day like we had the day before.
Manuel then gathered the whole work crew. He was going to show us how to frame and drywall a panel. The teaching went painstakingly slow. We messed up. Screws not entirely screwed in. Wood that didn’t seem to be able to fit. Manuel patiently guided us. He would show us, sometimes, doing the very work himself. Once he had demonstrated and got us through the first panel, it was on to making other work stations and other teams to do the same work. There was a look in his eye — but we weren’t sure if it was frustration at the gringos trying to complete this work that he could do so easily himself or if there was just a little gleam in his eye. The kind of gleam that a grandpa gets when he is taking time to teach his craft to his grandchildren. Some mix between love and firmness.

Our wall building team took some time, but soon learned how to work well together.

Then it started to happen, team members started to learn their roles. We grew in confidence. We leaned on each other. We encouraged each other in the work. Our speed and efficiency improved as we began to work together. As Nicole later declared, our team had achieved “peak efficiency” (or some other economics term, I can’t remember). In a few short hours, our team had completed 5 panels, nearly 1/4th of a house.
It was interesting, too, to watch Manuel. He was there if we had a question. He would show us things we had done wrong and he would help us make corrections to our mistakes. He would “hover” over teams and inspect each team’s work. Pointing out errors. Occasionally, a smile would creep across his face if we got something right.

Manuel (background with red shirt) was overlooking each team and making sure we got it right.

Where I am going with all of this comes to this — there is a metaphorical parallel to our walk in following Jesus!
We find ourself in the midst of calamity when we first arrive on the scene. Our lives are a mess with sin and shame and the past ways in which we have failed so many times. We are broken down frustrated, incomplete creatures who have a sense that something just isn’t right. That we aren’t really complete and that something is missing. There are piles of stuff, but it seems out of order, random and unmade.
Even when Jesus does come into our lives and begin to “order” things more rightly we still have our own feelings an opinions about where things ought to go or how things ought to be. We have a hard time letting go. We have a hard time receiving instruction from the “Master.”
But as we sit at the feet of the Master — Jesus, in the case of spiritual things; Manuel, in the case of building houses in Costa Rica. We begin to learn. We learn about our role and calling, our place in God’s kingdom. We learn what are gifting are and as we enter into the communal space of the church, the body, the bride of Christ, we learn what it is to come alongside and work together. And Jesus doesn’t abandon us to this work, alone. He is there. His Spirit with us to help us when we stray, when we have questions and doubt, when we need rest. But we become the hands and feet. We become the vessels through which Jesus works change in the world.
At the end of that second day, everyone (tired as we were) had a much better sense of accomplishment. We felt a sense of purpose and achievement. We had grown in our understanding and our skill. We had become transformed and it was because we sat at the feet of Manuel’s mastery of putting a house together.
We went on in subsequent days to paint the prefabbed frames of the houses. I had the privilege of teaching the students what little I knew of painting. We had a great time as some of the pictures below show.

The Valor Girls rocked the paint crew. They even made up a little song about me! Link to come…:)

But our time in Costa Rica wasn’t about building earthly casas, it was about demonstrating the love of God. Our hope is that our time spent will add more numbers to the heavenly casa.

Team Fuego pauses for a picture before putting up that last exterior walls of the house.

Timothy Project: One Child Matters Visits Honduras

Timothy Project: One Child Matters will travel to Honduras in April to visit four of their Centers in Choluteca and other locations.  The partnership between Soccer Chaplains United and One Child Matters (OCM) is just beginning thanks to Soccer Chaplains United’s Kurt Trempert.

Chaplain Kurt Trempert of the Colorado Springs Switchbacks suggested to One Child Matters, also based in Colorado Springs, representatives to request soccer gear from Soccer Chaplains United for their upcoming trip to Honduras.  One Child Matters staff will travel to four Centers run by the organization. In each Center, there are over 200 children served.  The Choluteca Center serves children primarily under 10 years of age.

One Child Matters serves children in extreme poverty.  The organization does this in two ways, Hope Centers or Partner-Based Schools.  Hope Centers work with local evangelical churches within the community to provide holistic services and activities.  OCM works with the local church community so that the children will grow within their own cultural context. Partner-Based Schools provide a formal education recognized by the local governments.  OCM is not seeking to westernize the children, nor does it promote a particular cultural mindset or create a state of dependence.

Soccer Chaplains United is pleased to come alongside this organization.  One Child Matters has requested soccer gear that would impact around 800 children.  For each Center, OCM would like to be able to outfit players with jerseys, shorts, cleats, shin guards, balls, cones and some goalkeeper gloves.  While Soccer Chaplains United cannot supply all 800 children with gear, we will make sure each location has some to share.

To support Timothy Project: One Child Matters Honduras, 2018 or future Timothy Project ventures please donate through PushPay — simply select Timothy Project from the selectable funds to contribute to. Your financial gift helps us purchase new soccer equipment, sponsor an individual or organization in an outreach effort, and to cover associated costs of providing Bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!

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Timothy Project 2018: Full Bags for Costa Rica

This past Sunday, the Valor Costa Rica Discovery Team gathered to pack for the trip. All of the collected soccer gear had to be crammed into bags and distributed as the team prepares to head down to Costa Rica. While there, the team will build a couple of homes and host a number of soccer camps and clinics.

Parents and families of the team members came later to pray over and commission the team before leaving. After listening to many of the leaders share about the trip, I offered a brief reflection from Isaiah 58, and specifically verses 11 & 12 as an encouragement:

The Lord will guide you continually,
    giving you water when you are dry
    and restoring your strength.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
    like an ever-flowing spring.
Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities.
    Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls
    and a restorer of homes.

With the poverty that exists in Costa Rica, students and team leaders will have a great opportunity to repair and rebuild — more than brick and mortar, but relationships with God.

The Valor team made a request to us for gear and through Soccer Chaplains United’s Timothy Project, we were able to provide the following:

  • 40 soccer balls

    Costa Rica items packed and ready to be delivered!

  • 90 jerseys
  • 100 pairs of socks
  • 14 pairs of cleats
  • 144 cones
  • 100 sliders
  • 10 whistles

If you want to follow the team’s progress visit the team’s travel blog.

Below are some photos from the packing day.

Over 30 bags of soccer gear!

It took nearly 3 hours to sort, clean, and pack.

Boots had to be sorted, cleaned and banded together.

There were a lot of soccer balls to deflate.

 

Timothy Project: Valor Christian High School – Kolkata, India 2018

Timothy Project: Valor Christian High School, Kolkata, India 2018.  A vision was cast years ago by a Valor Christian High School Discovery team that has taken root and is beginning to become a reality.  The next team of students and teachers to travel to the slums of Kolkata will continue to grow the boy’s soccer program with the dream of establishing a fully sustainable soccer club.

Valor alumni, teachers and students desire to reach the boys of the slum with the gospel message.  This is challenging, and retaining them is even more challenging.  John DeYoung, a Valor teacher, came up with an idea that could help solve the dilemma, a soccer program.

About three years ago, one Valor Christian Alumni asked how he could help the boys in the slums. I had mentioned a soccer program would be huge for the boys, since it is a little more difficult to get the boys involved with Christ in the slums.

Momentum Global has been working in the area for many years, it has established schools and churches.  Valor partnered with Momentum Global and the soccer program is becoming a reality.  The first Soccer Training Team program is up and running, a collective effort between Valor and Momentum Global. DeYoung shared,

The adult soccer program has been going on now for about seven months, and we have 20 young men involved, and we have seen such growth mentally, physically and spiritually.

9640183357_aed55abc35_zThe Discovery Trip team that will travel to Kolkata will join with a Valor alumnus who is living in the area and working to establish the program.  He is partnered with three professional Indian soccer coaches.

Our goal is to develop young men of faith through soccer in the slums. We believe that strong men of faith can change a culture and community. We eventually would like to create a fully sustainable soccer program where the children enter our program to hear the gospel and train hard.

To support Timothy Project: Valor Kolkata, India 2018 or future Timothy Project ventures please donate through PushPay — simply select Timothy Project from the selectable funds to contribute to. Your financial gift helps us purchase new soccer equipment, sponsor an individual or organization in an outreach effort, and to cover associated costs of providing Bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!

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Timothy Project: Valor Costa Rica 2018 – Return to Tamarindo

Timothy Project: Valor Costa Rica 2018 will see Coach Brian Shultz return to Tamarindo, Costa Rica with his Valor Christian High School soccer players for a second time this March.  Soccer Chaplains United Executive Director, Brad Kenney, will join the team which consists of 20 players and eight leaders from the school’s soccer programs.  Kenney serves as the Valor Boys Soccer Chaplain.

During their time in Tamarindo, Kenney and the team will build two houses for selected needy families and reach out to the local community through soccer camps and clinics.

Coach Shultz shares why the return trip,

This is our second trip, and we intend to repeat this trip annually or bi-annually. Last year’s trip was an amazing experience, and we hope and pray God will work again in our lives and the lives of those we serve. Tamarindo has gone from being a small fishing village 20+ years ago, to now, it is more of a small, sleepy surfing and tourist town. Behind the tourism, a lot of poverty exists among the locals. Valor Soccer is partnering with Casa Vida Church and Pastor Alex Bejarano to build “Mercy” homes for needy families that the church has identified.

The Valor soccer players will be able to share their love of soccer with the local children.  The poverty is great so adequate soccer gear is not a reality for the people of Tamarindo.  Shultz explains how the Timothy Project donations will be used,

We will be reaching out through soccer camps and clinics where we hope to distribute soccer gear to the many children who do not have shoes, cleats, shin guards, or even soccer balls. We also hope to support the local coaches with gear. In the evenings we will do soccer clinics and play FUTCINCO where we will also distribute gear to our opponents and pray with them after the games.

Coach Shultz (far) previews the collected soccer equipment during the team’s pack day in 2017.

To partner again with the Valor Christian High School soccer teams on their spring Discovery Trip is a priviledge for Soccer Chaplains United.  Timothy Project was able partner with the team last year by giving them socks and jerseys and coaches gear.

To support Timothy Project: Valor Costa Rica 2018 or future Timothy Project ventures please donate through PushPay — simply select Timothy Project from the selectable funds to contribute to. Your financial gift helps us purchase new soccer equipment, sponsor an individual or organization in an outreach effort, and to cover associated costs of providing Bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!

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Timothy Project: Liberia 2018 – LIFE Relocates

The most recent Timothy Project request, Timothy Project: Liberia 2018, will feature a massive change for the Liberian Institute for Empowerment (LIFE). LIFE is preparing to relocate to the heart and purpose of their organization, Liberia. Soccer Chaplains United has had the privilege of partnering with LIFE a number of times in the past few years (read previous stories here).  The work LIFE is doing in Liberia is changing the landscape of life and providing opportunities never before offered.

Thomas Fahn is the founder and executive director of LIFE.  He recently returned from Liberia and shares his plans as his family prepares to relocate from the US to the area.

L.I.F.E.’s goals is holistic community development in rural Liberia. We are specifically targeting youth sports a key component to our community development goals.

L.I.F.E. began as a result of a vision I had when I first moved to the USA for my college education. Born and raised in a village in rural Liberia, I intimately know the desperate conditions that the children and youth of rural Liberia are currently faced with. I faced those same obstacles and challenges and it’s my heart desire to be a blessing to them by giving them hope and the promise of a better future.

One of the areas we are currently focused on is youth sports, mainly soccer. I was in Liberia for the five months and recently returned to Colorado. I was amazed with the number of youth players we currently have in our soccer program in Liberia. Evidently, football is absolutely an integral part of the Liberian society. It is such an empowering and motivating tool that brings joy and happiness to most Liberian youth. In most villages in Liberia, simply showing up on a field with a soccer ball will win you instant access to many things. Most kids will go to school just for football.

While I was in Liberia, I ran a lot of soccer clinics with some of our youth teams, and I saw that most of them were in desperate need of training equipment such as boots, socks, balls. We also saw the deplorable conditions of the fields they play on. Our goal is to help them with equipment and build three soccer fields in the region. We will be using two for training purposes and one will be reserved for games. The cost of building these fields is $1500.00. Any assistance will be highly appreciated. And please feel free to contact me at any time for more details about our soccer program.

To support Timothy Project: Liberia 2018 or future Timothy Project ventures please donate through PushPay — simply select Timothy Project from the selectable funds to contribute to. Your financial gift helps us purchase new soccer equipment, sponsor an individual or organization in an outreach effort, and to cover associated costs of providing Bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!

#TPT

 

Timothy Project: Nuevo Tantoan, MX – Final Update on Los Burritos

Chaplain Cesar Duran and his wife Andrea relocated from Denver to Laredo, Texas in the summer of 2017.  This meant Soccer Chaplains United and the Colorado Rapids had to say goodbye to their Spanish-speaking chaplain and translator, Cesar.  But this move brought the Durans closer to their home and opened new opportunities to explore.

Andrea Duran recently shared an update on the Timothy Project request they made last year before leaving Denver.

August 2, 2017, I had the opportunity to visit the “Burritos” soccer team of Nuevo Tantoan, Mante Mexico. That afternoon they were training on the field, and I gave them the donation from Soccer Chaplains United’s Timothy Project. This donation included a cooler, soccer balls, water bottles, and jerseys of the Colorado Rapids.

I shared with them the responsibilities of a chaplain. Some of the soccer players met my husband, former bilingual chaplain of Colorado Rapids, Cesar. They were talking about the Rapids and asked about Tim Howard and other players. I also shared with them the gospel of Jesus Christ and the importance of the spiritual life. I explained to them how the Bible compares the care of the spiritual life with the effort of an athlete. For an athlete, it is most important to get the trophy and be the winner. This goal helps them to have discipline, train and spend a lot of time working with that in mind: be a champion! Many athletes sacrifice their families and many things, but to get the goal is the most important for them.

I shared with them about the love of God and all that God is offering to them. I also had the opportunity to listen to their dreams, victories, families, and goals. They also shared about the bad times on the field and their frustration as a soccer team. I prayed for them and motivated them to give the best from themselves in the next match.

After our time of visiting and encouraging one another, they opened the cooler and found the jerseys.  They were happy wearing their new jerseys.  All of them also were thankful and invited me to attend their next match. They also share words of thanksgiving for the Timothy Project donation. Thank you, Soccer Chaplains United, through the Timothy Project, for bringing happiness to my people in Mexico.

To support future Timothy Project ventures such as including Nuevo Tantoan, Mexico with our donations please donate through PushPay — simply select Timothy Project from the selectable funds to contribute to. Your financial gift helps us purchase new equipment, sponsor a missionary or organization in an outreach effort, and to cover associated costs of providing Bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!

#TPT

Timothy Project: One World Futbol, Play On….And On…

Timothy Project: Soccer Chaplains United has packaged and delivered soccer gear around the world, again and again.  Sometimes the gear goes to small, remote villages that are not represented on a map, other times the gear is distributed in cities with too many people to count.  Regardless of what we send, with whom we send it or to where it is going, we try to include at least a few One World Futbols.

One World Play Project is a B Corporation founded in 2010 by a man passionate to provide disadvantaged people around the world with the gift of play, more specifically play that does not deflate in the harsh environments of refugee camps, thorny vegetation, and glass-ridden playing fields.

One World Play Project has developed an indestructible futbol (soccer ball) that is capable of withstanding the harshest environments.  The ball can be punctured, driven over by a vehicle or weather any storm and still reinflate for play.

“The One World Futbol was just the beginning. The impact of our efforts showed us that the need for play was something much greater. We discovered play’s critical role in the lives of people all over the world—and where play can take us all tomorrow.”

Play is in our DNA—a need as important as food, medicine, and shelter. It’s an intrinsic part of our lives, regardless of geography or culture, and through play, we become stronger individuals, build better communities and create a more positive future,” One World Play Project website.

Soccer Chaplains United is honored to be able to include One World Futbols with our soccer gear donations.  To date more than 1.8 million balls have been donated/distributed to over 175 countries which has impacted an estimated 54 million youth.  (https://twitter.com/oneworldplayprj/status/921438327814815744)

To support future Timothy Project ventures such as including One World Futbols with our donations please donate through PushPay — simply select Timothy Project from the selectable funds to contribute to. Your financial gift helps us purchase new equipment, sponsor a missionary or organization in an outreach effort, and to cover associated costs of providing Bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!

#TPT

 

Timothy Project: CCPC Juarez 2017 Final Update

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Timothy Project: Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church, Juarez 2017.  Soccer Chaplains United has a strong commitment to support ministry partners.  Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church of  Englewood, Colorado is a ministry partner so great efforts went into providing a robust Timothy Project donation when they requested it for their recent trip to Juarez, Mexico.

These reflections capture Emily Smith’s experience of her time on the trip:  Timothy Project generously donated many soccer-related items for our team of 35 from Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church to take with us on our recent mission trip to Juarez, Mexico.  Our church has been taking teams down to Juarez for nearly thirty years and it was a blessing to be a part of this year’s team.  So much of what we are doing while there is to support and encourage the local church with which we partner.

We strive to draw in as many people from the community as possible.  Soccer and games are instrumental in that effort.  Sharing the Timothy Project donations with the local church and community during a long and lively game of soccer at the city park one of the days we were there was such a delight.  We divided the shirts and jerseys between the two teams of players and continued on with our game, enjoying it all the more because of the gifts. Chaplain Brad Kenney, director of Soccer Chaplains United and a team member for Juarez shared,

 

It’s always amazing to me how a round ball can break down so many barriers – age, gender, culture, language – we were all able to play and share in a fun game of soccer with people from the church.  Shouts of ‘aqui’ or ‘tranquilo’ throughout the game made our time memorable.

Later in the week, a particularly special blessing for us was getting to hear the church leaders tell us about the first mission trip they took as a church last year into Mexico City and surrounding impoverished areas.  After many years of receiving the love and encouragement of our church’s mission to them, they were inspired to do the same and go out and support a church in their own country on a mission trip.  We gathered together one night for them to show us a slideshow of pictures from their trip and to hear more about how they were impacted by it.  We surprised them at the end of that evening with more Timothy Project gifts, but these were for them to give on their next mission trip. Parker Dragovich, team lead for this year’s trip, shared about the church,

We have been in partnership with La Iglesia Maranatha for almost 30 years, and the Timothy Project has been a wonderful addition the past several years.  What made this particularly special is that the Timothy Project not only provided us with supplies for our trip but also supplies for the Juarez church to take on their own mission trip to southern Mexico next summer.

 

Sharing soccer jerseys and gear with them during our fun day at the park was sweet but how much sweeter it was to give them a gift that they could pass along.  The truth that it is better to give than to receive was written all over their faces as they teared up with joy from the blessing they would be able to pass on to others.  Thank you, Timothy Project, for your generosity and work in stewarding gifts and allowing us to use those gifts to bless others.

To support future Timothy Project ventures such as this one to Juarez, Mexico please donate through PushPay — simply select Timothy Project from the selectable funds to contribute to. Your financial gift helps us purchase new equipment, sponsor a missionary or organization in an outreach effort, and to cover associated costs of providing Bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!

#TPT

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