Brazil, 2010

It was a fantastic trip to Brazil this year. Just like my trip last year, I was poured into more than I ever expected. God works that way most times. You expect to be sent to help and show others how it’s done and you end up with your foot in your mouth and an unbelievable ministry being given to you.

We had a bigger team this year, which helped in many ways, the least of which was having more people on the soccer pitch to play with Brazilians. Even though the team had doubled in size from last year, there was still a great family atmosphere, full of connection. We were blessed enough to not have any clicks or small groups form that kept themselves separated from the rest.

The soccer itself was great. We were able to field a full team each day and connect with hundred of children while in the city of Manaus and hundreds children and adults while playing along the villages of the Reo Negro.

The city soccer was focused around the ministry of Athletes of Christ, a soccer ministry focusing solely on the youth of several poor and impoverished projects in Manaus. Run by two amazing gentlemen Lucio and Claudio (both ex-professional soccer players in Brazil), we came into several practices each day to play and practice alongside kids from 9 all the way up to 16 and 17 year olds. Our presence helped bring some focus and attention to AoC from several local TV stations, with our/their story being broadcasted on about 4 news stations. We are prayerful and hopeful that the city-wide attention will get them more support and allow them to reach even more youth. They have a great plan for the future, which includes the build of their own facility and structures to be used solely for their ministry. I hope to be supportive of that plan both financially and through future trips to Manaus. The work that Lucio and Claudio are doing is fantastic.

After the city portion of our trip, we boarded the same boat we used last year and set out again along the Reo Negro. We played about 4 games of soccer with several villages on the river and were able to attend several church services at each village. It was amazing to see God working in the most remote of areas. He is truly everywhere.

Along with soccer in the city and in villages along the river, we were able to participate in a huge part of Brazilian culture: watching the Brazilian national team play in the World Cup. I don’t think I can properly convey the passion that Brazil has for soccer. If we took the passion that America has for MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL and rolled them all together we may have an accurate representation of the pervasiveness of soccer among the Brazilian people. The cities almost shut down completely when Brazil played. We have two opportunities to watch Brazil play in the qualifying round of the World Cup, once in Manaus and once while traveling along the river. Even with the technological limitations of living in a small, hundred-person village on the Reo Negro, people found a way to get a TV running spliced to a car battery for power to get a single from Manaus to watch their country play. That passion is the reason they’ve won 5 World Cups. It was an amazing experience to cheer for our temporary surrogate country.

The biggest blessing this trip, by far, was the addition of one of the assistant coaches from AoC Alan Frank (ah-LAN FRAHNK). Alan is a 21 year old Brazilian who has decided to give up his very real and plausible dream of playing professional soccer in Brazil to coach and pour into the lives of the kids of Manaus. He is a skilled and wonderful soccer player. He told me his story after I explained the meaning of the tattoo I have on my left forearm that reads “BOND SERVANT.” About 5 years ago I had it tattoo on my arm, after praying and thinking about it for about a year. Inspired from stories in Genesis about slaves who, after gaining their freedom from their masters, chose to become SLAVES BY CHOICE and stay with their masters forever. It’s a beautiful Old Testament picture of our relationships with Christ. Alan told me through some rather broken, nonexistent English (and the help of Fabian, who spoke Spanish and was able to roughly understand and communicate with Alan) that he was a bond servant as well. The difference between Alan and me though, is that Alan is actually living it and I only have it tattooed on my arm. He has chosen to give up everything, moving from house to house wherever he can live, so that he can help and coach these kids. Alan kept calling be his “bond servant brother” and it was rather sad and convicting to hear each time he said it.

Overall, I wouldn’t trade the trip for anything. I learned so much about servanthood and sacrifice that I would never have really seen while living in Orlando for 10 days. I bonded tremendously with everyone from my team, and I know that it will last for a long time. I know this because we all were participating in God’s plan for our lives.

I’m praying that the examples I saw help me become a better Christian and that the seeds I helped plant in Manaus grow into beautiful fruit. Hopefully mangos. I love me some Brazilian mangos. Thank you to everyone who supported me both financially and through prayer and encouragement. I will be contacting you all directly soon.