Matt - Is This Real Life?!?!

     Okay.....with the title of this blog post you'd assume that I have some crazy news about Madagascar and life here. In fact...I do, but it really has nothing to do with the Malagasy life here. An opportunity has risen to the surface as of late and I couldn't do anything but rejoice and take a stab at it!

     What is this you might ask???? Well...ever since I've been here I have stared longingly at the soccer stadium down the road from my house. If any of you have seen the movie 'Angels in the outfield' you'd remember the opening scene where J.P. and Roger (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) maneuver themselves into a tree to watch an Angels baseball game. Now place me in their shoes outside of a rundown soccer stadium during a game where the fans fill the entire stadium and I can here them yelling 'goal' or 'pass' (obviously in their language). For the last month, I have taken each opportunity to stand on the stadium's walls (with strategically placed foot holes made for me I swear!) in order to watch a soccer match. And each time I'm disappointed that I am not out there playing myself. I may not be the greatest soccer player in the world (which is completely fine), but I take every opportunity to play the sport when it comes. If the kids in the villages have a ball made out of plastic and rubber bands (all of them do) I tend to gravitate towards their field of play and discreetly slip my foot into the crowd hoping to feel the ball on my feet. 

     Now to give you the good news!!!!!!! :D Sunday afternoon I went on a hike with some people from our church to a village in Fianjanomby. During our long 3 hour hike I obtained some information on one of the member's weekly activities. Nida, the church member and my friend, plays on a soccer team for the city. They practice every day and have matches in the stadium on Sundays. Needless to say I dug deeper into this witnessing possibility and asked how I might be able to get on a team. With a smile on his face and sincerity in his voice he told me that I could join his team and I'd start practicing with them Monday!!!!! I asked Mika if this was a good opportunity of which he said, "Yes. Many of his team does not know Christ." 

     So here I am, on a Malagasy soccer team (Our name is F.C. Python....EPIC I know!!! Haha), with too much excitement to exclaim in one blog post!! I went to practice with Nida yesterday and it was a exhilarating moment for me. I watched as a group of 16 men or so came together to play the sport I love. I had no idea what they were saying, but the fundamentals were all there. In soccer verbal communication isn't always necessary as the mind maps out the course of play. So in that...I watched carefully to see how the members interacted with one another, learned as much Malagasy as I could, and played to my hearts content! They have accepted me as a member of their team and I hope to play well understanding who I play for (God...if that wasn't clear). They said my first game will be this Sunday so if ya'll could pray for humbleness and peace as I am very competitive and tend to get feisty during games. Also...pray for my team members: Farida, Severien, Rada, Rindra, Aristide, Andry, Erick, Frederick, Felicien, Urbin, Tahiry, Stanislas, Fiadanana, Angelo, Sebastien, and our coach Julien. They need Jesus just as much as the next person so I'm  awaiting the opportunity to present Him to them.

In Him,

Matt 

P.S. Never stop running towards the prize! Seek Christ with everything you have and he will make straight your path!