Today is Tuesday after Memorial Day. I got back in the middle of the night from a 2 game road trip to Dayton, Ohio, where we won one and lost one. Our first game we got scored on in the first three minutes. However, it became a back and forth battle until we were given a penalty kick in the box which put us up 4-3 to finish the game. The second game everyone's bodies were pretty exhausted from the first game and the heat, so we came out a little slow. Dayton was able to score towards the end of the first half. After half time we came back with energy and grit but just could not get the ball in the net, so the game ended with a 1-0 score for Dayton. I'm so proud of my team and the way that they battled.
The soccer was great this weekend. However, what makes this organization so unique is before each game we have chapel. I will give you an entire pre-game regimen. For 15 minutes we go into a time of quiet prayer. Girls will pray silently, journal, read their bible, reflect on things they have written, etc. Then, we go into 15 minutes of praise and worship through song. Two girls from our team play the guitar and we sing worship songs to our amazing God! We then hear from a chapel speaker for about 20 minutes. This is a different person each game from the community and they share a sermon. We are then given about 20 minutes to get mentally focused for our game, hear from our coach about tactics, and then go out to the field for our warm-up. Isn't that incredible? We are a semiprofessional team in a very secular league. Girls from the other team will walk by our locker room and hear their opponents singing along to a guitar. What they must think!! They probably think were a bunch of softies singing around the campfire, braiding each other's hair. Little do they know that we are leaning into our mighty, awesome God and drawing supernatural strength for the game! I imagine us preparing for war like so many biblical stories. I just read in 1 Samuel when God anoints David and continues to give the enemy into David's hands. David's army enters a battle with God going before and behind them, giving them strength and power. Obviously a soccer game is slightly different, but what a beautiful way to worship God through soccer!
At the end of the game we circle up in the middle of the field and ask the other team to join us in prayer. Whether anyone from the other team decides to join us, it is such a privilege to get to pray over them, when they may not know God at all. We hope and pray that our actions, the way we play, and the way we have treated them, will reflect the living, loving God and that just by brushing up against this organization, they may get a glimpse of Jesus.
I feel incredibly privileged to be on this team and a part of this organization. I haven't gotten playing time on the field, but God is rocking me and challenging me, and I am learning so much more about God and myself. We have had Sports Ministry Training (SMT) sessions where we have talked about identity, competition, emotion, humility/confidence, unity, and more to come. I hope to unravel some of these things that I am learning in other posts, but there is just too much to say already!
After the first home game I took some pictures with my roommate Jessie. She is so great and most of the time we are together we are laughing. Our host mom thinks we're crazy and that only feeds into our laugh attacks more!
Last week I also got the opportunity to go to NASCAR qualifying for the 600 in Charlotte! We wanted to go to the actual race, but we had an away trip in Ohio for soccer so we just went to the qualifiers. Here are a few pictures! And of course, I had to buy a Charlotte race track camo hat...
From left to right:
Me, Nana (Host grandma), Jessie (Roommate), McKenzie (Host sister), Margaret Anne (Host mom)
I'm really hoping to blog more often so that I can share more what is going on here. I love God so much and I'm so thankful for the adventure he has me on.
Love,
Natalie
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