Soccer is the game we will be playing in Belize....Catch up is the game we need to play now!! Many of you know, but many of you don't know that Michael and I are volunteering for a week this summer with an incredible ministry/service project called Sports Servants.
Personally, we have been praying for an opportunity like this for a while. Here is a portion of our support letter we sent back in May to catch you up on some of the details. We are so excited/terrified about this trip. We can't wait to see the Lord at work in Belize and in the hearts of the people we will meet there.
We started to look at our lives and the blessings of friends and family that God has given us. We were praying for God to present an opportunity for us to give back in some way. After taking a closer look, the Lord began to weigh on our hearts and show us that the greatest gift we have to give right now is our time.
Some of you know that Michael grew up going to an awesome boy’s school here in Nashville, Montgomery Bell Academy. The relationships he has built with the guys he went to school with are amazing. Zac Hood, an alum who works at MBA with Michael now, founded an incredible ministry program in Belize a few years ago. You can read all about his selfless journey to start this ministry at http://www.sportservants.org/. Sport Servants’ mission in Belize is to establish permanent sports programs where children’s lives will be forever changed. Sports Servants desires to develop, fund and activate organized youth sports programs around the world in order to empower children and youth, strengthen their communities, and positively impact the future human relationships of the world. Sports Servants looks to serve areas of need by developing organized programs while training leaders so that people can have permanent programs that bring hope to their communities. We believe the lessons we learn in our youth have an enormous impact on our lives and the environment we grow up in can greatly affect our future actions and beliefs.
Michael and I were equally fortunate to grow up in homes and communities where there was always an organized activity for us to take part in; be it tee-ball, soccer, softball, cheerleading, baseball, at the YMCA, our schools, city leagues or at church. We both know how important this aspect of community is. The story of Belize, a relatively new country in Central America, is that children love to play sports, especially football (soccer). This picture is vastly different from the American version of this game, as the Belizean children are without organized teams and programs, capable leaders and basic equipment. Despite this, their desire and love for sports causes them to play on. Which is why Michael and I have committed to volunteer a week (July 11-18) of our lives this summer to be a part of this wonderful ministry. We feel God calling us to give of our time and talents (one of us a bit more talented in this area of sports than the other…ha ha).
Some of you know that Michael grew up going to an awesome boy’s school here in Nashville, Montgomery Bell Academy. The relationships he has built with the guys he went to school with are amazing. Zac Hood, an alum who works at MBA with Michael now, founded an incredible ministry program in Belize a few years ago. You can read all about his selfless journey to start this ministry at http://www.sportservants.org/. Sport Servants’ mission in Belize is to establish permanent sports programs where children’s lives will be forever changed. Sports Servants desires to develop, fund and activate organized youth sports programs around the world in order to empower children and youth, strengthen their communities, and positively impact the future human relationships of the world. Sports Servants looks to serve areas of need by developing organized programs while training leaders so that people can have permanent programs that bring hope to their communities. We believe the lessons we learn in our youth have an enormous impact on our lives and the environment we grow up in can greatly affect our future actions and beliefs.
Michael and I were equally fortunate to grow up in homes and communities where there was always an organized activity for us to take part in; be it tee-ball, soccer, softball, cheerleading, baseball, at the YMCA, our schools, city leagues or at church. We both know how important this aspect of community is. The story of Belize, a relatively new country in Central America, is that children love to play sports, especially football (soccer). This picture is vastly different from the American version of this game, as the Belizean children are without organized teams and programs, capable leaders and basic equipment. Despite this, their desire and love for sports causes them to play on. Which is why Michael and I have committed to volunteer a week (July 11-18) of our lives this summer to be a part of this wonderful ministry. We feel God calling us to give of our time and talents (one of us a bit more talented in this area of sports than the other…ha ha).
I am so glad you have this blog so we can keep up!!!!
ReplyDeletelove ya!
It is so wonderful God has called you all to be a part of this wonderful trip and organization. I know the Lord is going to use you in these kids lives in more ways than you can even imagine. Many prayers will be going up for you all and all you are doing! Love you!
ReplyDeleteSuch an awesome cause! We will be praying for your trip and following your journey on this new blog!
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