First off I just want to praise God for the amazing opportunity that it was to go down to South Africa and for the part that each of you played in making it possible for me to get there.
Our first week was spent in a camp near the capital city of Pretoria. It had soccer and rugby fields, an obstacle course, paintball, kind of an all around recreation camp. We left on a Friday afternoon and arrived in Johannesburg (Jo’burg) early on Sunday morning with only a small 4 hour layover in Hong Kong. From the airport we drove for an hour into the countryside and had our first look at this beautiful country. We arrived at camp had a bit of spare time, a cultural orientation and then the girls started to arrive around lunch time. It was cool to see friendships beginning to form even on the very first day. I have to say things started out a little bit rocky the first night. All of us North Americans were exhausted from the full journey we had, and our roommates were rather excited to be there. Our team crashed around 10:30 attempting to sleep but when the eleven o’clock lights out passed without any change in light or volume I found myself getting a little frustrated. When the lights finally went off around 2 am I was extra exhausted but grateful for the chance to finally sleep. You can only imagine how it felt to hear a voice saying it’s time to get up, only to be corrected by another saying no it isn’t, it’s only 4am. Knowing that breakfast was at 7:30 I was looking forward to a fair bit more sleep but when the lights went on at 5am we knew we were in trouble. I remember journaling that these girls are crazy and don’t need sleep and letting God know that I would need every extra ounce of strength He could give me just to survive without this sleep. It was a wild start to our journey.
Luckily from that point on camp continually got better. To give you a better idea of what a truly amazing opportunity this was I will give you a bit more detail on who was there. Our team consisted of 15 girls that play at universities and colleges throughout Canada and the USA. 5 full time AIA staff members involved with AIA soccer in Canada, and our coach who coaches at a Div 1 school in San Diego and his wife. We spent the week with 3 South African national level coaches, 50 girls playing for South Africa at the senior, U-20 and U-17 levels and a few of the AIA South Africa Staff.
We really had a chance to bond with our roommates on teams in a survivor style obstacle course and puzzle competition. Some of the obstacles included wading through waist deep mud and water and doing some military style exercises. This was a chance to break down cultural barriers and work together. The obstacle course followed by an intense eating competition where the delicacies included: chicken hearts, a raw potato, a hot pepper, liver, snails, this gross looking fish, chicken feet, cow’s hoof, monkey brain, and the lovely dish that I was served, a bar one chocolate bar which came to be one of our favourite treats.
After the first crazy day which also included a training session on the field we fell into a comfortable routine. We would spend the morning going through some principles of where God fits in with sport and in their lives. During these times we had many chances to share experiences from our lives and encourage each other and learn of the lives of these girls. My group consisted mostly of younger girls 16 and 17 with our oldest being 19. Our discussions started out with a lot of leading and direction from me and the other AIA team members. But as the week progressed the girls began to open up what was on their hearts. What they thought, the questions they had and they were so eager for knowledge. The issues that are the biggest struggles for the girls there are the topics of lesbianism, and ancestor worship. Underlying those is the idea of identity. We were able to share what the bible has to say on these topics and challenge their choices while still having a chance to love on them. This was powerful both for them and for my own growth. On the field we challenged the girls with scenarios where they had the chance to think about what motivates them and helped them learn what it means to worship God through soccer. We also had a chance to train including some goalie training which was a lot of fun for me.
We also had the chance so spend time in the township of Shoshanguve. This was a unique experience for all of us. We were humbled to be greeted with so much love and enthusiasm. When we arrived we were paraded down the street with drummers, dancers and of course plenty of vuvuzelas. When we arrived at the church they performed dances, read us some poetry they had written and we had the chance to worship together. We spent three days in the township and each were action packed. After the worship time on the first day we played a girls team from within the township. After the game I shared my testimony with the group and we shared the gospel with them as well. Returning to the church we had the chance to watch South Africa play France on a screen in the church. This was an amazing experience to cheer along side of the locals. It was crazy and I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere but there for the game. When South Africa scored absolute madness broke out. At halftime we all went outside and sang and danced and cheered.
The second day that we were there we had the opportunity to serve alongside of some of the older youth/young adults in the church. Half of our group went to a hospice while the other half including myself went to an old age home. I had the opportunity to connect with some of the girls from the church as we made a meal for the staff and residents South African style. This was a great chance to get a better understanding of everyday life for an average South African young adult. Hanging out with these girls I had a chance to expand my dance repertoire and was filled with a lot of joy. I felt so loved an accepted by the young women of the church and enjoyed the chance to love on and build them up.
It was great to see how the church not only appreciated the time that we spent with them but had a desire to use our time to strengthen their ministry to those around them. Before we left we ran another small soccer clinic and the leadership couldn’t wait to start their own sport ministry using the tools and equipment we had given them. We also had a unique chance to encourage and strengthen the women of the church. Already a team of women had found a coach and were excited to start playing and training and taking on other women’s teams as a means of connecting with them and sharing God’s love. Also on our last day with them we played a group of the young women from the church most who had never played soccer on a team before. Just to hear the excitement in the girl’s voices and watching them as they played made the trip worthwhile. It is hard to predict what kind of difference the presence of sport in their lives will do. I know for me it has given me confidence and a sense of team and strength that I wouldn’t necessarily have. That was one of the greatest encouragements from this trip to see not people not only being impacted by our ministry themselves but desiring to pass it forward and use it to reach others.
Also we did have a chance to make it to the world cup. We were blessed to attend a game between USA and Algeria. This was amazing because our leaders had been trying to get tickets and couldn’t find them anywhere. We almost had to give up when our coaches connected with a contact from San Diego and God blessed us with 27 tickets all together! It was an amazing blessing.
Thank you for all of your prayers and support for me while I was away on this trip and as I continue seeking Christ and His plans for my life. Since the trip I have applied to return to South Africa after I graduate in April so will let you all know more about that when I start to know some details.
All my love and Godbless!
Rachel
Shoshanguve
Camp with the National Team Girls:
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