South Africa... An Amazing Journey

I have accepted an opportunity to work with the Under-17 South African National Women’s Soccer Program. My duties will include many different things, including mentorship, Bible studies, and one-on-one discipleship, in addition to organizing such outreach as soccer camps and service events that will enable the National Team women to assist the townships surrounding Pretoria.

Women’s soccer in South Africa tends to be dictated by a few major cultural influences. Soccer in this country is widely considered to be a male sport, played by the black population, although this stereotype is slowly changing. Due to this dynamic, the women playing soccer are mostly from the townships, and have had to work very hard with often little or no support from their families to help them make it to the National level. While I am in South Africa, the majority of my time will be spent working with the U-17 National Womens’ team players. With the growing success of the National Soccer program, these women will be exposed to increased pressures they have not experienced before, and these pressures can lead them towards alcoholism, drugs, and lesbianism. My goal while spending time with these women will be to help equip them to face these new pressures, and to influence them to emerge as leaders that will have a positive impact on South Africa.

Through the 11 months I will be working with the Team, I plan to hold a weekly group Bible study with the girls, as well as provide mentoring and discipleship. There will, no doubt, be opportunity for me to use what I have learned while studying toward my Bachelor of Kinesiology degree to provide education on hygiene, nutrition, injury prevention and rehabilitation, along with sport psychology, identity and self-worth. I will also be sharing with the girls what is involved in service outreach, by taking them with me to help run sports camps (partnered with local churches), and bringing them to serve at some surrounding orphanages.

God willing, at the end of this 11 month program, with the help of the South African Staff, I hope to have accomplished four main goals:

1/ to have built a heightened relationship between the South African National Soccer Program and Athletes in Action. This is hoped to open doors for the instalment of full time chaplaincy on the National teams, starting with the U-17 womens’ team.

2/ I desire to fulfill the Great Commission by building up disciples who are fully equipped to make further disciples.

3/ I want to help build active and operational sport ministry programs in local churches that are equipped to both continue the programs after I leave, as well as prepare other churches to do the same.

4/ As I will be the first AIA staff member to be working full time in Pretoria, I hope to help establish a South African AIA staff member provided by the Lord whom I can mentor to continue the work once I’ve completed my time there.

My prayer is that God will fill you with a passion for this ministry to His daughters in South Africa. This past summer, I saw God’s hand working and many lives changed through our time there. Together we can have a lasting impact, and leave a long term structured program in South Africa. If you haven't already please watch the video on the right.

There are three major ways you can partner with me:

1. Prayer. My current prayer needs are for provision and safety as I prepare to make this move, that God would be preparing the hearts of the girls I will be working with that they will be open to His words and also for someone to continue the work when I leave. The harvest is plentiful. Other requests are posted on my blog as well.

2. Financial Support I need to raise $40,000 to cover my costs while there. I would ask you to please prayerfully consider partnering with me on a monthly basis. You can donate online at http://secure.powertochange.org/p-534-bauer-rachel-ministry.aspx. (Please let me know if you would like more information on other ways to donate)

3. Networking and Sharing the vision for this trip with others whom you think may have a passion for sport, ministry or reaching South Africa. Please do not underestimate the impact that sharing this with even one or two others could have.

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.

This is a link to a video that was made while we were there. http://worldsoccerjourneys.com/features/healing-begins/video-hangin-tough/ Below there are also some articles that were written about our trip.

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

http://mreport.org/2010/06/25/the-language-of-sport/

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jul/02/lessons-are-learned-all-soccer-mission/ I think this article explain how I felt as well.

Camp with the National Team Girls:

http://mreport.org/2010/06/21/healing-begins/

http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=33243

http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=33242

http://svtplay.se/v/2052335/banjana_banjana_-_sydafrikas_damlandslag (this video was made by a Swedish television crew that came to see us play.)