Strong and Courageous

Currently, I am sitting in a bedroom with a complete stranger.. Objective is last man standing.. oh wait.. We are both in the C license coaching course trying to further our careers. Today was a real long day. It started at 7 am... oh wait 4 am for the west-coaster and it is ending here very soon.. This whole week is about soccer.. how can it not.. its a coaching course designed to teach you to be able to teach 11-14 year olds on how to play the game.. technique/physical/mental/tactical sides of the game.. we watched the USA/Australia game and had to break it down.. offensive and defensive sides of the game for both Australia and the US (both of whom just sucked!) I can talk about it all I want but to no avail because you will stop reading.. if you have even gotten this far.. but never once is there a mention of the 5th side.. soccer in the us is in a rut.. we think of the game as having the 4 pillars i mentioned earlier.. but that just makes it boxy.. and things suck when they get put in a box. I believe there are at least 6 things that make soccer great.. passion is an obvious one.. the game is full of passion.. just go to any game in europe or the world cup and the passion will speak for itself.. However, another side that never gets mentioned is the spiritual side to it.. there has to be a spiritual side even if you dont believe in a God.. in my world, I play/coach/work/jump off bridges/get tattoos for God.. obviously that is different for everyone but even if you dont believe in God, you have to believe that you are playing for something bigger than yourself. If you don't play for something bigger than yourself, then the game is an epic fail and you lose even if you win. winning solves a lot of problems for teams like that but as soon as losing occurs, the players have no foundation to fall back on.. i am talking about the ability to lower yourself in your own eyes and put teammates and their desires first above anything you want.. ultimately if you do just that, you are playing for something that is bigger than you and thus you are playing for something that will last longer than the here and now.. great teams are forged by togetherness and selflessness and by having a common goal, a single heart, mind and spirit.. "be strong and courageous for I will be with you wherever you go!"

Im back....

These are the stories/thoughts that I have going through my C license class heading into the world cup. Cammi, Dan, and I are heading that way and are super excited about what we might run into.. i cant wait for the culture shock to hit.. as i said before earlier in the blogs before.. you never know what to expect and you just have to roll with it.. as mr shrock always said "flexibility!" (while freaking out!) the homie G is bound to show up..

ps- be praying that we find a way to get to cape town.. you simply cannot go to south afrika and not go to the cape!

cammi and dan.. remember this... This is Afrika

Getting ready to Leave

Well right now, I have less than a week left before I am coming back to the States! I am really excited about coming back and starting the next season of life. I am really excited about continuing what was started here back home. I really love what I am doing and I definitely want to find a way to continue my passion which is God and Soccer. However, even though there is only about 6 days left, I am still going strong and trying to finish up everything before I leave. Here is an account of what I have been up to since I left Cape Town and have traveled the length of South Africa!

I left Cape Town about 2 weeks ago because I was let go from Ikapa Sporting and because I knew that my time in Cape Town, as good as it was, was coming to a quick close. I booked my flight a month late, barely made a flight, and got to chill in Pretoria for 2 days before heading up to Polokwane to get the rest of my stuff, say goodbye to everyone in the church, and finish up stuff with my original contact Sam Pam. 

I had a great time hanging out with Sam and his family which includes completely embarrassing his 17 year old daughter and her friend by serenading them in the middle of Polokwane with many, many people looking on. I had a great time playing football with Excel, Sam's son and my brotha from a different motha. I also had some deep talks with Sam about life and football and God. Sam, Sandra, Jenn, and Excel are like a second family now. I will never be able to completely thank them for all their hospitality and love. For now, all I can do is hope and pray that through everything that we did, God shone through and seeds were planted. Thank you Sam and Sandra and Jenn and Excel! I will never forget you guys!

I came back down to Pretoria from Polokwane after about a week with Sam and like the airplane, I almost missed the bus (haha, basically I am an idiot!;) but thankfully Sam told the driver to stop and I got on! That weekend there was an event that was put on by Ambassadors called Match For A Day. Basically, it was a soccer game that was going to last 24 hours. Other teams would sign up for hour increments and play against an Ambassadors team who, in total was about 21 people plus or minus celebrities who would come and play, would play for 24 hours! It was insane!  My goal was to go the full 24 hours but my body would not hold up against all the football being played! All in all, I am pretty sure I played about 10 games and was completely done, spent, exhausted. We lost 3 games and drew 3 games and won the rest which is pretty impressive if you ask me! We also got to play with some pretty big time celebs like Lee Sharpe (ex Man U and England International), Greg Thompson (Man City), Lucas Radebe (Ex Bafana Bafana Capt and basically holds all of South Africa's records for goals scored and games played), Mark Fish (Blackburn), and Sam Pam (Orlando Pirates, Ajax Cape Town, and Nigeria (Super Eagles) National Squad, and more. We raised quite a bit of money (so far around 130,000 Rand) for Ambassadors prison ministry, the different club teams around, and the Kenyan AIS mission! It was incredible to be able to be a part of it!

Lastly, I had the opportunity to go in to the prison and hang out with the inmates and encourage them. We got to play against the prisoners, who ironically are probably some of the best players I have played against here in SA! It was awesome to be able to watch the guys help each other up and be super encouraging with each other. This is the first prison I went to when I first came to South Africa and it was really backwards and opposite from the this time. They were struggling with each other and fighting a lot... However, this time they were completely "for" each other and loving on each other. It just gives me so much encouragement to see their potential and I am excited to see what they do when they get out! 

Well, I think my sister will kill me if this gets any longer but just know that I love you all and I miss you all! I will be coming back to Arizona in 6 days. I fly into DC first, then catch a flight through Chicago, then on to AZ. I get in at 3ish. Pray that I am not an idiot and I don't miss my flight! 

Airline Debacle

This is just dumb...

5:25 am: Morgan drops me at the airport and prays for me... 

5"30 am: I walk into the airport... first of all, this is WAY TOO EARLY and the que (line) wraps around half the airport and my flight leaves at 650. Oh Crap! I start to wait in line...

6:00 am: I am still waiting in line

6:15 am: I get to the front. There is something wrong with my ticket so they send me to another desk.. with a line that is longer than the first! Luckily Jacques came by to see me off and we are talking and it is encouraging because our conversation is keeping me from freaking out!

6:30 am: We get to the front of the line and the lady realizes my mistake! I booked the ticket online for April 26th... Not March 26th! Oh man!

6:45 am: 350 Rand later, I have missed my flight and I have a standby ticket... Ok, this can't turn out too bad!

7:30 am: Jacques leaves to go to work! Thanks for chillin Jacques! Right when he leaves, an announcement comes on that says, there is a problem with flight number 408 to Joburg has been cancelled due to an aircraft failure. The flight will be delayed for 6 hours! There are at least 150 pissed off Afrikaaners (big white people speaking a dialect of dutch) trying to get to Joburg for whatever. I realize that I am SOL (as my sister would say) for getting on standby! Oh geez.. 6 hours of sitting at the Cape Town airport is going to suck!

8:00 am: I go to the counter to ask if there is any chance of getting on a flight... The ticketer tells me it is hopeless! Great!

8:15 am: By the Grace of God, the plane is fixed! Everyone is happy once again and the world can continue and I have a slight chance of actually getting on a plane to Joburg! 

8:20 am: I go to the counter... again... I ask if there is a chance... He looks up and smiles and says come back in an hour and a half! 

9:30 am: I go to the counter... Again!... He hands me a ticket! WOOHOO! 

9:40 am: I am on the plane sitting next to a great German couple (who actually stole my seat.. but I dont care cuz I made the plane!) 

11:17 am: I am in the air... relaxing... thinking about all my time spent in Cape Town. I need to throw out a thanks to all of you who have been praying and supporting me! You have no idea how much I appreciate it and need it! Thank you! It has been a wild... wild... extreme ride!

Cape Town Chronicles 1

Well before I get to the airport story, I need to write about some of the things I have been able to do while in Cape Town and some of the people I have been blessed to meet. I have been involved with a church named Church On Main which is in Newlands/Claremont area. It is a rad church that is very outgoing and is always looking to follow where the Spirit leads! It is normally a younger crowd because UCT (University of Cape Town) is right up on the mountain about a 10 minute walk away. To those of you who have gone to Rock Harbor in Newport Beach in California, it is very similar to that! I met a guy named Jacques (Jack for the layman). He is a great guy with a huge heart for people. He sort of took me under his wing one night when I went to a friends house for a braai and to watch rugby. It was a Friday night and he asked me what I was doing the next morning. I told him I had nothing going on. He asked me if I liked to run. I told him no... (haha for those of you who know me, running is the strongest part of my game. I have a very strong stamina and fast recovery system but in all honesty, running is not my favorite thing to do! But aside from this fact, I have run 2 marathons just to say I could do it!)(Actually, the first marathon I ran was quite a story. I have a friend at APU named Tex. Tex calls me up one friday night and asks me for a favor. I thought he was going to ask to borrow my truck or something like that... I asked him what it was and he said that I had to commit to it before he told me. I said sure! I am in! Why not? He then proceeded to tell me that we were running the LA marathon in 2 days! SHO!) Back to Jacques, he told me that they were running a 15k the next morning and I must come and help him run. I said sure because he is a great guy to be around and a good friend to have! We did the 15K in about an hour and 13 minutes or so... it was great fun! or Lakka Lakka as Jacques would say! About 2 weeks later, Jacques calls me up and asks me if I want to do the Cape Argus. I tell him "Sure... what is it?" He then tells me that it is a 109 Kilometer bike race and one of his friends dropped out and I can fill that spot if I want it... I thought to myself, "Why not? I have been training a lot for soccer and it can't be too bad! Most people finish in 3-4 hours. Let's do it!" So I do it... I made it about 40 K's without stopping and I just about fell off my bike and passed out! Biking fitness is much different than running fitness! The best part of the whole race was being able to go from one ocean to the other ocean and along the Garden Route which is very similar and, in my opinion, more beautiful than the Pacific Coast Highway. The worst part of the race was when I saw a sign, after 2 hours of cycling, that said 60 K's left! EISH! I finished at about 5 hours! I think I am pretty sure I sat on the couch or my bed for the next 3 days. In fact, I have never missed a training session for soccer in my life and I skipped one on purpose because I couldn't get out of bed! Then the even worse part is, I went to church and I was talking to this girl who did the Argus in 3 1/2 hours! (Oh man!) Then the story gets even better! Jacques calls me a couple weeks later again and says that I "must" come with him to do the Two Oceans Marathon! Which is an ultra marathon (56 K's.. you do the math)... Ok it was the half but still 15 MILES is still a long way to run! We finish in an hour and 40 minutes which is respectable! We tore up the first 6 miles and then ran into a wall and had to will our way through the rest! But it was a gorgeous run in amazing weather all in the shadow on the west side of Table Mountain! On a fitness level, I have officially left Cape town the most fit I think I have ever been! 

Moving on... Yesterday was a great day full of doing touristy stuff and taking pictures and getting souvenirs for friends and family. I got to explore different parts of the city that I had yet to see. I got some really cool raw African stuff. I got to say goodbye to all my friends that I have made. It was actually really hard to say goodbye because I have developed many great relationships that I will not ever forget! I know that my time here was well spent and God's people have been loved! I need to throw out an extra big thank you to Morgan and Cari (Bauer) Cathey! They blessed me so much with their hospitality and never ending grace! Thank you guys! I love you! It has been great but it is time to move on and finish what has been started... Joburg here I come!