Keep the fire burning

More firewood! Gathering firewood to keep the fire burning in the wood stove is a constant chore, especially on these cooler days. This daily task has given us a very visual reminder of the need to feed the flames of our spiritual lives as well. We have needed wood for the fire to keep warm, to cook food, and to heat water for showers and a baptismal service.

Friday morning continued to be overcast, windy, and cool, but at least the rain had stopped. After our late night volleyball activities at the YMCA last night, we decided to let the team sleep in a little bit since the outdoor work projects were still “put on hold”. We gathered for breakfast at 9:30 am and then had team devotions at 10:00 am. Our study together through the book of Galatians has been a highlight of each day for all of us.

Our soccer ministry opportunity for today was with some unsaved contacts and co-workers of men from the church in Paysandu. We rented a small, outdoor, lighted field with artificial turf. We scheduled the facility for two hours and played against two different teams in 7 v. 7 competition (one hour each). The first team was a group of unsaved men that Dan Vallette has had contact with through soccer leagues. It was a very close match with both teams scoring often. In the end, Northland pulled out a 12-11 victory with Caleb Salsman scoring the winning goal. After the game, the team shared the gospel by using the “ball of many colors” and again, the gospel was well received. The seed is continually being sown and watered. We are certainly praying that God would “give the increase” in His time. Dan Vallette has assured us that these opportunities to build relationships and share the gospel are very helpful in the ministry here.

The second match was with a couple of men from the church who brought some of their unsaved co-workers. We got behind early 3-0 and 4-1, but finally made a comeback to tie the game at 4-4. I’m not sure if anyone remembers what the final score ended up being, but we think Northland won (even though it doesn’t really matter). What matters most is that these unsaved co-workers heard the gospel and were invited to respond to it. This was an encouragement to the men in the church who had invited them. Two of the unsaved men actually remembered the last visit that our men’s soccer team made to Uruguay, twelve years ago. One of them, who had played with the Estudiantil club team, remembered playing against Coach Andrew Scott, who was a member of the 1998 team that came here. It is very interesting how God brought this man out again this year to hear the gospel. It turns out that he is one of the co-workers of the man from the church. Pray that he will respond to the gospel as follow-up contacts are made.

During the middle of these matches, four of us went over to the YMCA as a follow-up to the contact that we made there last night. The YMCA director invited us back to share the story of the “ball of many colors” with the children who are there in the afternoon. Paul Johns shared the story while Andy Gibbons interpreted for him. The children at the YMCA were also invited to the youth soccer clinic we are doing tomorrow at the church. Dan Vallette also told them about the camp ministry. Many gospel tracts were given out to the children, teens, and some of the parents and YMCA staff members that were there. We were invited to play volleyball there again tonight at 10:30 pm.

After the soccer was over, we had supper in town. We ate traditional Uruguayan sandwiches called “Chivitos”. They are basically a sandwich with “everything on it” (tomatoes, peppers, eggs, cheese, olives, lettuce, peas, corn, and lots of other tasty stuff). We each had our choice of meat. Some chose a traditional hamburger patty, others had ham or chicken. It was definitely a treat! I don’t think that Red Robin has a hamburger on their menu that is quite as tasty and I'm certain that McDonald's and Burger King don't.

After supper, the team did a little shopping while walking over to the YMCA for the evening volleyball ministry opportunity. A number of the guys from the church youth group joined us. We are really looking forward to the children’s soccer clinic tomorrow afternoon and the youth group fellowship tomorrow night.