Bits August

This month we finished our 7 week men’s study on Processing Life. The group seemed to grow as we went which really encouraged us as we look to the future to implement Servant Leaders, our leadership training course. For celebration, we decided to grill out last night as well as do another study on Conflict Resolution. It went really well and girlfriends/wives came and enjoyed themselves as well. 

Last weekend the football team had a road game, a good 8-10 hour drive away. I was able to have some good conversations. One guy told me how he had been pretty much an atheist (I would probably say agnostic) before starting to come to the studies. Now he really enjoys them and doesn’t like to miss. On gameday I gave a devotional on David and Goliath, presenting the gospel once again to the team. We had over 40 players there and they pay attention and are respectful. As I continually evaluate how long I want to be involved with coaching football, I think of the quote by Billy Graham that says, “A coach will impact more people in one year than an average person will in an entire lifetime.” I am not sure how accurate this quote is, but I do know he has a great point. Coaching these guys has been an important place of influence for lots of lives that would be hard to achieve in any other position. Oh, and we played in a World Cup stadium this last game, which was a really cool experience. 

Sarah has started a discipleship with a woman who has gone through some marital issues. She also continues to do a lot of hosting in our home. Frequent hosting in our home might not last too much longer though as we will soon be moving some of the studies to the church building. Maybe not this month, but October will give us a good chance to have some studies start there. I have decided to start the Servant Leaders program November 1st at the building as well. Pray for us as we coordinate the electrician, dry-waller (actually we don’t have dry wall, but the equivalent here), window maker, and tile layer as they come and try to have the building ready for us to use soon. I am in charge of the painting and will be busier carrying out that task this month. This morning I was applying sealer and walling mud. 

This month we were also able to report to our partner/mother church in Recife during their missions month about what God is doing in the Outback. They were excited to hear and I hope challenged in the area of missions. They have been a great partner as we seek to establish a church planting base here. 

Thanks so much for your prayers and support! God is good and keeps working on us! I hope that He has been busy working on you as well!

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah, and our two little ballerinas that are stoked about starting ballet classes soon. 

Prayers and football

I have messed up and just now I am starting to see it. In 2014 our family moved to a small interior town in Brazil and looked to start a church. Seeking contacts in a place where we knew no one, american football fell into our laps. I started out as offensive coordinator and quarterback and ended up as head coach as of November of 2015. Coming from the states I have been hesitant to force my Christianity on the football team as a whole. Starting out they all knew why I was in Brazil and knew they were invited to studies, but it wasn't until our first game in October of 2015 that I realized they were ok with praying. Before our game in the locker room the players asked me to pray for the game. Since then they have been ok with saying a few words, giving a few challenges, as well as praying. 

The work here did not spread right away. Few players came to studies at the beginning. I even thought it might not be worth it for a while and thought about seeking out another way of meeting people. But slowly more and more players have come to studies. Eight weeks ago I started a study for men on Wednesday nights where we went over the seminar Processing Life Biblically. We had a good group of ten guys the whole time, several of them from the offensive line. They have been faithful and since the study started the OL has played better. They argue less and are stronger mentally. I did not correlate the two until one of the players commented on how the climate has been changing. 

My conclusion has been that the best thing we can do for these players and for the team is to introduce them to Christ. Of course I always knew that, but because of being american I have been nervous about forcing them to hear about God. Fortunately in Brazil on a club team, this is not a problem. They have welcomed it. Emphasizing character has improved the lives of these guys off and on the field. Our mission is not just to win games but to win at life.

In the states the worst thing we have done is take God out of everything. We need God. We need his blessing. We need His grace. We need to be bold in taking a stand for prayer, a stand for God. I am not talking about being Crusaders and killing everything in our path; I am talking about being firm that we are for Christ and that the world needs Christ. Our teams will grow from this and better men will be produced!

Grateful

This morning in my timeline on facebook, a memory of us at the beach showed up. Last week we went to the beach as well. Vacations are fun and I think we take them for granted sometimes. Maybe we have always done them and think they are our right as Americans. But not everyone can just pack up and go to the beach.

I do not post much about my family on facebook, but I love them so much and we have a wonderful loving family. We had a lot of fun last week. Many families are broken and unhappy and might not have time for one another. I am grateful for what I have in my family.

Just being able to read a blog on the internet means that you are a couple steps above many people in the world and we all need to be grateful for where God has put us.

What can you be grateful for today?

Blessings!