Confed Cup

The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup has officially begun in South Africa! This marks the first time this tournament has been held on the African continent and it also serves as the first indicator of South Africa's readiness to host the World Cup in 2010. So far all indicators are good, and we'll hope for a great tournament.

From my end, the Confed Cup also marks the beginning of a very busy time of ministry at Eastside. These two weeks of the tournament will include a lot of clinics, matches, and outreach events in addition to our normal ministry involvement at Sunnyside and Leeuwkop prison. The minsitries we undertake during this tournament also serve as an indicator of the church's readiness to roll out the planned ministry events for the World Cup in 2010.

A couple items to note to catch everyone up to speed on the ministries we have been involved with over the past few months. I have been coaching an under-10 soccer team from Sunnyside Primary School. Over the course of this term, we have been involved in THREE different leagues which makes for a very busy and flustered coach among other things. There have been many frustrations with this group over the course of the past two months which mainly surround their discipline and lack of respect shown towards myself and other coaches. Though they are only 10, this is a pattern that is all too widespread in the innercity area that we work, so my main focus has been to reverse that pattern even at the expense of failing to succeed as a team on the pitch.

Two months later, I am beginning to see the fruit of some very difficult practices and games with this group. I have had two boys specifically ask if they could have Bibles and a number of other boys interested in coming to church with me. This past sunday, two of those boys joined me at service and REALLY enjoyed it! After having made this bit of progress, I believe that the rest of the boys will soon become interested as well.

This good news has farther reaching ramifications than just my soccer team. The leaders of our church believe God has asked us to eventually plant a church in the Sunnyside area. This would start through the primary school that we have already been working with, and would initially be focused on the students of that school. With Holiday Club at Sunnyside just around the corner, and an increasing interest in the church that has been expressed by many students, this youth/children's program may be a reality sooner than we expected. God is doing something quite special, and He is doing it with some pace!

Please keep this ministry and the other ministries going on in the South African church in your prayers. I will keep you updated as much as possible.

With love,

Greg