Wow! That is all I can say to the presence of the Lord at the football court the other night. Not that I am shocked He turned up but in awe of his arrival and movement in the men there.
Emilio and I drove 10 minutes to a nearby village, here in Panama, called San Vicente. We played football, on a very difficult gravel pitch, for about 45 minutes with a group of men and as it began to get dark headed home. On our way home Emilio turned the car around and headed back to a different football court. This one didn’t seem as welcoming.
As we get out the car I notice teams of 4 sat around the concrete court waiting for their turn to play. There’s one guy stood in the corner overseeing the game and participants. He’s big, has many tattoos, heavy chains, and is blaring out rap music from his phone. Every guy that enters or leaves shakes his hand. You can sense the respect. I too shake his hand and move over to the other side.
Emilio begins to describe some of the people there; his cousins who are sat in the taxi getting drunk, a guy who is carrying a gun and is known for robbing people, men who are rapists. He begins to tell me the different corners of the court that I can go to if I need drugs, alcohol, or someone killed. Let me share something with you, there was no fear. How many of us can confidently say that we would be able to stand in this environment and feel comfortable? As these thoughts crept into my mind I heard the Lord say ‘NO! they are my people too’, and immediately I understood my purpose there.
So I’m stood watching the game when Emilio runs off to the car. I begin speaking to Jeremy, a 16 year old student from the area. As I’m sharing the gospel with him Emilio returns and encourages me to share my testimony with him. After 5 minutes his friends call him over and are wandering what I’m saying to him. Emilio ushers me over to the group and tells me I have 20 minutes.
I’ll be honest; I don’t even remember what was said. But let me just say this, the Lord was there and the Holy Spirit spoke through me. Before I know it this group of 6 guys is firing questions at me. While I’m speaking the guy from the corner begins to walk over and stands to the back listening to what I have to say. He begins asking me what I want to do after Panama. He knows my history and he understands the trials Christians face back home in Pakistan. So he calls me ‘loco’ (crazy) when I say I want to go back there and minister to my people. He doesn’t understand how and why I can do this to which my response is simple; ‘I can do anything through Christ who gives me strength’. To this he is silenced. He has heard Philippians 4:13 before but never in a way that he could understand. This is often the case with the gospel. Many have heard it but few truly understand it. We need to change this!
We huddle up and pray in a circle. The man hugs me and is thankful for the revelation he has received. I am invited to come back the next day and share with them again. All praise is to the Lord for using me on that football court to unveil this message to this group and I pray that He continues to place me in these situations. I encourage you to also use every opportunity to spread and share the Word, you never know who is listening. God did it through football for me, how will he use you today?
