EAGLES 3 X 0 CENTRO OLIMPICO

We played our 6^th game and achieved our 5^th victory this past Wednesday. God has greatly blessed us, and is rewarding our hard work on the field as we have already classified for the semi-finals with a record of 5-0-1. Aside from the scoreboard, we are seeing great victories happen in the hearts of our players. The fruit of our sports ministry training classes have really been proven on the field.

We continually have people on the outside commenting on “the difference” in our players compared to all the other teams. They say that they have never seen a team that plays as fair and honest as ours. As of now we lead all teams with the least number of cards. We have only one, very unintentional yellow card, whereas most of the teams have between 5- 9 cards in 6 games. The director of this tournament has enjoyed this “difference” in our team so much, he has given us free reign to stay on the field and “do whatever it is that we do” (share the gospel) with the opposing team after our games (normally you have to clear the field immediately so the next game can start). Praise God for this favor He has given us in the eyes of the tournament leadership, who don’t even understand our project, and yet has given us this platform to share to the gospel!

Eagles 3 X 0 Itaquá

What a blessing to see more of the fruit from all the work that has been put into discipling our players over the past three months. Young women, who themselves have recently accepted Christ as their Savior, are learning to be filled with His Spirit and to boldly teach the good news to others.

In this picture one of our players is hugging a player from the other team just after the game, keep in mind that they have never met before. It is incredible to see God’s Spirit at work in the lives of these girls as they are able to use the gift of soccer that He has given them to create an opportunity to speak of His wonderful Name. Ursinho, the Eagles Brasil player in this picture, was overflowing with joy because this was the first person that she has led to the Lord. The best part is that our players will be in contact with these girls every Wednesday as all tournament games are played at the same field. They also have been keeping in touch through email and are able to continue to teach and disciple these players who are hungry for more of the Truth.

Since the beginning, this project has only been possible by faith, and our desire and hope is that God will continue to use us and shape us more and more into the likeness of His Son.

Our New Home!

Saturday June 13^th, after much struggle to find affordable housing that was suitable for 18 players, we moved into our new home. We thank God for the colonia (hostel) where we were staying for the first three months. The staff there was a blessing as they allowed us to live there without paying upfront. It is evident that God was providing for us and didn’t allow our project to fold even though the housing and food that was promised to us from the city fell through at the very last minute. Just as the Word teaches us, we are learning to put our trust in God and not in man, as He continues to prove His faithfulness to those who seek Him.

We finally were able to find two houses to rent through the month of July, one right next to the other. We praise God as He continues to be faithful in using the lives of people here from the local church in Praia Grande and several churches from home. While this move has allowed us to lower our cost of living by much more then half, we still have many immediate needs. Therefore, please join us in asking God to raise up people to partner with us and bless us by helping with our rent, food, water, and electric. Also, if you feel that God is putting it on your heart to partner with us, please pray about what you can do to keep this ministry going and changing the lives of many here in Brasil. There is more information on how you can support us on the right column of this blog. Thank you so much for your prayers and interest in Eagles Brasil.

Eagles 1 X 1 Juventus

Once again we praise God for the opportunity not just to demonstrate Christ’s love on the field, but also to speak about His saving grace to the other team after the game. It was a difficult game, rainy, cold, and resulted in a tie, but we believe that we achieved a victory in sharing the message of salvation with the entire Juventus team! Continue to pray for this tournament and all that God will do in the lives of many young women here in Brasil!

Eagles 5 X 0 Banespa 6/3

Our goal as a team is to always keep our hearts focused on simply glorifying God through our attitudes during the game, no matter who the opponent is. Banespa is one of the weaker teams in this tournament and it was important for us to prepare our hearts and minds before the game in order to not step onto the field with a prideful attitude thinking that we had already won. Just as with the Charlotte Eagles team, we have a pregame chapel that includes prayer, praise and worship, and a short message. This time is crucial for us as players to settle our minds, to ask God to fill us with His Spirit, and to prepare ourselves for battle focused of the eternal goal, which is for God to be glorified.

Before the game starts we give each of the players on the other team a small gift called “The Sports Bible”. This is a book from Athletes in Action that includes biblical principles and verses that apply to athletes along with testimonies from Christian athletes that compete at the highest levels. Lilian, one of our captains, goes to college with several of the girls from Banespa and said that whenever she runs into one of them they ask her if they can get more of those “Bibles” to share with their friends and families.  Lilian said, “For me it is clear to see the importance of our testimonies on the field, and we can’t even imagine how many people can be reached with the gospel through this work.” Please continue to pray with us as each week more and more Brazilian women’s soccer players are accepting Christ as their Lord and Savior.