A longstanding colleague of mine from South Africa, Pastor Terrence Hanafey, set up a meeting with the heads of the 2010 World Cup Soccer Series. Terrence was a teenager in the youth church that Margurita and I pastored in Durban, South Africa 42 years ago. He now pastors a lively church in Kwazulu-Natal and is a very fruitful evangelist.
Traveling from Australia to Zambia, I couldn't connect with the last flight of the day to Livingstone, Zambia. Terrence found out that I was overnighting at Johannesburg Airport, and contacted the senior officials of the South African World Cup Soccer Committee. He asked them if they'd thought about having and chaplaincy and counselling service for the world's soccer players. Apparently they had but weren't sure on how to go about it. Terrence mentioned that I had been a chaplain at the Sydney Olympics & Paralympics, the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, the 2004 Athens Olympics, the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, and had just returned from being the director of the Pastoral Care Centre (chaplaincy) at the Beijing Olympics.
He suggested that they meet with me at the hotel restaurant where in was to stay over to discuss the chaplaincy and counselling service for the World Cup Soccer Series. I offered to pay for the meal and also flew Terrence from Durban to Johannesburg to be with us.
So we met with Dr Victor and Dr Ketso and presented them with a profile for setting up and operating a chaplaincy and counselling service for the players and officials. This was met with great enthusiasm as we discussed the calling and training of local ministers and sportsmen of different faiths to counsel the world's soccer players who may have problems. This would necessitate training counsellors and chaplains in the nine different cities where the games are to be played, and notifying all the team managers of these chaplains to be able to call on them. I offered to be in South Africa for a period of two months before the games and then for the month of the games. The games will be played in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Mangaung/Bloemfontein, Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth, Nelspruit, Polokwane, Rustenburg, Tshwane/Pretoria between 11 June and 11 July 2010.
Dr Victor will be presenting this profile to the FIFA board soon. Each chaplain including myself will have to raise their own sponsorship to cover expenses that will include airfares, accommodation, transport and food costs.
In addition to the 2010 World Cup Soccer Series they are holding the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Soccer Series which takes place in South Africa from 14 to 28 June 2009. They want the chaplaincy to extend to this event as well. This will also require being in South Africa for three months in 2009.
What a privilege to be able to win these top soccer players to Jesus. God alone knows who they will reach from their high levels.
Please pray for these vital projects.
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