A Young Man’s Heart to Reconcile

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19.

Of the 193 countries recognized by the United Nations, soccer is the #1 sport in all but 30 of them.  In communities around the world, children kick the ball around, dreaming of playing in the World Cup and being the pride of their community. In Zimbabwe, soccer is the unifying passion of the younger generation, not only giving them something to aspire towards, but a vehicle to escape from the challenges of life at home. For many Zimbabweans, their coaches are their role models, the parent figures filling the void left by their caregivers at home. Because of this position, soccer coaches have a unique opportunity to build bridges to hope in their players' lives. 

RiverCross had the opportunity to lead five soccer coaches in a community in Zimbabwe through the Holding Esther training, instructing them on caring for the abused and vulnerable children in their community and on their teams. This training has broadened their understanding of their role from a coach to a holistic caregiver, shifting their focus from winning matches to transforming lives. 

One young player impacted by these trainings is Essam. When he was only 15 years old, Essam was abandoned by his family, forcing him to drop out of school to find work and provide for himself, playing soccer in between the odd jobs he is able to pick up. Despite being a talented player, without his birth certificate he is prevented from competing in the more advanced leagues, yet another reason Essam is resentful toward his parents. 

But praise be to God that Essam's coach was one of the five who received RiverCross training, and is now helping Essam process his anger towards his family and the pain he has experienced from being on his own. Together they are working to locate Essam's parents in order to bring healing and reconciliation to their family. 

*Although the stories we share are true, identifying details have been changed.