Matthew 10:18 says “You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.”
FC Grace is a “grass roots” organization. We get invited into a country by a pastor or coach who has heard about us, and we find that we get invited to return again and again to teach more and more coaches and in many cases, others as well. Because we are focused on the heart of the coach and don’t want to appear to compete in any way with football training offered by the country’s football federation, we don’t reach out to the these organizations, but are focused on impacting coaches one village or city at a time. Such is the case with Tanzania where we first visited in 2017. We went to the southern city, Mbeya, and returned and taught there several times. During COVID shutdown, our ministry grew around the southern Tanzania region. Over the last three years, it has spread North through Tabora and up to Mwanza, West through to Kigoma and East through to Dar es Salaam, covering many of the metropolitan areas.
A few months ago, Terry our Lead Instructor, and our host pastor Oscar were invited to Parliament to meet with several representatives who took them to lunch and thanked them for the profound impact that FC Grace was having in their region. Touching a coach touches the player which touches the parents which then touches the community.
This month, we received an unprompted letter from the governing body for football (soccer) in Tanzania, the Tanzania Football Federation. They wanted to express their sincere appreciation for the way we have come alongside their own efforts. They stated that our commitment “to integrating Christian values with sportsmanship has made a significant impact on the lives of many young athletes.” They further stated that our contribution “has been instrumental in changing behavior of our coaches in a way that effect to the player, that is useful to future generation.”
They requested a meeting to which Terry attended, and we received a free seat at their “A” license training, (normally a very costly endeavor for any coach in Tanzania) and have been given other discounts and benefits as part of the partnership. One of our team and well known Tanzanian former player, Shabani Mtupa is already enrolled and attending the A license training.
Only God! We give Him all the credit, all the praise and all the glory for what He is doing to impact the lives of so many through His servants at FC Grace, and bringing us before these leaders in this sport.
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