Chikondi..Love.. Chisomo.. Grace

 I've been training teams everyday this wk. Yesterday I trained 2 teams at the same time.. I had 30 girls and there was a crowd of about 300 just watching the trainig session. We also went to the community center and brought all the kids rompers.. Yes, rompers.. Haha so we passed out almost 150 rompers.. Yes, the school teachet has 150 kids in his class, from ages 2-5... And has help from maybe 3-4 people.. It's incredible how well behaved these kids really are. We got to put the rompers on the kids... I walked into the classroom, and after about 2 minutes of being in there, a girl strted to shriek at the sight of my white face. Goodness.. Hahaha

This soccer thing really seems to be taking off here. I'm really encouraged by the work that we are doing, and everyone has been very accepting of the idea, and even the men have come up to me and told me what a wonderful thing I am doing.. How soccer will keep the girls focused, instead of them dropping from school an grtting pregnant. I was flabbergasted.. Yes, I know Thats the point of the whole girl empowerment campaign, but to actually have the men see the purpose of the girls playing soccer and embracing it is an entirely different story. It really brought tears to my eyes- I felt like a proud mother.. Birthing the game of soccer here to the young girls. I went to a game on wednesday and there were a ton of people that showed up. It was a very exciting game, as the crowd really gt into it.. Ooing and awwing everytime the ball got close to the goal, or a girl made a long kick or whatever. The girls have been put on an unfamiliar stage, and they ate embracing it, and walking with their heads a little higher out on the pitch. We are hoping that we can continue with the trainings here, even after I am gone.. And hope to plan a yearly tournament between villages. The coaches are doig great work with the girls, as the team that played on Wednesday was the same team that I trained last week. It was obvious that their Coach has really invested some quality time in his players, as they looked like a completely different team than I had seen last week. I was very proud, and the coach was very excited for his team. It's an amazing feelig to see the growing support for the girls in the community here. Everyone is getting mote and more excited, and the girls are wanting to better themselves and their futures. Even though I'm not "preaching the word of God" directly, I've been asked several times by people "why are you here?! Why are you doing this for people you don't even know?" and that has been my favorite question to answer. People are taken back when I say that I'm here because I love them, and thr the Lord has called us to love one another-- and I have been given such a blessing; to show love to these people thru the sport that is a piece of me, and that I love so much. I never thought soccer would bring me here.. To the villages of Malawi-- let alone to everywhere else that I've traveled to for tournaments.. But I know one thing... I will be back here to see how the sport grows among the girls in the communities. 
World cup starts today! The office has cancelled my trainings and we are gettig off early to watch the opening ceremonies. Keta is going crazy.. Malawi is going crazy.. Africa is going crazy.. It's a fun atmosphere to be a part of. Games all day everday this wknd and will be our evening entertainment for the duration of my trip. Time is starting to fly, as I only have 3 weeks left! God is good! All the time! And all the time, God is good!!