METRO UPDATE

Many of you have asked us how our transition to Navigators has gone. We just want to say that we are THRILLED with our new roles as Navigator staff! It is such a great fit for us and the rest of our team.

Please pray for us during the weeks of March 21-28th! We will be traveling back to Colorado for another round of training. This time we will be meeting with staff who have done community development and discipleship in Africa for many, many years. They are looking to translate the principles they have learned in rural Africa to urban America; we are looking for more training in how to disciple people through Christian community development! They have agreed to train us and help us form our strategic plan. We are very excited about this partnership, as well as some of the development dreams that God has started to birth in our team. We look forward to sharing those with you as well, once we get back from our training and have more details ironed out. Please keep our training and planning time in your prayers!

Luis in Washington

Several months ago you may remember us talking about one of the Compton United players named Luis. Last summer he accepted Christ into his life at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes soccer camp. This had been a process of building into and loving Luis for over 3 years.

Then all of a sudden is family moves from California to Washington State.

I was frustrated, especially with the timing God choose. Luis was really starting to blossom in his role as a team leader. He had been mentored by the pro Chivas USA players for several years and we were seeing real change.

As his parents were struggling more and more financially they discovered better job opportunities up north. The whole family was gone.

I had communicated with Luis a lot as they moves up there and got settled. It was a big adjustment for him. There were a few bumps but Luis started to flourish. He became a multi-sport players at his high school and made a lot of friends. He started to develop a relationship with a Christian girl that took him to her church. He seemed to fit in there very well.

He recently came to visit Compton for a weekend. I knew he was doing good up there but I was amazed how much he had grown in just 6 months of being there. He had a peace about him. He knew his goals and the necessary steps to get there. His walk with God is strong.

Would he have grown like this if he stayed? I don't know. I do know that is family for the most part is happy there, becoming more financially secure and God is still God no matter what happens.

Unexpected Email

It was a letter I was not expecting. It was an email from a parent, but not of one of the kids we work. It was a letter from a parent of a professional player from our Chivas USA bible studies.

This dad was expressing his gratitude that his son, Justin had the opportunity to work with and mentor some of the Compton United players. He wrote,

...I wanted to let all of you know how much Justin valued working with your players. While at Chivas and away from home, he always spoke to me on the telephone about his experiences with your players and how valuable his time with them was.  He looked forward to working with your guys every week.  It was truly a highlight of his week...

Technically, our mentoring ministry exist FOR the Compton United players. The pro players commit to our top CU players as Christian mentors, meeting weekly with them and being available to them for help at any time. But Justin, a white kid from Utah who grew up in a strong Christian family, expressed over and over that mentoring kids from Compton changed HIS life as well. Over the years, we have seen time and again that God's math is always greater than ours! In this case, because one pro player was available, he, his family, and our players were all blessed tremendously!! 

After three years of investing in our CU kids, Justin was just traded to Canada this preseason. It's an incredible loss for our Compton United family. We will miss him. The players will miss him. I will miss him! However, in God's economy, we trust that He has great plans for Justin that will honor and glorify Him. We are so thankful for the time he spent here. Would you join us in praying that God will continue to multiply Justin's time here in Compton as he now impacts lives in Canada? We look expectantly to hear what God has in store for him!