By Charles Millette, SF Peru
Getting to know a coach means entering into his world, getting familiar with his routine, his joys and his struggles, seeing his life and God’s plans for him. Every time I visit a coach, there is so much to talk about because each and every one of them is a treasure box that God places in my path.
Charly’s day job is as a Physical Education teacher at a well-known school in Lima. His job requires discipline, creativity and dedication. Charly personifies these character traits and his experience comes in handy when he steps on the field each Saturday to guide the group of kids in his sports ministry program. As I’ve gotten to know Charly, I’ve come to understand that for him, being on the field every single Saturday comes at a cost. It takes a significant amount of his time to plan each practice and train his team. This has been a challenge for him because time is something he has little of. Charly has felt God challenging his heart in this area and after reflection and prayer, he has accepted God’s challenge and has decided to reprioritize his schedule to increase his commitment to the team.
As his players meet with him weekly, they are unaware of the cost of his presence. They love belonging to a team in the midst of their personal challenges and troubled home lives. Charly rejoices that his decision to trust God with his time increases his connection with his players and allows him to strengthen the relationship he has been building with him little by little over the year.
His ministry has not gone unnoticed by those around him and the school he works at decided to support Charly’s team by donating 10 used soccer balls. For him, it is a sign that God is behind him and ready to answer needs that will come as he commits to leading, ministering and coaching these young men whom God has placed on this particular field!
In all of this, Charly knows that the cost he pays with his time is so insignificant in comparison with the needs of his players who are living their life without yet, fully understanding how much they are loved by their Heavenly Father who watches over them day in day out!
