In a country where 61% of the population is under the age of 25, Kenya is a fertile ground for camping ministry. It was the second day of a recent Sports Friends camp in a rural Kenyan community and energy levels were soaring; the campers were having the time of their...
Jalane Age: 17 Favorite Activity: Swimming What did you learn at camp? “I learned that there’s lots of challenges in life and to overcome challenges we have to be patient.” [When I asked what she learned that from, she said from going over the spider web at...
In 2012, I (Luke) wrote a blog called “When Winning is Losing.” The post was about a time when a few of the boys of Lyzee United Football Club lost their cool in a tournament and got into a fight. It resulted in quite a scene where many other teams saw the boys fail...
By Daniel Chang, SF Malawi Just two weeks into my time in Malawi, I found myself hurtling down a small road in a minibus to a town called Liwonde. I had just begun to find my bearings in Blantyre, and now I was headed to a new place with a bunch of Malawian Sports...
By Daniel Chang, SF Malawi In December of 2015, I traveled with my family and a good friend to St Louis, Missouri for Urbana, a five-day student missions conference. I was getting ready to start my final semester of college, and I had no plans for after graduation. In...
On this month’s edition of Meet the Team, we’d like to introduce you to Beki and Jeremy Helwig working in Niger! Name: Jeremy Helwig Role with SF: Niger team Favorite Sport/Team: Redskins American football Favorite Bible Verse: John 16 Favorite Food: Meat! What do you...
Mohammed was born in a remote village in eastern Malawi. For decades, his family has been full of individuals who have been born, lived their entire lives and then died as non-Christians. A normal person in his community adamantly resists the Gospel of Jesus Christ. ...
A year ago, Kennedy, one of our Sports Friends leaders, asked me if Sports Friends would provide ten soccer balls for Wanyama, a Kenyan missionary serving in South Sudan. I was reluctant to supply the balls since Sports Friends is not working in South Sudan, I had...
By Mia Smith and Lemmy Dalano, SF Kenya Remote camps have been a major focus for Sports Friends, designed to deeply impact communities that otherwise wouldn’t be drawn into the ministry. One particular camp, stationed within an unreached people group in Kenya,...
by Fostance Mtolo, SF Malawi In many places in Malawi, sports are viewed by church leaders as evil. These leaders teach that sports should have no part in Christian life. Many would never even dream of using sports as a ministry tool. But we thank God that...
Prior to our return to Malawi, our daughter Lyzee was having a hard time. She kept asking the question: “Why do we have to go? I love it here in the USA. I love Malawi, but I love it here too.” Since we’ve returned, she’s had a tough time adjusting back to life and...
On this month’s edition of Meet the Team, we’d like to introduce you to Ishaya, our SF Nigeria Director! Name: Ishaya Inuwa Durkwa Role with SF: SF Nigeria Team Leader (Country Director) Favorite Sport/Team: SFN FC (Sports Friends Nigeria Football Club) Favorite Bible...
By Ishaya Inuwa, SF Nigeria Youth are a blessing to any community because they have strength as a great advantage on their side. But when their strength is not well focused, it becomes a great disadvantage within the community they live in. Over the years we have seen...
By Shane Smith and Lemmy Dalano, SF Kenya Njoroge didn’t mind the two hour bicycle ride to church. He took great pleasure in worshiping with other believers and there wasn’t a place he could do that in his town. Njoroge pedaled faithfully week after week… for two...
On this month’s edition of Meet the Team, we’d like to introduce you to Luke, our SF Malawi Director! Name: LukeRole with SF: SF Malawi DirectorFavorite Sport/Team: Soccer/Chelsea FCFavorite Bible Verse: “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face...
By Jonathan Moore, SF Niger On our last home assignment, someone gave us a dozen soccer balls to help with the Sports Friends ministry here in Niger. In December I visited one of our coaches at his practice and presented him with one of the balls. I told the kids that...
By Lemmy Dalano and Mia Smith, SF Kenya Jackson needed a change. His routine in the town of Mpeketoni was lacking something. So, when farmland opened up around 45 kilometers away from his home, he jumped at the opportunity to work the land and alter the regularity of...
By Laura Hall, SF Ethiopia What is the impact that one week of camp can have on youth, their families, and their communities? You might remember David - the camper who brought a church to his village. After attending camp six years ago as an 11-year-old, David...
By Ben Amonung, SF Ghana Sheriff is a young boy of 15 who lives on the outskirts of Tamale. As is common in Northern Ghana, Sheriff’s parents are peasant farmers and can only cultivate what they live on, which, in most cases, is not enough to sustain the family until...
Coach Mike Mtuwa is a 21-year-old from the city of Blantyre, specifically from a small township called Soche. He is a secondary school student and is looking forward to college. Mike became a Christ follower after hearing the testimony of a preacher who was sharing...
By Ishaya Inuwa, SF Nigeria "I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt." Acts 7:34 Culturally, in many parts of northern Nigeria, girls are not...
By Fostance Mtolo Since 2012, Sports Friends has trained more than 150 women from local churches all across Malawi. While Malawian boys love soccer, netball is absolutely loved by girls in every village and town. Jenny saw an opportunity to use the sport to...
Do you remember the days when you were young? Care-free all the time, long summer nights outside, playing sports, hanging out and laughing with friends. Most likely, all of these things were part of your life growing up. In magazines, on TV commercials, and all over...
This month we'd like to introduce you to one of our hard-working camp staff members! Wako has been working at Camp Langano in Ethiopia for several years, and his heart to serve all who come to camp is evident! Name: Wako Beriso Role with SF: Camp Langano Staff...