Final preparations

My last weekend in Sydney before flying out in 3 days time. The last couple of weeks feel like they've flown by in a bit of a blur. I've been busy getting tickets, visas, injections, tying up the loose ends of the coaching work I have been doing and trying to sort out international transfers with the football authorities in India.

I've also had my first taste of the Indian mode of operation. Not only have I spent quite some time in a very busy and disorganised consulate (even when just collecting my passport back) but a couple of days after I had booked my tickets I heard from the head of the ministry in India, and the association had moved the season's start date again. Apparently two weeks after releasing the draw they'd discovered that the major stadium was double-booked so they've moved the season back to 11 December. Whilst this is obviously a little frustrating and may cause problems at the end of the season with return flights, it's probably a good thing. It means I'll get almost 2 weeks to aclimatise to the weather before the season kicks off. It also means that I'll be in town when a couple of american football missionaries fly in to visit and I'm really looking forward to spending a couple of days with experienced sports ministers.

The last couple of days have also been a little frustrating as far as preparing for playing overseas. After a couple of days working hard at sprint training and a few endurance runs I woke up with a fair bit of pain in my knee. It's clearly a sign that I'm starting to get old and was pretty disconcerting. After a couple of days slowed down to walking pace the pain has gone away completely but it's meant that I'm not nearly as far along the fitness regime as I would like to be. Being able to contribute both on and off the field is a major concern to me at the moment and something that I'm trying to struggle through mentally. I haven't played as much football as I would have liked to over the last couple of months since returning from Thailand. Finding the right balance between taking my football seriously and keeping it in eternal perspective is still something that I am sorting through at the moment.

A Brief Explanation

If you're reading this you're probably thinking - "I though Bec and Oaks only just got back from overseas, what's with a new travel blog?"

Having already spent six months this year travelling the world visiting football ministries I didn't expect to be heading overseas again in 2006. However, for the last few months I have been in contact with a football ministry in southern India. During those conversations the possibility of me spending the season playing with their team came up. I'm always keen to play football and love opportunities to combine Christian mission with the round ball so I was seriously thinking about the option. Then last Monday I found out that the season had been moved forward - to 1 December!

After spending some time thinking and praying about the offer Bec and I have decided that this opportunity is too good to pass up. Therefore I have a little under 3 weeks to sort everything out and get over to India. Getting fit is going to take some serious work and we've managed to collect a fair few loose ends to tie up over the last couple of months. If everything goes to plan I should be running out onto an Indian football field by the first weekend in December.

Unfortunately due to Bec having only recently started back at work she has decided that she will only be able to join me in India for a week or two over the Christmas period. This is a pretty big deal for us (we usually spend an awful lot of time together) and wasn't something we jumped at quickly. Please pray for us as we seek to prayerfully and carefully take this opportunity God has given us whilst supporting each other from afar.

The season in India runs for 10 weeks. Whilst I'm there I will play in the state league, coach at a couple of schools and work with a local english speaking church, as well as any other outreach the team are involved in. It's an entirely locally run ministry which will be quite different from many that I have visited so far this year. This also means that I'll have to work hard to overcome cultural and language barriers. Please pray that the culture shock won't be debilitating and that God can protect me from language misunderstandings so that I can play, coach and live in a way that glorifies Him.

Over the last couple of years I have increasingly seen how God can use football to spread his kingdom. It breaks down barriers, crosses cultural divides and provides regular opportunities to spend quality time with people. Bec and I hope that this time will not only be great opportunity to assist the Lord's work in India but will also help to provide a better understanding of God's call for our lives.

The support and prayer of our friends is really important for us so we'll try and keep this site updated regularly with information about what we're doing and what we're going through.