July 11 Update from David in Split

Blog-Tuesday July 10     

Not sure where to start in the events of the day. The blessings we have received are so overwhelming that it is hard to capture them all in words on paper or in cyperspace, but I will try my best to share all that God is doing through this ministry in the past 24 hours! 

From meeting other missionairies who are on the front line of ministry on a regular basis and being encouraged by them and hopefully us encouraging them in the process to playing football with so many eager young men who are open and receptive to listening to every thing we say. We were blessed with God revealing that not only are these young men eager to hear about football  but they are receptive to hearing about God’s love for them as well! Watching all those eyes of the 35 players involved in the camp glued on Jason while he gave his testimony, was incredible to witness!

In the morning we went to the town of Truger to help the missionaries, The Englands, of the house we are staying in, to help them run their English sport camp. We did a 45 minute session of football skills, with a younger group and then another 45 minute session with an older group. It was neat to see them participate and watch the Storks help us with the stations. The missionaries were so thankful we came out to help them and show God’s love through the sports portion of the camp. We stayed and had some watermelon and I had the opportunity to meet several American missionaries who are here in Split. In fact they have asked us to arrange a baseball camp here in Split next summer and I am already in the process of arranging a time for us to come and share baseball and football next year here! It is really exciting to see all that God is opening to us and the chance to share His love! 

After watermelon we headed to the beach and swam in the Adriatic for about an hour and had a great time of messing around with those who came to swim. After the swim we drove into the town of Truger and ate dinner in the old castle. Wonderful time of food and fellowship and after that Jason and Katie headed with the Storks to do some sightseeing and Mike and I came back to the house to get an old man's nap and to do some prep time for the practice.

The practice was well attended again with 35 players with some new ones who were not there the night before and some drop offs who didn’t return. We had some more players to come in from Zagreb with the Patriots. They are already playing American tackle football and have the equipment and were ready to play some tackle football, but since we didn’t have the gear we were not able to do that. You could tell they were disappointed and wanted to play they didn’t sit around and mope or make fun of those who hadn’t played before. They got into the drills and helped us with making sure the others knew what we were talking and nothing was lost in translation! They were an incredible help and it was a blessing to witness their desire to help! That is not often seen here and to witness that showed us that God is really working to make His love felt! The Patriot players realize the vision of getting more teams involved in the league will give them more competition and will help the league gain some recognition.

After camp I asked Jason to share his testimony and he was incredible in sharing his heart! All eyes were glued to him and when finished I tied it all together with letting them know that was why were here. To use the great game of American football to share the love of God through his son Jesus Christ! I told them that we are all available to talk with anyone who would like to know more, just come and stop and ask us. I closed in prayer and then immediately a young man named Marino came up and asked me if he could talk with me. We walked to the corner of the field and he proceeded to share all that was on his heart! He has a lot of hurt from past experiences and confessed he has been angry with God on more than one occasion! His father left him and his mother when he was 2 and only recently had the opportunity to reconnect with him, but then his father passed away suddenly form cancer. He also recently lost his grandmother who raised him! Listening to his heart and hearing his desire to be free of the hurt and anger in his heart touched me to the core and after listening I shared how God’s love through his son Jesus Christ and the strength he gives those who accept him as their savior through his Holy Spirit, was a joy that is unexplained and is the only thing that can fill that empty void in anyone’s heart! He listened intently and with tears in our eyes we prayed for Christ to come into his heart and take over his heart! I was not sure he was understanding what was happening and told him we would talk further at practice the next day. He thanked me and we hugged and he asked me if I had a facebook account! I told him I did and he said he would look for me! Well this morning I got a request from Marino to become his friend and when I accepted I saw this post this morning: "I found God on a football field while opening my heart to a great man. Thank you David Moss and other coaches for opening my ears and heart to Him. thank you for listening to me. that really means a lot to me. thank you for your time that you've given for all of us.” God has blessed each of us and to see Him work on hearts like that is what it is all about!

After I finished speaking with Marino I looked around and saw each of our coaches speaking and coaching in small groups! The eagerness of the Sea Wolves and football reminds me of the eagerness of the Storks and baseball, my prayer is that more hearts will open to his saving grace! 

What a great day each day it is to serve Him. I would like to close with a passage from Jesus’ sermon on the mount! Matthew 7:24-27, 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” That is why we come and our prayer more hearts will be built on the solid rock of Jesus Christ!

Thanks for the support and prayers and please continue to do so! We have a lot still to accomplish and a lot to still get done! 

Our steps leaving HIS PRINT! 

David