Kick-off to 2010!

(picture of our 2009-2010 staff team on our trip to Ethiopia in May 2010)

What is STS?

Sports That Serve is back in action in 2010! After an amazing vision trip to Ethiopia with five of our staff team this summer, we are ready for another awesome year of sports ministry in North Carolina!

But as with any vision, you’ve got to know where you’ve been so you can know where you’re going, so I’d like to take a second to share that vision with all of our followers…old and new.

Sports That Serve is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with a mission to use the platform of athletics to influence the character of America’s youth, while raising funds for children living in poverty around the world.

We do this by partnering with local schools and churches and hosting one day sports camps that minister to the kids in the local community, while simultaneously using the money raised on camp day to give to children less fortunate in the country of Ethiopia.

Why Ethiopia?

After graduating from UNC in 2007, the Lord blessed me with the opportunity to spend the next 8 months of my life serving as the sports teacher at a Mother Teresa’s HIV orphanage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It was there that I encountered the worst poverty and suffering I had ever seen. To some extent, I had prepared for that. When you tell people you are going to Africa, it’s the warning you always get. But what came as perhaps the biggest shock to my system was the pure joy I saw in the eyes and hearts of those who had so little. I was not expecting that. A verse in Proverbs rung so true during my time there:

“Better is a little with the fear of the Lord,

            than great treasure and trouble with it”

I always tell people that Africa changed me a heck of a lot more than I changed Africa. And I think that’s important to share in this first post of our 2011 camp season. Sports That Serve is not about rallying the “haves” in America to give to the “have-nots” in Africa. In many ways it’s just the opposite. Our vision is to use the avenue of athletics to share the love of Christ and His model of servant-leadership with kids in our communities (both rich and poor) who are in desperate spiritual need, and then put that faith into action by giving the money we raise to “visit orphans in their affliction” (James 1:27)

Sports That Serve is about being hearers of the Word AND doers of it (James 1:22).

And if the above principles are found in the same chapter of the Bible, it seems fitting they both be incorporated into the same ministry.

-Rob

Wrapping Up

Greetings Friends and Family,


It has been an amazing past week since our last update. The Lord has really opened up doors for us lately in Addis, and we’ve been so encouraged with what has happened recently...


Last week we visited an orphanage called Hanna’s. We met with Hanna, the orphanage founder and director, and afterwards we were all really excited about what the Lord is doing through her organization. This woman began her mission by adopting the child of a woman dying of HIV. From there it has grown into a ministry that provides for over 200 orphan children across the country.


Hanna’s is unique from other orphanages in that they use a family model to provide for the children in their care. They place 8-12 children in a home under the supervision of a “house mother”. They currently have 26 orphan homes all throughout Ethiopia. It was incredible to see what the Lord can accomplish in the lives of so many through the obedience of one faithful servant.


Another place that has had a profound impact on us is an organization called Hulugeb’s. It is a center that trains and employs the blind by teaching them how to make basic household goods such as brooms, mops, welcome mats, and pastries. Many of the handicapped people in Ethiopia view begging as a viable means of earning an income. Hulugeb’s provides an alternative and meaningful way for them to sustain themselves without being on the street. Although Hulugeb’s is not as organized as Hanna’s, this place has an incredible amount of potential to reach a greater number of disabled in Ethiopia in the future.
This week has also been an emotional one because we had to say goodbye to the children of Berket orphanage. We were so blessed to spend almost a week there, loving and playing with those kids, but we will continue to pray for the Lord’s provision for them until we are able to see them again.


With only a few days remaining in our trip, we are down to only three members of our team: Ted, Cody, and Rob, as we had to say goodbye to Nicole and Andrew who flew out this past week. We already miss their fellowship. It has been an amazing growing experience for us as a ministry and as a team!


We are grateful for the fellowship we have experienced through our stay at the Cherokee house. Staying with other volunteers has allowed us to process through the events of our trip with like-minded believers, which has really enriched our time.
As our time in Ethiopia comes to a close, we are sad to say goodbye, but looking forward to seeing how God uses this vision trip to further our ministry on both continents!


Please pray for God’s continued wisdom and guidance for the rest of our trip, and that we finish strong!


-The Sports That Serve Team

Salamnachu guadainyas!

Our last week has been action-packed and lots of fun! Since we last blogged, a majority of our time has been spent at a local orphanage, where Nicole spent 5 weeks in 2008. After raising money through our last four camps, we are now seeking to understand the best way to partner with them. It is a fairly small orphanage, with only 23 kids, and therefore it has been easy to get to know them these past few days. We have arrived every day a little after lunchtime, when the children are finished with school. We spend each afternoon playing games, hosting spelling bees, teaching volleyball & yoga lessons, giving piggy (or "donkey") back rides, and playing lots of futbol.

Our experiences there have been both overwhelming and challenging. However, through getting to know the kids, we have begun to see the hope and joy that is present in this place. We get excited everyday that we have the opportunity to spend time with them. We don't want to take a single day for granted.

We have also really enjoyed our nightly gatherings as a STS Team. Every night we gather in "The Outhouse" (where the boys sleep) to process through our thoughts and experiences, while studying Scripture together. This has been a great way to refocus and see the orphanage the way that Jesus sees it, since it would be easy to go there every day and only see the pain and poverty that surrounds these joyful children.

Continue to pray for us:
-maintaining our health
-developing international relationships
-being a light for Christ, sharing the Gospel
-living in the moment while not getting overwhelmed
-continued guidance as we make decisions with the funds the Lord has blessed us with

Live from Addis Ababa!

Hello family & friends!

WE ARE IN ETHIOPIA!! Praise the Lord--we are truly grateful to be here! Our flight went smoothly with only a couple minor changes. We were re-routed through Senegal instead of Rome, due to the residual volcanic ash from Iceland. This delayed our flight and actually made it a little longer but nothing too bad. We arrived here safely at 2:30pm (Ethiopian time) on May 11th.

We just finished our first full day here (May 12th). We hired a private minibus to take us around Addis and help acclimate us to the city. We visited all the major stops including: The National Stadium, Addis Ababa University & Museum, and Meskal Square, where all big celebrations are held. We officially all love Ethiopian macchiatos and they are less than 30 cents a piece here...an inexpensive addiction! :)

This afternoon we got to go to Mother Teresa's orphanage in Asco, where Rob ("Rabash") served for 8 months in 2007-2008. It was like a huge party or reunion when all the kids saw him come through the gates. A 6'8" white guy with a big beard is hard to forget. We loved playing with them and got a tour of the compound, including their awesome new school, which will house over 1000 students! We spent a good portion of time in the clinic, holding sick children, and helping the nuns. There was actually a shortage on volunteers today so it worked out perfectly that we were there. We have already made promises to come back...how do you say no to a nun?

We are reading Colossians and 1,2,3 John while we are here together as a team, if you'd like to read along. We are thankful for your prayers and encouragement and are excited to see what the Lord does with the rest of our time here.

We'll be updating every couple days. Much love!

Why?

Guess what?! We are only 7 days away from jumping on a plane and heading to Ethiopia! We are so excited!! (if you didn’t know we were going…read here)

Lately, as a staff team, we have been reading the book When Helping Hurts to prepare our minds and hearts for this upcoming vision trip. After reading, discussing, brainstorming, and praying we have a lot of questions on our minds as we travel across the world to serve in a culture not only very different from our own, but with an incredible amount of poverty bombarding us from every direction. The need is great…and we know that we are not the Savior who can alleviate all their problems and change every life.

Reading this book together has helped us focus our vision for this trip and I wanted to share some of those thoughts with you here. In the answers below, you will find some important information about how we are paying for this trip (not out of our general budget), and why we feel called to go. Enjoy!

Why do we raise money for Ethiopia?
Three of our staff members who have been involved in Sports That Serve from the beginning (Rob Shields, Jay Falk, and myself, Nicole Keegan) have spent significant amount of time in Ethiopia, specifically in the capital, Addis Ababa. All three of us served daily in orphanages and/or schools for orphans. And all of us came back significantly changed. When we returned to North Carolina, we couldn’t shake off what we had experienced and been a part of. And we couldn’t forget the great needs we had seen, or the faces of the children we loved who had little hope for their futures.

Scripture draws our attention to the poor and calls us to care for them in several passages throughout the Old and New Testament (some of my favorites: Luke 4:17-19, Isaiah 58:10, Isaiah 1:16b-17). And while ALL of us are poor in one way or another (not just materially and economically), Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert in When Helping Hurts make an excellent point:

“The economically poor are singled out in Scripture as being in a particularly desperate category and as needing very specific attention (Acts 6:1-7). That fact that all humanity has some things in common with the materially poor does not negate their unique and overwhelming suffering nor the special place that they have in God’s heart, as emphasized throughout the Old and New Testaments.” (p. 71)

There are too many instances throughout Scripture which draw our hearts and minds to the poor for us to ignore their plight and not make some effort to love and care for them.

There is a great need to love the poor in Ethiopia…specifically the orphans (see statistics here ). And the Lord has drawn our hearts specifically to them, in crazy unexpected ways. So we are raising money, educating ourselves, seeking wise council, and working hard to love the poor in Ethiopia the way we believe that Jesus has called us to.

Why are we going to Ethiopia for 4 weeks?
As an organization, we feel we need to take this vision trip. We need to go over there and have meetings firsthand with people who can better explain to us the need. We want to better understand the need so that we can better meet it. The last thing we want to do is pour a ton of money overseas that is not helping Ethiopians long term and is just making us feel better about ourselves. We want to be the best stewards of the money that the Lord has entrusted to us. We know that this trip is necessary for us to succeed in the future.

We feel so strongly that we are called to go on this trip, that we are using 0% of the money we have already raised through camps, etc. this year. We had a separate fundraiser (see here) and Rob, Cody, Andrew, Ted and I have all been doing personal fundraising to earn our plane tickets, room & board, and transportation while we are there. This has been a big step of faith for all of us but we have seen the Lord provide abundantly! We have no doubt that He will supply us with all the money we need before we go. We want to make sure that YOU (our supporters, friends, and family) understand how we are funding this trip so that you know that the money that has been given to us is being used honestly and faithfully.


Thank you, as always, for your partnership with us in this ministry. We are excited about this next step and will keep you updated via this blog while we are there.

80's Dodgeball Tournament

Hey Everybody,


After an amazing camp season, the Sports That Serve staff is now gearing up for our first ever vision trip to Ethiopia here in a few weeks. On Monday, May 10th, five STS staff members (Rob Shields, Nicole Keegan, Cody Pate, Andrew McAllister, and Ted Morgan) will hop on a plane bound for Addis Ababa for 3 ½ weeks! We will be building relationships on the ground in the capital city as we seek to establish ourselves and ensure the funds we raise through our sports camps are used to love the poor in the most effective and sustainable way.


We are really excited to take this step in advancing the mission of Sports That Serve, and know that the Lord will use this trip to further the work He is already doing through us here in North Carolina.


Please be praying for us over the next four weeks as we seek to raise $10,000 to cover our trip expenses.


In order to help us reach this goal, we are hosting an 80’s themed Kickball Tournament this coming Saturday, April 17th in Raleigh and Chapel Hill! We hope to raise close to one-fifth of our trip’s expenses through this event, with the rest coming through fundraising letters, graduation announcements by our college seniors on staff, and as many lemonade stands as it takes! We have taken a big step of faith in taking this trip to Ethiopia, and we trust that God will provide the funds we need.


Pray that the STS staff will really trust in the Lord’s provision as we fundraise in a limited time frame in such a tough economy.


Pray that the Lord would graciously provide the funds in His way and in His time. (…but preferably before we board the plane on the 10th!)


Pray that He would make our Kickball tournament a success in both locations this weekend. Pray that we would successfully recruit Team Captains who take ownership over the event and realize how much they are contributing to our mission by simply playing a game of Kickball dressed in silly clothes (my apologies to anyone still rocking the 80’s threads). Every team that participates in the tournament gets us at least $90 closer to our goal, so we’re praying for a March Madness style turnout!


Pray that He would open doors for us in Addis and that He would guide us and protect us during our trip as we seek His will for this ministry’s impact there.


If you are interested in being a Team Captain for either of our Kickball tournaments this weekend, or know someone who might be, PLEASE email us at info@sportsthatserve.org for more info.


**To be removed from this listserve, please send a blank email to info@sportsthatserve.org**

STS Raleigh: The Finale

We did it! Our camp season officially came to a close last Saturday with our final basketball camp at St. David’s School in Raleigh…our third camp in a 28 day span. Needless to say, we were depending on the Lord to supply us with the strength and energy to finish the camp season strong, and just as He has from the beginning, He provided so faithfully. There was such an outpouring of support from the school community for the event, from the administration and coaches down to the volunteer parents and players…it was exactly the type of enthusiasm we hope to encounter at every new camp site in the future.

With all the amazing volunteers we had on hand, both on the court and behind the scenes, the camp itself ran smoothly from start to finish. All in all it was a great camp experience. But don’t take my word for it! Check out pictures from the day’s events on our web album.

A big thank you to St. David’s varsity coaches Wes Wilder and Johnny Garrett for their help in running the camp. Coach Garrett brought out “The Gun” shooting machine and held competitions at his station, which quickly turned into the highlight for many of the campers. Coach Wilder held an instructional session with members of his Conference Champion Varsity squad and showcased some of the drills they ran in practice every day that resulted in their success on the court.

One highlight of the day was hearing Patrick Moody give his testimony to the kids following station time. As a member of UNC’s 2009 National Championship team, he shared with the campers the importance of putting God first in their lives, a powerful message coming from such an accomplished athlete.

Another highlight came during the Break Station, where I was able to sit down with each team and explain to them the real reason why this camp was being held. Of all the skills and learning that took place that day, above all else I really wanted every camper to walk away with a clear understanding of why they were there, and thereby encourage each of them to find ways to serve the people in their lives the way Jesus has served us.

An integral part of our mission is striving to reserve at least 25% of our enrollment spots at each of our camps for low-income children to attend free of charge. As we utilize the platform of sports to share the good news of the gospel with our campers, we feel it is essential to live out that gospel message by engaging and serving the less fortunate in the surrounding community. In the weeks leading up to camp day, we developed a relationship with an organization called New Day Ministries, a group that ministers to refugees from around the world who have been relocated to the Raleigh area. We found out that there was a group of 7 refugee children from Karen and Burma who would love to attend our camp, and we were so happy to offer our camp experience to them.

Around midnight on Friday we received a call from Agape Corner, a Christian boarding school in Durham that ministers to at-risk youth from across the country. They asked if there were still scholarship spots available for a group of 7 or 8 of their students to attend our camp, and we were so excited to extend an invitation to them! It was such a blessing for us to have the opportunity to show Christ’s love to the children from Agape Corner and New Day through our camp!

A special thanks to Helen Keegan, who tirelessly promoted our event from within the St. David’s community, and loaned us her expertise in camp registration for the day. Another goes out to Momma Shields, who almost pulled a five loaves and two fish type miracle in feeding all the STS staff and volunteers on Friday night with her delicious home-made lasagna! A huge thank you also is due to Lynn Garrett and Julie Johnson, who both used their platforms in the school community to generously market our camp and let everyone know we were coming to town. We could not have done it without their support!

As we conclude our camp season this spring, we are so excited to see what doors the Lord opens moving forward. Join us in prayer for His guidance and wisdom as we continue striving to love and serve the people of North Carolina and Ethiopia through Sports That Serve!

Lastly, we are also excited to announce that the Sports That Serve staff will be taking a “vision trip” to Ethiopia in May to build relationships with orphanages and other ministries within the country. We hope to lay a solid groundwork for funding change within this third world country that lies at the center of all we do through STS. Stay tuned for more information about our upcoming trip!

-Rob Shields

Finishing up the camp season:: Raleigh, NC

Well, folks…this is it. Our crazy Spring 2010 Camp Schedule (consisting of 3 camps in 28 days) is coming to a close this Saturday, March 20^th. And what an incredible way to wrap up the season! We cannot wait to run a camp in our local community and serve kids who live just around the corner from us. We are so grateful for this opportunity!

We will be hosting the camp at St. David’s School. The support we have received from this school has been overwhelming, to say the least. Parents, teachers, coaches, and administration have rallied around our organization especially in the last two weeks to help get the word out to kids. We are pumped to be able to use the brand new gym facility at St. David’s to serve, love, and share the Gospel with these kids on Saturday!

We are also really excited to have some kids from New Day Ministry join us for our camp! Rebecca Yang and Anna Watkins heard about our ministry and wanted their kids to be able experience on of our camps. We are thrilled that this partnership has worked out and can’t wait to meet and love these kids. What an encouragement to see the body of Christ coming together, as different ministries join hands for the same cause!

We have several awesome and over-qualified volunteers joining us for this camp. Here’s the quick rundown:

Patrick Moody (Member of 2009 National Championship UNC Basketball Team) **Patrick will be not only helping to instruct but will also be sharing his testimony and a brief message with the kids right before lunch. Patrick’s a great friend of ours and we are so excited for him to share his personal walk with Christ with the campers.

Former Campbell University Basketball Player Patrick Stephenson

Former UNC JV Basketball Player Claude Shields

Former UNC JV Basketball Player Brad Jones

St David’s Varsity Coach Wes Wilder

St David’s Varsity Coach Johnny Garrett

St David’s JV Coach Larron Yancey

St David’s Middle School Coach Rob Shields

Durham School of the Arts Coach Elizabeth Simpson

St David’s Boys Varsity Basketball Team

We will also be having several other awesome volunteers helping us out, on and off the court. What an incredible team!

Please join us in praying for this camp on Saturday. We believe the Lord will use our ministry at St. David’s and we want to be faithful to the work He is calling us to: serving wholeheartedly as for the Lord. Pray the Gospel is communicated clearly—both in words and actions. Pray for safety, and that everyone will have a great time playing basketball and meeting new people.

We are grateful for your partnership and we can’t wait to tell you all about how the Lord answered our prayers next week!

An Action-Packed Return to Kinston

Thank you for your prayers and support this past weekend as we served the Kinston community with our second basketball camp! We were overwhelmed by the Lord's faithfulness and we feel blessed to have been given this opportunity.

85% of the kids who attended the camp on Saturday, March 7, were low-income kids from Southeast Elementary School. They all attended for free and brought A LOT of energy to the day! We recognized many of the kids from our camp in May 2009, as well as when we helped take them around UNC's campus last fall. We loved being able to continue relationships with familiar faces...as well as forming new friendships. While he couldn't be there in person, Jimbo Perry worked so tirelessly and selflessly to help get the kids from Southeast there and we want to say a huge thank you to him!! He and his family also opened up there "Fun Farm" for us to stay at the night before, which was a great place for us to pray, plan, and prepare for camp the next day.

Tom Vermillion, a Kinston resident and former UNC Football Player, gave a brief message before lunch and outlined the Gospel in a clear & engaging way. It's awesome that the kids could hear from someone they'll see regularly and whose name is both familiar and respected. Thanks, Tom, for sharing the Gospel and the hope that we have in Christ with our campers!

We were encouraged throughout the day by the smoothness of the camp and the enthusiasm of the campers. The highlight of the day was definitely when the Kinston High Varsity Basketball Team came to shoot around, answer questions, sign autographs, and hang out with the kids. They are truly celebrities in their community. We are so thankful that Coach Gulledge gave us their time and allowed us to hang out with them before they hit the road that afternoon for their regional championship game...which they WON! Then, this past Saturday, the Vikings played in the 2A State Championship Game this past Saturday, March 14, and are now the 2010 State Champs!! Congratulations, Vikings—we couldn’t be prouder!

The kids were extremely grateful at the end of the day and did not want to leave...in fact, one of the boys we have gotten to know over the past year, named Graham, came up to us and said “You guys should do this every month!” Another girl came up to me with an extremely serious expression on her face and stated, "This is the best day of my life." Thank you, Lord, for giving us a chance to love these kids in a way they can receive and appreciate!

We know that the Lord orchestrated and planned this camp from the beginning...we had our own plan (including a totally different date) but praise God that His plans are so much better than ours! Thank you for being a part of seeing God work in Kinston this past weekend!

If you'd like to support one of the Southeast Elementary kids who attended the camp this past weekend, please email us at: info@sportsthatserve.org. We are still accepting donations and sponsorships.

Heading to Kinston...

Hey everybody! Our basketball camp in Kinston, NC is finally here! We're heading down there today and can't wait to meet and serve the kids tomorrow morning! Here are some ways you can be partnering with us in prayer as we head out this weekend:

Pray that the Lord will bring excited kids from the Kinston community to learn, have fun, and interact with volunteers, and meet kids from different backgrounds.

Our camp will be running from 9:30am to 2pm on that Saturday and we are looking forward to hosting kids from the local community, as well from The Gate and from Southeast Elementary School as a part of our sponsorship program. Please pray that the Lord will bring kids who love basketball, need to be loved and reached out to, and perhaps have never heard the Gospel.

Chick-Fil-A will be sponsoring our lunch and we will be bringing about 6 volunteers from the RDU area to help run the camp. The Perry Family has opened up their "Fun Farm" for us all to stay at the night before. Please pray for good fellowship, unity as a team of volunteers, and a rich time of prayer and preparation for the ministry we will be doing tomorrow.

We can't wait to see how the Lord will move at our first basketball camp of the year! Thanks for your support and partnership in prayer for Sports That Serve.

If you have any questions or interest in our Kinston Camp (March 6, 2010), OR if you'd like to help sponsor a child from The Gate or Southeast Elementary to attend our camp, please email: info@sportsthatserve.org.

Pictures From Our Charlotte Camp!

Hey Everybody,

Here are some pictures from our baseball camp in Charlotte last weekend....as promised!

http://bit.ly/9LART6


To God be the Glory!

-The STS Team

STS Charlotte!

Hey Everybody,

I just wanted to send out a quick message to share with you guys about our baseball camp this past weekend in Charlotte.

As we shared last week, this month is a pretty crazy one as we host 3 camps within a 30 day span, so needless to say the days leading up to our Charlotte camp were jam-packed.

On Friday afternoon the STS staff headed down to Reid’s house in Charlotte to prepare for the camp on Saturday. After a delicious meal by the wonderful Mrs. Fronk, we met together as a staff and read the verse from “My Utmost For His Highest” devotional for that day in Isaiah chapter 60:1-3

"Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.

See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the LORD rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.

Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn."

These verses encapsulated exactly what we wanted to do through our camp. We wanted the Nations to be drawn to the light that was present on Saturday, and it was really cool to be reminded that it would be God’s light that would appear over us and attract people to the Gospel, not our own. All we had to do was reflect His glory to the campers that He brought there.

With this perspective, Saturday was such an amazing answer to prayer in so many ways. First off, the weather was awesome…60 degrees and sunny all day. For a town that had just had 4 inches of snow the weekend before, this was a small miracle in and of itself. Secondly, we had double the kids show up than were registered online, which was so encouraging.

But the highlight of the day definitely came at lunch time, when the whole camp got to hear a testimony from our good friend Michael Mckee, former UNC baseball player and current seminary student. Michael used his platform as a former athlete on one of the best baseball teams in the country to share with the kids that the most important thing in his life wasn’t his baseball career, but his relationship with Jesus. To hear this from a player who had been to the College World Series 4 straight times was really powerful. Michael presented the gospel message to the kids, and offered an invitation at the end. Even if we had not raised a single dollar on Saturday, this would have made it all worth it!

With Reid running the show, the camp ran so smoothly. Reid had done such a good job recruiting the best players around to come help out that the rest of the STS staff was free to just focus on the logistical side of things.

All in all, the Lord answered so many prayers this weekend, and we all left knowing that His glory had shone brightly on Saturday.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support. They were so clearly answered. We look forward to sharing more with you in the coming days (including some amazing pictures), but for now, join us in thanking the Lord for everything He did in making this camp a tremendous success!