Dear Team Members, Feb 6th , 2009
I am going to have to admit, that a month ago, if I were to have shared with you what I expected be writing about in my upcoming newsletter, the picture I would have painted, most likely would have looked significantly different than what I am about to share in the following paragraphs. In fact, if I would have been told a rough outline of some of the events (minus the final product of course) of what this month was to consist of, I may have been in fact quite disappointed.
Do you find that life is often like that? That you go about painting a picture of your expectations for the month, the week, or just the day, and through a series of events that you could have never imagined, you find yourself miles away from your intended destination, ultimately unsure of how exactly you truly find yourself in such circumstances. And while you soon come to terms with the reality of things, as peculiar and as frustrating as they may be, you then find yourself saying, “I really envisioned this going so much differently.” Well today, let me tell you, you are definitely not the only one… Cause I know this guy down the street, and it happens to him all the time…. No, I am just kidding, while there may be a guy down the street, I don’t have to go looking to tell you about a fella (I’ll give you a hint…his name starts with an M and his last name rhymes with Lama… and it’s not Mike Pajama) who has experienced that quite often, but mostly recently this past month.
During the Christmas break, I was quite excited to return to health, following some injury struggles that I faced prior to returning for the holidays. And so during my time back, I spend time training, and going to the gym to regain my fitness, all in an effort to be prepared to get back to ministry here in Spain. Well, after coming through my recovery with only a few scratches, and arriving back in Spain, we headed to the prison to carry on our ministry with the inmates. I was ready! My first game back, it was great, things ran smoothly, and I was really exciting about being able to participate. And then it happened… On one of the final plays of the game, I got injured! For the next couple of days I struggled to walk properly, and wrestled with how I could find myself in this all too familiar scenario yet again. And while it has been a real trial to be injured yet again, God has challenged me, to take this time to once again ask Him, “What is your heart and your purpose in all of this, and what are you are trying to teach me?” It’s been tough, but it has now been over 3 weeks, and I have really been to witness to the fact that “God uses all things for the good of those who love Him” (Romans 8:28). I have been blessed with incredible opportunities to share and build relationship with the guys in the prison, to simply talk more, to hear their hearts, and build deeper friendships. It’s been a huge blessing, which I may have otherwise missed had I been playing. Two guys in the prison, that I have been really blessed to be able to get to know better over these last 3 weeks, are young man named “Toffee” and “The fastest guy in prison” (nickname due to the fact that he makes it no secret that he was the 100 meter gold medal winner in the prison Olympics this past Christmas). It has been so neat going into the prison, not play, but to just chat, to joke, to hear the hearts of these guys. I am excited for what God is doing in all of this.
So in the midst of trials and struggles, God is good. God is faithful. God’s got a plan. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are his ways higher than our ways, and His thought than our thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). So through all things, may we continue to seek God’s heart in those moments and circumstances that we don’t quite understand, asking Him, “What are you doing all of this?”
Thank you all so much for your prayers and support
Love you all,
Matt Hama
matt_hama9@hotmail.com
Facebook: Tuscan Bullfighting Adventures of a Spanish Muchacho
http://matthama.blogspot.com/
