March Update

Dear Team Members,                                                                                                                                                March 6^th, 2009

 

As reminiscing on childhood memories tends to be one of my more enjoyable pastimes, in order to properly convey the events of this past month, I will ask you to recall back with me to a specific moment in your childhood, when you were eagerly awaiting the arrival of a specific event (What exciting event you recall back to is entirely up to you).  So while you may choose to go along the traditional, yet never exhausted route of Christmas morning or a birthday celebration, you may decide to take a slightly different approach, and like myself recall back to the arrival of a new air gun at the age of ten. Have you got yours?  Good.  I would suggest you close your eyes to heighten the memory; however if you do that, carrying on reading this newsletter may become exceedingly difficult.  But if you’re really eager to do that, I will give you permission to read with one eye closed if need be. 

 

Ok, so there you are, the excitement that filled the air surrounding the arrival of the ever eluding, yet much anticipated date was almost more than you could bear.  The seconds seemed to tick by in extra-slow motion, so in a desperate attempt to speed up the arrival you would try to stay occupied with other engagements.  However at the age of 10, or 7, or whatever young age you found yourself at, “engagements” seemed to be few and far between, and doing your taxes in the spare time, or fixing the sink just didn’t seem practical at that point in your life.  So you carried on with your typical daily events such as bug collecting, fort building, and the odd ride around the block on your bicycle, yet all while being constantly reminded every 12 seconds of the fact that the clock wasn’t go to speed up at any time soon.  However that moment, after much anticipation eventually did arrive.  And all that waiting, all those unbearable seconds that ticked past, in that moment seemed so worth it as you finally enjoyed the bounty of all that build up.  Those moments were great…

 

That being said, over this past month we have been gearing up for this years 2009 Ambassadors in Sport Spain tour, and I was once again brought back to those days of anticipation.  The only difference this time, while I didn’t have taxes to do or sinks to fix, as a team here in Spain, there were many preparatory “engagements” leading up to the event to keep things quite busy.  But after much waiting, and clock watching the start of the tour eventually arrived.

 

It was an exciting time here in Spain, as the tour provides us with incredible opportunities to develop and build relationships with local contacts here in Spain.  The tour, which consisted of a number of young guys from England, Northern Ireland, Mexico, U.S and Columbia, also brought in another Canadian from my local city back home, Williams Lake.  The tour went very well, as we were able to play several matches, run a few coaching sessions, and ultimately share the message of Christ with many young men here in Spain. 

 

However, the tour highlight for me in particular, was surrounding the local youth team that I have been helping coach over the last number of months here.  During this past season, as we have been coaching this team, it has been our heart to first establish our testimony by mean of our lives on and off the field, with the young guys.  So as we have been encouraging them in excellence on and off the field, and seeking to be Christ-like leaders in their lives, we finally took this opportunity the tour presented to openly share the message of Christ with them as a group.  For me, this was that moment; the one that I had so greatly anticipated, built up, and eagerly waited for during this past year.  And it was so incredibly worth the wait, as we shared the Hope that we have in Jesus Christ with these young men.  I ask that you continue to lift these guys up in prayer, that God would continue to reveal Himself, and move in their lives as they consider and ponder the words that were spoken.

 

 

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/

February Update

Dear Team Members,                                                                                                                                                Feb 6^th , 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/

January Update

Dear Team Members,                                                                                                                                                Jan 16^th, 2009

 

 

With the Christmas season now having come to a close and the New Year now upon us, I have arrived back in Spain, and I have gotten right back into the local ministries here.  Looking back over the last month, the Christmas holidays were a very refreshing time, as I had the privilege to travel back and visit with family and friends, and even attend two different weddings for a couple good friends of mine.  Coming back and visiting with many of you was such an incredible blessing, as it was an opportunity to reconnect and to simply spend time enjoying the season.

 

 And while it was real enjoyable to have been able to spend time with everyone back home, it was especially nice to have been able to spend some time with my Grandpa, who since my last visit has been in the hospital.  My Grandpa, who I am very close with, suffered a head injury and a stroke during my last stint away, and so it has been very hard having only been able to simply observe at a distance.  However that being said, seeing him again was very encouraging yet at the same time challenging, and it was sad due to the shortness of the visit, yet filled with great joy because of the quality of the visit.  And in spite of the challenging season that he faces, he continues to teach me more and more about my Saviour in the way he lives. 

 

During the last visit with my Grandpa at Christmas, God spoke to me through him on more than one occasion, however one moment, which I am continually brought back to as of late, surrounds the idea of giving gifts.  I was taken back to Mark 12:41-44 which talks about “The Widows Offering”, a story I am sure many of you are well familiar with.  It’s the story where Jesus is watching people give their offerings, and everyone is giving amazing and expensive gifts.  Finally a widow comes forward and tosses two small copper coins into the offering, and Jesus say that the poor widow gave more than any of the others because out of the little she had, she gave everything.

 

As I sat at the hospital during my last visit prior to my trip back, this story came to life for me.  Sitting in a commons room chair, there appeared my Grandpa out of the hospital elevator bearing a few different gifts that he carried in his pushcart.  To any outside observer these are the things that you would have seen; a couple of small packages of cookies, a piece of cake, and plastic glass of apple juice; nothing out of the ordinary.  But, if I told you that those small packages of cookies were those that he had saved each day during his mealtime, that the small piece of cake was his dessert that he refrained from enjoying that evening, and that the simple glass of apple juice was the result of him going without during his dinner.  That would change everything wouldn’t it?  My Grandpa gave out of the little that he had, and what may not have looked like much to any outsider, was very truly a widows offering with self-sacrifice written all over it.

 

So amidst all the Christmas events, it was “the widows offering” which I found myself wrestling with.  I guess for me, it’s often easy for us to overlook what seem like ordinary gifts, such as a small package of cookies, a piece of cake, or a glass of apple juice.  However in doing so, we may entirely miss the heart behind those two small copper coins. 

 

In Him,

Matt Hama

matt_hama9@hotmail.com

Facebook: Tuscan Bullfighting Adventures of a Spanish Muchacho

http://matthama.blogspot.com/

December Update

Dear Team Members,                                                                                                                                                Dec 8^th, 2008

 

When looking at the biography of an individual, you see that each biography is made up of stories or events that have molded a specific person into who they were, or who they are now.  And as you look back over your years, if you were to write an autobiography of your life, you would most likely gather the events that impacted you in some form or another.  As you consider the moments in your history that you can recall, they tend to consist of a variety of things such as; a particular birthday or Christmas, a move to a new city, a grand adventure that you may have taken part in where God changed you, the day you faced a certain challenge in your life, maybe that of losing a loved one, or maybe you yourself were very sick at one time in your life.  The point is, each and every one of those moments impacted you in such a manner, that they have stuck with you over the years. 

 

So why am I talking about this in my update to you.  Well, the truth is, leading up to writing this, I had been wrestling with the question, what about the moments in between those events?  What happened then, what happens then?  Does God stop moving during those times?  Does He stop teaching us things, and speaking to us?  Doesn’t God provide each month with a moment worthy of biography status, so that come newsletter time for those such as myself, I might have something to tell you back home?  

 

Well, as I have been back here in Spain for the month of November, after returning from my African adventure, life has carried on.  I have continued to coach the youth team, play on our local men’s team, and carry on the work we have been doing in the prison.  Yet as I looked back over the month of November, with regard to what happened, I couldn’t pinpoint one specific event that stood out from the others.  I couldn’t name the one event that my biographer (if I really had one) would categorize as this months “moment”.  So what am I to share with you today?

 

Well, today what I want to share with you is simple; life.  Something that regardless of how we package it, is real to us all.  For me during this month, from simple conversations with the guys on the soccer team, to coaching each week and seeing small changes in the guys on the youth team, I have been challenged to see God’s hand in the small things, I have been challenged to see God’s hand in “life”.  The fact of the matter is, that while we may see and categorize certain moments as less significant than others, Christ continues to move even when everything appears to stand still.  God doesn’t stop working, as it is He who prepares us prior to those standout moments in our lives.  So while we often categorize certain moments as less significant, by doing so, we may be missing what God is doing.  This month, the challenge that I have faced, I want to also share with you, it is this; during the moments where you see little happening visibly, search God’s heart and find out what He is doing, seek to discover what amazing work he is up to during the “TV timeout”, in the midst of the moments that seem less significant.

 

In Him,

Matt Hama

 

P.S  With Christmas around the corner, I have the privilege of being able to come back for a visit during the holiday season.  I will be back in Williams Lake on the 21^st of December hope to see you soon. 

 

Merry Christmas!

 

November Update

Dear Team Members, Nov 4th, 2008


Well, I have decided that each month seems to carry on the trend of being busy each in their own respective way, so I will skip the whole “busy month” silliness, and just jump right into what has been happening here in my ministry over the past month.

As many of you were aware from my last newsletter in October, I was gearing up to head down to South Africa and Mozambique for a Men’s Playing Tour. And I will now take this moment to confirm that all that gearing up did eventually amount to my actual departure on the 12th of October, where I headed down to Johannesburg, South Africa. 

Heading down there, there were challenges that I faced. The weeks leading up to my departure, I had been struggling with a groin injury, not to mention that the Tuesday prior to leaving, I also landed on one of my shoulders at a training session. So leaving for the tour, I was somewhat preoccupied with these uncertainties that were dwelling in the back of my mind. For me, injuries have been a huge part of my testimony and God has used them ultimately for the glory His Name, and so I most likely should have been fully confident of knowing that He had my best interest at hand. However, I doubted, and was considering what role I could play on the sidelines, and thinking about the even greater disappointment I would have watching from the sidelines. Yet I was brought back to the verse I left with prior to coming to Spain; “Faithful is He who calls you, and He will also bring it to pass.” (1 Thess. 5:24) God is good. God is faithful, and He doesn’t leave you hanging. I played in 9 of 9 matches, and had a few bumps and bruises while I was there, but I played, and God was faithful, for He will always be faithful. 

So aside from the personal challenge that I faced, once arriving in South Africa, we stayed for a few days there and had a couple of warm-up matches against Leeuwkop Hope Academy (an Ambassador in Sport run academy in the local prison center, with a focus of ministering to and discipling young men.) where we had much opportunity to share and build relationship with the guys there. 

After our time in South Africa, we headed to Maputo, Mozambique, where the poverty was heartbreaking. In a country that is still very much recovering from it’s war filled history, we were able to play a number of matches, run multiple clinics for kids as well as coaches, and even run a sports ministry seminar for leaders in Mozambique, and ultimately share the Gospel of Christ with many there. During our time in Mozambique, we played on some of the most challenging fields I have played on in my life. But the one that sticks with me the most, was a full size sand field softer than a beach, covered in glass and various dangerous obstacles. While it was the worst field I have played on in my life, what broke my heart was the load of kids that ran out after our match, barefoot, with smiles from cheek to cheek as they chased around their deflated leather ball. We have been given so much…

God has placed tremendous vision in the hearts of those in Mozambique. The young man there, who is hoping to raise up an Ambassadors office, has an incredible dream for his country, as well as the churches of Mozambique. Where most see destruction and devastation, they see hope, they see opportunities for God to change their nation.

During our time in Mozambique as a team, we experienced many adventures and stretching moments, and through the duration of our stay, Jesus met us time and time again “in the least of these.” It was amazing how little was required to make a kid laugh, or to put a smile on a strangers face. Throughout the time, we were so incredibly privileged to be a small part, of the incredible work that God is doing in Mozambique. 

So from this time, what I take, and what I leave with you, is the fact that God isn’t just moving in the nations, but more importantly in the hearts of those in the nations. Whether we are in Mozambiquan or Canadian, lets allow God to continue to move our nations, beginning in our hearts.

Much Love,
Matt Hama

matt_hama9@hotmail.com 
http://matthama.blogspot.com/ (links to photos from the trip available here)

Photo's

Hi all, if you are interested in seeing some more photos from my latest escapade down to South Africa and Mozambique, here are some links, where you should be able to view a number of various different photos.

 4 different albums.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39590&l=df86b&id=505638426

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39583&l=8fee2&id=505638426

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39587&l=d44dd&id=505638426

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39588&l=c1952&id=505638426

Much Love,

Matt

Mozambique Madness