Soccer Camp

We have had such a busy summer with camping so many times that I wasn’t sure if I would get in the soccer camp this year. Cassidy went last year and really enjoyed himself. It is put on by the Christian Church and it is $25 per child and for that they get 15 hours of soccer instruction (one week), plus a soccer ball, t-shirt, and a nice water bottle. It is a wonderful opportunity for children in the summer and I am very thankful it is so affordable!

I took the kids for the tryouts on the 19^th of August and the following Monday was the first day of camp. I was curious how Raine would do because I knew that soccer was the one thing that she really liked. She had been taught in Ethiopia by her friend, Fikru, and she would teach our boys what she had learned. I also knew that she had a real runner’s ability. She runs like an athlete. Within months of coming home Ray had seen that she was athletic because he would take the kids to the gym night and Raine would get so into the physical activities. So I figured we had some athletic genes running through her body. This was my chance to see what she had.

They had to do various activities to show their kicking, running, and dribbling abilities and she did fine on all but the dribbling. That was new to her. She was awesome on the running and scoring. For the scoring the children had to aim for two little cones in the centre of two big nets. I have no idea why the nets were there because they were not supposed to shoot for them. Raine did fantastic and got two out of three into the cones *after* she realized she was not shooting for the nets!

Raine missed the first two days due to circumstances, but was able to attend for the final three. When the kids would come home from camp they would tell me if their teams won and invariably Cooper or Raine would tell me that their team won.

I had no idea how hard the competition was until the Friday. That day the kids played against their other age group team again and again, Raine and Cooper’s team won. It turned out that Raine had scored 4 of the 5 goals. The coach said that her energy was endless and she just kept on running and running. So, we may have a little soccer player on our hands. We are also thinking of see if we can get her into track and field. All our kids would love that!

What was nice to see was how the coach pinpointed each of our children’s strengths on their soccer poster. She remarked on how thoughtful Cooper was and how Raine had endless energy. I was happy to see how our kids received sportsmanship awards. There was an event where a team player fell and hurt his leg and both Raine and Cooper ran to help him up. It is always a pleasure when your children are not in the world much (no public school) to get comments from coaches and such to tell you how the world perceives your children. This coach said what a wonderful brother sister team Cooper and Raine were. So nice to hear!

Austin and Cassidy also really enjoyed themselves and can’t wait for next year. I think we may have a busy spring and fall coming up. Here the soccer runs from May through June and then finishes in September. And I think I will have at least four children playing!

Enjoying the End of Week Barbeque

At the end of the week there was a barbeque and then the children were invited to accept the Lord as their Saviour. When I looked over at Cooper he was lying with his head on the ground listening and then a few minutes later he had his head swinging on his shoulders. I figured he wasn’t even listening, but no, I guess boys have an odd way of listening. He was quite aware of what was going on and had accepted the Lord for the very first time!

Austin decided to recommit his life to Christ and reaccepted the Lord as his Saviour. And Raine accepted for the first time.

It was a wonderful day and I am very grateful that the Church puts this camp on. So many children who can’t afford soccer get the opportunity, plus more importantly, they come to know that Jesus loves them and died for them!

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