Soccer / Futbol

A life in Honduras is not complete without a soccer ball. Every day is made up of the same question asked a million times, "Mr. Harrison can I have a soccer ball", "Can I have a futbol"or "I want me ball." The high schoolers think they are the next superstar and the younger kids plan on being the next superstar. But thats a pretty standard mindset and it makes them want to play that much more. The high school kids played two games this week. I have not been coaching these games because they are games the kids set up outside of school, but they have been fun to watch. Two of my soccer balls have disappeared as a result. The first one exploded 3/4 of the way through the game and the second one was kicked over the fence and "vanished." The kids are having fun though and I am beginning to earn their respect and trust. I don't quite know to how use it yet but I know Soccer is and will be a powerful tool God has laid before us to impact these students and the community. Sports are such a strong way to unite people. During the political turmoil Honduras is going through right now, soccer has become even more valuable. The people are split because of the opposing political agendas that are present and they feel like their voice is being ignored by most of the world. For those of you who may not be keeping up with it, the military of Honduras removed their president by force and took him out of the country in June. He was attempting to violate a court order which refused to let him poll the people about changing their constitution. Supposedly there is a lot more to the story and some other shady things that were going on but that is the reason that has been spoken of. There is an interim president and elections will be held in November. But in the meantime, the US along with many other Western countries have refused to recognize the elections. The US has cut off all funding to Honduras and has refused Visas for Honduran citizens to travel to the US. At the same time, World cup qualifying games are being played right now. Honduras is currently in third place and every time they play the country rally's behind the sport that is serving as a rock for the country. I was on the mainland when they beat Trinidad and tabago, you would have thought you were in Chapel Hill for a national championship win. There were 15 to 20 people in the backs of trucks, honking water flying, mobs chanting. It was Loco. Amy, Mitch, Jessica and me rode around the street in the back of a truck getting soaked by filthy water and hollering "viva Hondruas". It is great to see a whole country unified behind a single team.