June 3rd

I want to start by just saying thank you to everyone who has continued to support me in being here, either financially, or I have received many encouraging emails from people saying that they have been praying for me as well - so thank you!
The last few days have been busy. The basketball tournament that I mentioned in my last post that we had a scrimmage for, it was actually this past Thursday through Saturday. And actually it wasn't just basketball, it was a variety of sports tournaments held at one of the local universities for all the church in the area. There was basketball, volleyball, ping pong, badminton, chess...
We played 10 games of basketball over those 3 days and 6 or 7 games volleyball. I woke up this morning to an achey body. But...we ended up winning the basketball tournament and finishing 3rd in volleyball. The go from Bethel also finished 2nd in volleyball.
They also had a scrabble tournament at this event, which I was kind of forced to play in. Originally I was asked simply if I like to play scrabble, to which I responded, yes, of course! The pastor then said, good, and that I would the male representative for Bethel in this tournament. I tried talking a few other people into playing instead of me, since it wouldn't really be fair, me being a native English speaking playing games against non-native English speakers, but he insisted that I play. I decided it wouldn't look good from the perspective of the others churches if an American won first, but I didn't want to disappoint the pastor, so my goal was to play well enough to finish in second, which I did. It was kind of a lose - lose situation.
The pastor at Bethel joked that if I posted this on my blog, people back home would think that all I do here is play basketball...which is partially true, we do play a lot of basketball. And yes, while I do enjoy playing, the reason I continue to play and go to these things is because that is where the people are. Through playing basketball, I have gotten a chance to meet a number of people, whether they be teammates, opposing players, refs, or spectators, and in our 5-10 minute conversations, try to offer some sort of encouragement. With some of these people we end up talking longer, and like at this last event, by the end of the 3 days and talking with some of the same people over and over, friendships form.
I do not share this with you all because I feel like I have to justify how much I have been playing basketball, I share this hoping that it might encourage some of you to not let seemingly ordinary situations or events pass by as such, but rather to view them as opportunities to encourage those around you, whether through conversation or even just a smile and a passing "hello." Make the most of every situation.