Learning Swahili, Tennis & Hacky Sack

"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." ~ {Phil. 4:13}

"Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." ~ {1 Tim. 4:7-8}

routine is boring. doing the same thing day in and day out. pray, eat, work, sleep, pray, eat, work, sleep, etc. so, to make things interesting i've begun to learn more. first off, i have a passion for the swahili language. some day i would love to visit kenya and zimbabwe, perhaps even live there. not sure how i would get in, but i would love to be a missionary there. i've wanted to learn Swahili from a long time, and recently begun to study it. it's going pretty well so far, tho i only know a few words.

secondly, my friend, Denise, and i have been playing tennis daily. we've actually begun to see a little improvement in our skills. yesterday we vollied 6 times back and forth. it was pretty cool, i have to admit.

thirdly, denise has a passion to learn how to play hacky sack. we are both quite poor, but at least we try. it's fun to be a little active, something different than sitting in an office chair or pew or folding chair. with some more practice i can envision some great skills arising from both Denise and i.

so where am i going with all this? why do Denise and i want to improve these skills? so we can connect with those whom we are called to minister. she is currently the youth director at the church i attend. youth like to play hacky sack. i want to learn Swahili so i can communicate with the natives. if i begin now, i figure that i can at least know a little of the language before i get there. and tennis, well, perhaps we don't have a specific reason, but some of the youth play tennis, some of the youth's parent's play tennis, and one never knows who can be met on the tennis court. all useful for evangelism.

Amazing Father,
may You be the One to receive the praise of our improvements. i know that the strength and skills needed to learn Swahili, tennis and hacky sack come from You. may You use our ability to draw others closer to Yourself. create opportunities for us to be a witness for You. open our eyes to people whom You desire for us to come into contact with. begin to prepare their hearts to accept Your love.
In Christ's Name ~ Amen.