Is this the 'fun' part?

Now we have 5 games under our belts, three of which were division games and count towards our standings, and we have yet to win a match. So far our record is 0-2-1. What makes that worse is the fact that we could've won all three, if only our players would've worked a bit harder and not made as many fundamental mistakes. I was talking with my assistant coach today, after a loss to the first place team in our division, and he said something that I thought was interesting and yet terribly profound. I told him that I didn't know what we could change to make a difference, and he said, "You can't teach desire."

How true that is! Desire can only be attained by a deliberate act of the individual's will, it cannot be instructed or merely turned on at a moment's notice. Either it's there, or it isn't. Right now, it isn't there for our soccer team. This is a shame because they have SO MUCH potential and talent. It grieves me to watch them fail time after time.

But as I sit here and reflect on this thought, I am struck with the realization that this must be a small glimpse of how God feels when His children fail him. He tries and tries to teach us, and we continue to fail Him with each new opportunity. I can almost hear Him talking with Michael the Archangel one day, as they have been watching us make multiple mistakes over and over again. Michael asks, "Why do they keep making the same mistakes, Lord?" "Because you can't teach desire, Michael. They have so much potential and talent, but they lack a true and determined desire to follow Me." Forgive me, and please be assured that I draw this analogy reverently. But isn't it true? We fail so much simply because we lack a desire to truly follow God's Word and His will for our lives. And like our soccer team, we sit and reflect upon what happened to cause us to fail yet once again, and we can't think of a good reason why, but the reason why, whether momentary or long lasting, is a lack of desire. Proverbs 3:5-7 says, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil." Let me encourage you to lean not on your own wisdom when you're faced with a new challenge. Put your trust in God, and He will give you the desire to follow right paths.

I re-contacted all of the schools to which I have applied for employment. Two schools have said that they are downsizing thanks to the economy, and I haven't yet heard from the others. Continue to PRAY for God's guidance and providence of a good teaching job for me, so that our kids will be able to attend a Christian school in California.

Our school here in Uijongbu will be going through an accreditation team visit on March 23rd-25th. We have spent most of the year this year preparing for this visit. Please PRAY that all our preparation will be evident, and that we will pass with flying colors.

On a more positive note, Randy Lounds, our high school principal, and I have been asked to convert the presentation that we gave at the ACSI conference in Hong Kong last November into an article for both ACSI's online magazine, and their published magazine. The deadline is April 15th. So, please PRAY that we both will be able to juggle our busy schedules to meet that deadline.

Continue to PRAY for our moving back to the States, as we will be re-contacting the shipping companies in the next couple of weeks to get them to come give an estimate for shipping some of our belongings to Martinez.

Well, that's about it for now. Thanks so much for all of your prayers for us and our transition to California.

In His Service,
Sam.