Things are ramping up!
The goal has always been to have a soccer academy for the boys of travesia. That has been our aim ever since coming back in December. And it’s finally here! We have tryouts THIS weekend and the academy will OFFICIALLY open next week!!!
The past few weeks we have been refining our daily schedule, working out the kinks and getting everything ready to go. Since we have the new lights on the field, we’ll be able to have practices later on in the afternoon. So our academy will run every day in the afternoon and early evening.
To say that we’re ready to open the doors is an understatement. We are so thankful for family, friends, and supporters who have encouraged us and stood behind us all the way. We are all of us an integral part to making this place a light in the darkness, Thank you again!
And if you are reading this and wondering if there’s something you can do for us… there is! I’m glad you asked. First, pray and tell your friends to pray!
- Pray for our tryouts this weekend and our selection of 15-16 boys for the jv team and 15-16 boys for the varsity team. Soccer is our draw for the boys, but it’s not all about soccer for us. We 100% believe that god wants us here, he wants to change the hearts of the boys and young men and this community. And we want to start doing that on monday with the newest rhinos who make the teams. We are having tryouts but god is selecting the players.
- Pray for our friends from bvsa guatemala as they’ll be coming over to help out with our tryouts and opening days of the academy. It’s a long journey but we are so thrilled that they can be here for the big day!
Second, consider becoming a monthly supporter of bvsa travesia! We are about half way at meeting our monthly budget of $3000. We’ve had some crazy generous people commit to be a part of what we are doing. And we still have some open spots for ministry partners. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter with $100 monthly or $50 monthly. This money will go a long way for us here!
For example, here’s some quantifiable examples of what you will be contributing to:
- $100 monthly will pay for 4 boys to eat at the academy. We provide a nutritious meal everyday at the academy so the boys can focus and train without having to be distracted by an empty stomach. In reality, $100 a month is less than $5 a day. And for that much money you can feed 4 boys for a whole month!
- $100 monthly will help pay our staff! We have 4 people on staff without whom we couldn’t run the academy! Two coaches, one cook, and one handyman/project manager. Your monthly partnership can help them! We are excited and proud to say that in addition to the academy being for the boys of travesia, we also get to benefit the local community by hiring locally! As we expand and grow and have needs in the future, we plan to continue hiring locals so we can provide consistent to the community we live and work in. Also, if you are interested in sponsoring some of our local staff with their monthly salary, then please shoot me a message! We could easily pay salaries with one or two sponsors.
- $100 monthly will help out greatly with what i call the ‘non-sexy’ side of ministry like paying the water bill, electric bill, maintaining the soccer field in the dry summer heat, spraying the academy monthly for bugs (termites are insane down here), hiring someone to come get the bats out of the attic and properly seal the roof so they don’t come back (yes this actually happened), maintaining the buildings and property and a million other little things that pop up throughout the month. It takes around $1000 monthly to run the academy with the various operational expenses we have. It is not as glamorous as sponsoring kids or helping provide a stable job, but it is still vital to the academy! Please pray about helping us keep this place running every month.
Think about it this way, most people spend $15-$30 weekly for coffee. And that’s just a drop in the bucket. That much money here would pay for boys to each nutritious meals every day, provide a good job for our local employees and help us (literally) keep the lights on at the academy.
I encourage you to partner with us! Be a strategic part of God’s plan for Travesia, Honduras! To begin monthly contributions for the academy click here and be sure to note that it is for ‘BVSA Honduras.’
Thank you to everyone who has been with us and with me personally so far. This has been a journey to say the least. There have been ups and downs over the past 15 months (yesterday marked my 15-month anniversary in central america) that have stretched me, challenged me and made me rely on god more than i ever have. I’m so thankful for how i have grown and how god continues to remind me that he is faithful, he is merciful and he is good. And he wants more than anything for every single person in the world to see that there is hope and there is a future beyond this life; that there is even more to live for now than just this world and this life. There is truth and life and love that is more than anything we could hope or imagine (from Ephesians 3:20).
Jason in Honduras 