African Adventures With Mark

It was after 5:00 pm but I decided to quickly check in on our senior girls’ football team that was playing in a tournament. My senior teacher hopped in the car with me and we were off to see the final happenings of the big day. We knew that they had been winning games to take them into the last two rounds and we wanted to show up and cheer them on. Once we turned off the main road we bumped along a trail and then snaked along a narrow ditch to the activities. By now I know not to look for a nice green football field, but was still surprised to see the actual pitch. Yes, it was not green and was probably one third the size of a regular field. We parked so we could keep the vehicle visible and as we got out our girls came running down off the field to greet us as they were lined up to begin the next game. The surprise that followed caught me off guard. As the girls greeted us and jumped up and down, I looked up to see another 200 children running toward us from the pitch. In seconds we were surrounded. They were all clamoring to greet us, having no idea who we were but happy enough that we were with the team that was winning the tournament so far. It wasn’t long before everyone knew who we were for as we made our way up to the pitch we were introduced over the sound system by the announcer and were brought to the special guest tent. Yes, the VIP Tent was a tarp and my seat was the very front middle seat….a big sofa chair. I felt a little awkward as I went with a few other special guests to meet the teams at the center of the field and wished them success. Our girls were excited to have us there and I whispered a few extra encouraging words to them. As we moved back to our seats I realized once again, my plan of blending into the crowd was not going to happen.
Once the game started I looked around and became more familiar with my surroundings. The field had an extreme downward slant from one end to the other, which did make it nice viewing for myself in the VIP area. People were lined around the pitch and cheering for the home team – not us. There was garbage and debris all over the uneven ground on the pitch and even a tree on one side that the girls maneuvered around.
As the game progressed we were fortunate to score the first goal. Our girls were very excited and flipped cartwheels across the field. The announcer had to explain what they were called as this was something they learned on tour and is not a typical form of excitement here in Uganda. Then in the second half as I peered through the binder twine that was used to form the net between the two wooden tree poles for goal posts, we scored another goal. Magdalene made an excellent strike to the top left hand corner. Again, screaming and cartwheels. The girls played hard and in the end we won the game and the tournament! In fact, not a single goal was scored on our team throughout the day.
As dark approached the Muslim onlookers were eager to go home as it was Ramadan and they were anxious to break their fast once the sun had gone down. The Muslim school hosting the tournament was not excited to see a Christian school win their big event. As the girls came forward they received their trophy and yes, you guessed it a GOAT. That’s part of the deal here…The winning team receives a goat to roast. The girls held the trophy high and sang a Christian song even though a Muslim man showed his frustration by kicking one of our girls. I stifled my desire to kick him back or something, and instead put down the video camera and remained calm…. A good idea always but especially that day as our testimony was of great importance there. The girls piled in a taxi along with there trophy and the goat, still singing songs about Jesus.
It was a great day for MFLPS! But to finish the story, as the headmaster, this one goat presented a problem. It would not feed the whole school and everyone wanted in on some delicious goat meat. What to do… Well, a few days later on Uganda’s Independence Day I purchased two more goats and yes, we had a good old party. The three goats were on the menu and I must say they were excellent with the rice. A soda for everyone and all the staff and students went to bed very happy.