I know it has been a while since my last post, but I wanted to share this article that was printed today in the Charlotte news paper. We have had some difficulties trying to get them to write articles but they wrote this one and it is spot on. Praise God and I pray that someone in Charlotte will see it and want to get invovled or even come to know the Lord personally. Thank you all for you prayers, you are on my mind constantly.


By Caroline McMillan
They're not all there for soccer.
Some kids come for a hug, a high five, a pat on the head.
Some, too young to take the field, come each week just to watch.
And others come for someone to talk to if their stomach hurts. For someone to help them tie their shoes.
Encouragement - that's what the Urban Eagles give them.
Last September, the Charlotte Eagles professional soccer team started Urban Eagles, a nonprofit ministry in the inner-city neighborhoods of Woodbridge, Grier Heights, Birchcroft and Dillehay Courts.
Each week, the professional players lead an impromptu soccer practice, followed by dinner and a Bible study.
Eagles players Ben Page and Juan Guzman live in Grier Heights so they can build stronger relationships with the area kids.
"They know where we are. They see us all the time," said Page, 25. "It's not like we're coming in and doing the service and leaving. (The families) see our investment."
The mortgage on their home is paid by CrossRoads Corporation for Affordable Housing and Community Development, a nonprofit founded by Myers Park Presbyterian that's dedicated to revitalizing Grier Heights.
Urban Eagles take the kids to church and summer camp. They also tutor and provide clothing, food and furniture for the kids' families.
Owned by Missionary Athletes International, the Division II Eagles are the only Christian professional team in the world.
"Soccer is the bridge, the connection, the common language," said Steve Shak, Eagles' assistant coach and the neighborhood director for the Birchcroft Urban Eagles group. "Letting kids know about the love of Jesus...that's the primary thing for us."
The Grier Heights group plays in an unmanicured field on the grounds of Antioch Baptist Church, minutes from Page and Guzman's house. Some kids sprint down the field, calling for passes and taking shots, while others are content in the ankle-high grass, laughing.
Two young boys, about 4 years old, come every week and play with action figures in the gravel parking lot.
As their scrimmage winds down, some neighborhood kids, including a handful of girls, stop by. The group of 15 grows to 30.
They all huddle up, put their hands in the middle and bow their heads. Page prays.
After grabbing bottles of water from a coach's car and chugging them on the spot, everyone walks to Page and Guzman's house for dinner.
"It's like a youth group," said Page.
They gather under a rudimentary cover, with a tin roof and rusting uprights, in the backyard of the small, one-story blue house on Orange Street.
They sit on folded metal chairs and upturned buckets, playing charades while the adults set up the assembly line of spaghetti, green beans, applesauce and lemonade.
There are about eight volunteers. Debbie Blanzy and Lady Eagles player Ashleigh Gunning help prepare the food.
"I wanted a way to get involved, and I prefer cooking over coaching," said Gunning, 25. "I like to think of (the night) as family time."
The kids bow their heads to pray before they eat. Many go back for seconds and thirds.
When they're done eating, they move the tables out and form a semicircle. Mitch Sanford, an international tour director for Missionary Athletes International, stands holding a Bible. Today, he's teaching from the Gospel of Matthew. "We've got a skit for you," he said. "It occurs every day. It's a sad thing."
Two kids pretend to fight. They both collapse.
"Did anybody win?" asked Sanford, 29. "No. You don't get anything out of violence."
Some of the kids come from homes where violence is a reality, Page said. None of them live with both their parents, and only four of them have male figures in the house.
"Those kids, when they're 3 years old, are faced with realities some of us never have to face," said Page.
That's why the coaches always emphasize Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
"It's a foreign concept to them," said Page. "Then they start to buy it. 'God loves me.' "
But building relationships with the kids was difficult at first, Page said. There was a tense period, as the kids adjusted to a new level of accountability and structure. "The kids don't understand what's going on inside of them," said Page. "There's two months of butting heads. They're testing us. They're thinking, 'Are you doing to leave us, too?' So you keep loving them."
Shak said they've seen some real breakthroughs - kids showing leadership qualities. Every few months, the four Urban Eagles neighborhood groups get together to play one another. This spring, they had five games scheduled and the field was overgrown. Page told the group the grass needed mowing, and one boy, Devanta Kelly, offered to do it.
"He stepped up and took ownership of it," said Shak.
Since they started Urban Eagles, 30 kids have become Christians, and 25 were baptized at camp.
Page baptized seven of his Grier Heights players.
"It was really neat to hear them on the way back, talking to each other about how it felt when they came out of the water," said Page. "One said, 'It was like a weight coming off of me.' You don't hear kids talk like that."
Urban Eagles runs solely on donations and volunteers. Shak said people don't have to play soccer to get involved - they can help with food, transportation or cooking.
"We all have that core need in our spirit for love," said Shak. "The poor, profaned, abandoned, lost, hopeless, rejected - these are the people God sees so much value in."Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/09/29/1715588/these-eagles-help-urban-children.html#ixzz10vWIFaiV

It's Been a While.......

It has been a while since my last post/update and for that I apologize. It has been an extremely busy last month with a variety of events and things going on. Ranging from the Bolton Wanderers of the English Premier League coming and playing against the men's team (I helped run the security and operations of the game) to the Lady Eagles making playoffs and traveling to Atlanta to play for the Atlantic Conference Title. (We won the first game against Washington Freedom Futures who had knocked us out of the post-season the previous two years and then lost to our rivals the Atlanta Silverbacks in the Conference Final game :( thus officially ending the 2010 season.

I will come on again soon and give a more detailed account of the past month, but I just wanted to put something up quick to tell you Caitlin and I are alive and doing well and God has been doing some amazing things through the ministry in Charlotte.

I also wanted to mention that Caitlin and I will be traveling back North to Syracuse in the coming week to reconnect with our supporters and see family. I will try and get more information about our trip itinerary soon. If you are interested in getting together please let me know and we will schedule it.

Please continue to be praying for Lady Eagles as now they are faced with having to go back to school, find jobs, or just figure out where the Lord wants them to be. It can be a scary thing having to go from a spiritual high of being surrounded by believers to having to be in environments where their faith will be tested. The comforting thing is that is why God had brought them to Charlotte in the first place; to teach them to share their faith in the environments they are in on a daily basis.

For now that is all I have. My next step is to take my lovely wife out on a much needed date and just spend some quality time together. We are looking forward to our 2 year anniversary coming up on the 1st of August!! Praise God for that!!! Thank you all for your prayers, love and support of the past months. I could not have been doing the Lords work without you.

Until we see each other again, take care and my God Bless you!

-Jeremy

Charlotte Eagles on FOX NEWS!

Our Charlotte Eagles have been featured on Charlotte's Fox News this week! Click on this link to see some of the footage! Or watch the video below!

We're excited to get the word out about the Eagles, so send this link (http://alturl.com/wsidh) to others who might be interested... we need lots of action on this link so Fox will keep airing the Eagles!!!

a funny video and a quick update

First, a funny video:

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

That was Jeremy and his father, along with his brothers Jon and Jay and my (Caitlin's) brother Josh. They're all excited about the World Cup, I'm sure.

Also, a quick update on the Lady Eagles trip to Tampa, Florida. Jeremy and I were both able to go on this trip, and the ladies had two games - both against Tampa. The first game ended in a 0-1 loss for the Lady Eagles, and the second was a 0-0 tie. The trip went well, and I'll have Jeremy tell you more about it soon!

We also have a few prayer requests - first, for Jeremy's grandfather (his dad's father) who has been really struggling with his health lately, and second, for Jeremy's grandmother to continue to heal and recover. Pray for us to continually keep God first in our lives.

Let us know if you have any prayer requests, too! We would love to hear from you!

children of the world... in charlotte!

It's the sweetest thing to see children from all over the world - of every tongue and tribe and nation - right in Charlotte. Sometimes I wish that Jeremy and I were overseas (maybe back in South Africa), but this week, I was reminded that we don't even need to travel anywhere... God has brought the children of the world TO US.

My favorite part of the Eagles ministry, which we've mentioned before but wanted to highlight tonight, is the Urban Eagles, which reaches out to several inner city neighborhoods, specifically places where refugees have been resettled in Charlotte.

According to the NC Refugee Assistance Program, the US government allows up to 70,000 refugees to come into the US (although not that many do come in), and increasingly, more and more are being resettled in North Carolina, many in Charlotte/Mecklenburg.

For about the last month, I've been able to go and make some friends at a local apartment complex in Charlotte where many of these refugees are placed. At this particular complex, more than 14 different countries are represented, and there are so many children who just want someone to pay attention to them.

This past week, on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, the Lady Eagles had the opportunity to spend some extra time with these kids... loving on them through soccer, sidewalk chalk, and nail polish. Usually, the Urban Eagles ministry focuses on the young boys by getting them involved in soccer, but this week, I saw four or five times as many girls come out than ever before (usually it's only a few). They loved getting to know the women on the team, and I think the women were really impacted by the time there, too.

We were also able to have a photographer, Rodney Scot, take some pictures while we were there. Many of the parents in this neighborhood have very little in their homes, much less any artwork on their walls, so these pictures of their beautiful children will be printed and framed for them! Just so cool. It's also a sweet opportunity for me to introduce you to some of my friends...

This is Zowdie, a nine-year-old girl from Africa (she hasn't told me which country yet) and one of the first kids I met here. She is completely full of life, with a strong, outgoing personality. Her little sister Sofia (below) is pretty much the same, sweet and lively. She's 5 years old.

This is Mariam, a ten-year-old girl from Congo. She has the sweetest and most loving heart. This week, she taught me a hopscotch-esque game from her home country, which was hard for just about everyone but her.

And this is Biak, a beautiful girl from Burma. She is so full of love. She's about 9 and has two younger sisters she cares about deeply. I wish I had pictures of her sisters, A Siang and Mia (sorry, I can't remember how it's spelled) because they are just as cute and sweet as Biak.

I would keep going and show you all the kids individually, but instead, I'll just share one last picture of a whole group of kids listening to a skit about how much Jesus loves them.

Chile Tour

Hey Friends:

Sorry the last post was suppose to go up a week ago but we had some computer problems but were able to recover it. Yeah!!! So I wanted to write now to let you know two things. First the ladies had their first victory last weekend at Hampton Roads. If you are thinking that we just played them, that is correct. We played them in Charlotte on May 14th and then played them again in Virginia on May 22nd.

We ended up playing a great game and winning 5-0. Our record is now 1-0-1! Undefeated so far which is great! Our next game is on June 5th and then June 6th, both against Tampa Bay in Tampa.

The other thing I wanted to tell you about is that the group going on the missions trip to Chile left on Monday night. I am asking that as you all read this, please say a quick prayer for the them as they travel and minister to the people of Chile. They are going to be able to do some great things in Chile for the Lord. I am going to try and post some videos and other details about their trip when they return. Until then continue to pray for their time in Chile and then their safe return.

I miss you all very much and please continue to pray for Caitlin as she is getting busy working at the Eagles office with the camps department and doing graphic design things. If you want to know every time we have a new post, you can sign up on the right hand side of our blog, or you can email me at jwauyer@gmail.com and I will add you to the list. Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support. Take care and keep in touch.

First Game!!!

Hello friends!!!

So, the first game was two weekends ago. That is why I am writing now instead of on Sunday. I totally missed my self imposed deadline. I am going to try my best to continue to post at least once a week to make sure all of you who pray and support me know whats going on in the ministry.

So far we have just about every women on the team here and practices have been going great. 6:15 every morning they have devotions and then start practice and finish up by 8am. It has been a taxing schedule for everyone but I know that the women are getting into the sport ministry training and the discipleship groups. I would encourage everyone to check out a blog by a women who is on staff with the Lady Eagles. She is a former player who is now the women's ministry coordinator and goalkeeper coach. She will give you a great perspective on what they are going through and what it means to them. http://kforbis.blogspot.com/

I have been doing my best at making sure everything is prepared for the season and now my role shifts to maintaining the day to day of the team. I am learning the process to report the details of the game to the league and making sure the team's travel to away games goes smooth. Please continue to pray for the women as they training both spiritually and physically for their next game this weekend. Our opponent is Hampton Roads Piranhas. They are located in the Virginia Beach area. We have been able to develop some good relationships with them because we have played each other for the past couple of years.

Because we played them last week as well, we are hoping to continue to talk with some their players after the game. We had a time to pray with their team following our last game with them and hope to do that again. Please pray for Hampton Roads and that we will be able to talk with some of them and that they would be willing to ask questions to our players. Also pray for safe travel and a safe game for both teams. And that we would be able to be an example of Jesus to all of the fans, players, and officials at the game.

I am thinking about all of you and apologize for not being in touch personally right now. I am going to be trying my best to get in touch with each of you. Please be praying for Caitlin and I as we continue to serve God here with MAI. We love you all and miss you!

- Jeremy and Caitlin