It’s not often we here at Unterwegs seek to cater to American audiences. After all, the idea is that we as campus ministers leave our American-ness at the door in favor of German-itude.
But for just a while, let’s talk to each other as Americans.
Whassup? Have you seen the latest Budweiser commercial? Hilarious. Hey, you wanna drive to Applebee’s later and then go watch NASCAR/football/baseball on your HD plasma screen at your house – that has a two-car garage? I will bring some cheap, watery beer that is well advertised (mentioned earlier in this paragraph).
Okay, now on to the video. It’s subtitled, and the titles are in English – good ol’ American English! Please, enjoy.
There’s a lot of debate and speculation among leading psychologists today whether it is beneficial or harmful for child development to award children trophies for participation without having achieved anything outstanding – and by “leading psychologists” I mean “this stand-up comedian I heard one time.”That leading psychologist was hilarious.
Anywhoo, the point is, I used to have a room full of trophies – one for every season of youth soccer I happened to participate in. Now, as an adult, trophies with a little plastic man perched atop a shiny plastic column with a small, engraved plaque on the base are hardly the standard. Instead, to commemorate my victories, I now make and collect videos.
Take, for instance, my latest trophy: this video above. This is what a semester of work in building the foundations of a community for ministry looks like in five minutes. It’s a quick summary of many of the activities we engaged in (on the occasions we had the good fortune to bring a camcorder). There are roller coasters, sausages, monkeys, balloons covered in shaving cream, and even a girl being interviewed on a toilet – but don’t worry, it’s all family-safe.
Enjoy those interviews with the students, too. Tomorrow our team meets to wrap up the semester. It will no doubt be interesting for us to collect our thoughts on the impressions we made on students,and it will no doubt be interesting for you when I translate and subtitle the video in English.
athletes, couch potatoes... inside the four squares, everyone is equal
Earl Warren once said of reading the newspaper: “I always turn to the sports pages first, which records people’s accomplishments. The front page has nothing but man’s failures.” Mr. Warren may have been overlooking the flip-side of all those uplifting sports stories (“Braves win! Braves win! Braves win!”… “Pirates Return Home Defeated, Disappointed, and Overall a Little More Bitter and Jaded Than When Series Started”), but I think I prefer my supreme court justices romantic.
Sports truly are a great thing. Not only are they fun, they help build connections between people that might otherwise never talk to each other. The World Cup brings countries from a warring world together in one place (and eventually into one warring stadium). The Olympic Games do, too, though historically they play second fiddle to the Political Games, which in many ways are more entertaining to watch.
Here at Globalscope Germany, we are on the cutting edge of using sports to connect people. We invent new sports (“Washers” – a cross between horseshoes and construction work). We invent new ways to play old sports (four square doubles, anyone?). We learn new sports (volleyball may be more difficult to learn than the language). Students love it, and, after nursing our injuries and pride back to health, we are stronger for the experience. Old relationships are deepened, new relationships are forged, and stories are made that will be passed around for many Chill-n-Grills to come.
Why not invest your good support in a mission team that can really flex its muscle – and in a missionary that is well-versed in so many international sports? Take the advice of one of history’s most influential supreme court justices, and join our team to help build a ministry worthy of the front page of the sports section.
