Bittersweet Conculsion

It's my last week in California. Bittersweet doesn't even begin to describe my indifference in leaving. I miss my family, I miss my best friend, my coworkers, and my city. The other side of me loves my new home. I've found a liking for the west coast world. It's crazy out here. California's filled with nut jobs, excessive traffic, different dialect and lingo but as crazy as it may seem, it's a beautiful disaster. The ocean, the sand, how everyday is beautiful and sunny. My Beach Sunset  I can't find that anywhere else. Something about being alone and outside your comfort zone is at first scary, but once you embrace it, it can be so calming and life changing.

We wrapped up our season on a good note by beating our opponents from Las Vegas, after that started the unfortunate and always hated goodbyes that we try to avoid. I think its easy to say bye to friends and to family because you will be reunited with them down the road however there's a sour taste in your mouth when saying goodbye to a teammate. Unlike a lot of other relationships, a teammate is there with you every step along the journey, quite frankly he's supposed to. We fight together, we win/lose together, we show up everyday busting our rears to better one another. A teammate is not only a friend but a competitor, a mentor, a brother, and an opponent all wrapped into one. They connect with you on very different levels. This year was no exception, my relationships with my teammates were just as strong as previous years and it hurts just as bad to say goodbye and part ways. You see we may never see each other again. Some will, but for the majority of us, we may never see each other for the rest of our lives. I will truly miss each one of my brothers.

I had the privilege to direct my last camp the past week where again lives were changed and relationship were built. Nothing makes me more excited than watching a kid who doesn't like soccer, by the end of the week hating that its over. Overall my experience saw more than 200 kids attend three different camps. Of the 200, Thirty two (32) children made first time commitments asking Jesus into their hearts. This is better than any soccer trick we can teach them. Being the director allowed me to have some freedom in filming some of the action taken place during these three weeks. You can watch and share my video by clicking this link. Seahorse Soccer Camp Highlights 

I can not thank y'all enough for reading and being so encouraging throughout my experience here in Southern California. I could not have made it here without your support and love and for that I am truly grateful. I will begin my journey home one week from today as a fellow teammate/brother of mine are driving cross country making pit stops at all the nations best attractions (Grand Canyon, Yosemite, etc). After my week long trip back home I wish to see and hangout with all of you! Please feel free to contact me or write my online! Love you All!

Hayden
Colossians 3:23
(615)268-9571
haydencoffman1@gmail.com

Last week!

Eight weeks down, Four more to go. There are times where I feel like I've been here forever, yet other times when I feel like I was at graduation yesterday. Regardless of all that, the fact is that my time here in California is slowly coming to an end. Since the last update I posted, I have begun to start directing summer soccer camps for kids. Each player on our team gets the opportunity to be a coach at one of these camps and any player would tell you that it is some of the most fun/rewarding part of being apart of this organization. What's different this year is that I no longer coach at these camps but instead I am directing. This simply means that I am in charge of the structure, curriculum, and making sure the coaches stay sane while babysitting 10-15 sugar filled animals most people call children. Being the director comes with great responsibility so for the past few weeks I've had to put my big boy pants on something, if you know me, is very hard for me to do at times. So far I have completed two full weeks of camp and have seen 160 kids be ministered to by our organization. Of those 160, 31 made first time commitments to accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior! Unbelievable how God works. I had a pleasant surprise my first camp right before I was about to preach the biggest message of my life when the US Director of MAI (our organization) showed up in California at MY camp, to observe and listen to my rant. He prayed over me before hand and I never felt more at ease to speak to a crowd. Twenty minutes later, 21 children gave their lives to Christ and responded to the message!
Our team has been challenged to the extreme these past few weeks. Overall we have had seven 1 goal matches that have not gone our way. All seven were heartbreakers that weren't meant to happen. It's to the point where it seems as though some high being is controlling the outcomes just to test us and teach us a valuable lesson. I've never fought harder in matches, out played, and out hustled teams only to have them sneak a goal in 30 seconds before time expires. And to have that happen on multiple occasions is beyond me. So please pray for our guys as this is very tough mentally to take and kills any/all motivation we have. This is our last week of games and practices. This week we face Las Vegas who you know gave us a terrible experience at their place (if you don't then read my earlier blogs). I hope and pray that doesn't happen again. Secondly and last match is against the MLS Reserves team San Jose Earthquakes whom we lost to in the dying seconds in what was the game of the season. Either way we can be certain to finish the year with two fantastic games against great opposition!
Lastly I had taken time to put together a small 1 minute video highlighting some of the fun we had in Mexico. Here's the link (down below)  feel free to share!

Thanks for reading and your continued prayers! I love you all and am truly thankful for each one of you! Be praying extra for me this week as I'm working on a bigger opportunity that may lead to some big time changes in my life!

Hayden Coffman :)

Mexico Highlights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nrQpsZCqRk