A soccer ball, an unending source of fun, exercise, and challenge, a tiny object that has the ability to make crowds roar and also to silence them. It has the ability to freeze your bones, make you bite your nails til they are gone. It is an accepted collective craziness and source of infinite joy that’s almost impossible to describe. 

On the other hand, this round object works as a calmer, calming the spirit, releasing stress and worries, helping you to forget your problems. We all have an opinion about soccer and it means something different to each one of us, but the opinion of a child about this round object, called a soccer ball, is the purest of all. It doesn’t matter if the soccer ball is big or small, round or oval, plastic or cloth, or even if it is an empty coke can all taped up; all that matters to them is the joy and passion they feel inside when they kick it. That joy that makes them forget any problems they have such as the fact that they haven’t eaten that day, that their father is drunk again, or their brother just joined a gang. That is the truth about a soccer ball, a genius invention. You can go ANYWHERE in the world and see this joy, this passion, this love through and for this round object. A simple object that brings the whole world together every four years.

For this purpose, we at Echo Reach use this amazing round ball as our tool to bring the light of Jesus Christ to the children and youth of Guatemala City. It’s a tool to educate the children and community; to better them. Because a soccer ball brings out so many emotions it’s a fantastic tool to help work with and change people. 

We have been using a soccer ball for 14 years now to give boys and girls in Guatemala City the opportunity to know Christ and lead a healthy life. Our desire is to work with them through their unending passion for soccer to show them that life without Christ means nothing. Teach them that nothing but the love of God can fulfill them and their needs. They need to know that God doesn’t care about their social class, it doesn’t matter to Him if they have shoes or not, if their family are gang members, drug dealers, or addicts. He takes them as they are and loves them and they can be winners if they follow Him.