Evangelicals Now
<< June 2001 >>

One way of winning

An ex-pro footballer on the OM ship

Ten years ago, Marcel Stoob was playing professionally on Switzerland's football team. 'Football was my passion', he says, 'and I was good'.

But then an Achilles heel injury put an end to his dreams for competing for the World Cup. When his young wife also suddenly died of cancer, it seemed like the end of the world. He recalled: 'I thought, why does God take everything away from me that I care about?'

'God wanted to do something new in my life. I knew that I was a sinner and I felt a heavy burden, knowing I would have to stand before God one day. I tried to change myself but it didn't work. When I finally cried out to him, he showed me so clearly he was real. Somebody gave me a New Testament. God started to change me.'

Really stressed

Marcel trained as a nurse and also discovered he could serve the Lord through his art. He was busy. Involved. Giving up his new career to reach people in other countries didn't seem necessary. 'I had a nice studio and I really didn't want to come to a mission ship. But God said he wanted to show me what he could do in me, not what I could do myself!'

Marcel finally joined the OM ship MV Logos II in Brazil in October 1999. 'I came to the ship really stressed. The first week I was washing dishes in the galley and I thought: 'Who cares if I'm not famous? I'm doing something for God!' For five months after that I was store-keeper, keeping track of supplies on board. This was really good because it gave me a break from the past, and it also gave me more respect for others.

'The OM office had asked me if I could use my sports background for ministry on the ship. God took it out of my life, but I realised that he wanted to use me in sports again. For the last six months I've led the ship's evangelism team. It's wonderful - I always loved going into the streets and sharing! God really brings everything together.'

Keeping fit

Marcel keeps himself fit by starting most mornings with an hour-long run. 'I love it! Not just physically. It's a good time to think and pray.'

In Africa, the crew offered one-day training sessions for kids at least once every week. The first time, in Ghana, 300 children turned up at a football pitch to receive coaching in different skills. The evangelism team also presented dramas, puppets and testimonies. 'Ghana was special because we had so many kids, and because they were English-speaking it was easier for us. The kids were really open to listening. We also went to orphanages. Africa was really brilliant.'

This spring, the ship's line-up of people in four Italian ports helped organise games with local groups. The Logos II 'Dream Team' managed to win quite a few trophies, but even better they won many friends. Players received gifts of special 'Sports Bibles', donated by a Christian organisation in Switzerland, Sportler ruft Sportler.

Sports bridge

Marcel explains that when he first came to the Logos II, sports wasn't taken seriously as a means of outreach. He worked hard to put an effective team together, and convinced leaders that some kind of uniform would help give them credibility. In Genoa, Italy, when the Logos team played a local team in the city stadium, they were outfitted for the first time in matching shirts, shorts, socks and shoes (obtained at a special discount).

'For me', he says, 'sports is a bridge. You can make friendships through a game. You can be a good testimony in how you play. It makes Christianity real - not just for strange or "holy" people. It's a brilliant tool, and God is definitely using it!'

The Logos II has a volunteer crew, like Marcel Stoob, of 200 Christian men and women from around 35 different nations, and offers for sale some 500,000 Christian and educational books.

The last UK visit was in 1995 and Logos II is hoping to visit London, Glasgow, Belfast, Liverpool and Cardiff this autumn. The ship will be in London at Thames Quay, Marsh Wall, E14, August 29 - September 11.

For more information about the Logos II's visit to the UK contact the UK project office at OM, PO Box 660, Forest Hill, London SE23 3ST (020 8699 6077, email logos2@uk.om.org)

Debbie Meroff