Overcoming Setbacks - Kevin's Story
My name is Kevin Anderson Martínez, I am 18 years old, I want to tell my testimony of how God, through Sports Outreach El Salvador, transformed my life and restored my hope.
At the age of 12 my life changed radically since my behavior was not appropriate at home. I come from a family of separated parents, so I lived with my mother and as a result of my bad behavior, my mother made the decision to remove me from her house and send me to live with my father. Thus beginning a very hard stage in my life at an early age and I had rebellious behavior. I had vices, such as smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol; because of my pretty bad behavior my dad made the decision not to let me to go out of the house and that frustrated me. I couldn't be with my friends so I spent a lot of time reflecting on my actions and my misbehavior. I managed to gain my father's trust to the point that he allowed me to go out to the streets of my community again. it was there when I remembered that the NGO SOI was there and I made the decision to attend the soccer trainings. That was my only way out, to no longer be in the same environment that I was before, of gangs and bad friends.
That's how I started attending SOI Integral Soccer Academy, and that's how I met God! Through sports! It was difficult to be able to change my thoughts, but with the help of the teachers/coaches, I learned about the Word of God and I began to like the atmosphere that existed among my classmates. There I could be myself, enjoy being with my new friends, and everything changed in my life for the better. The years went by and my behavior changed radically! I was no longer that problem child. I began to see life differently and have goals and objectives to achieve. I think that coming to SOI was the best decision I could have made in that time since it allowed me to change my life and my behavior.
It has not been easy. In all this time I have faced many tests that I have had to overcome. I think the most difficult was not wanting to go to SOI anymore. Due to all of the problems, there were so many, such as not having the economic facilities to live with dignity, I thought about working and helping financially in my home. I mentioned this to my coach in charge and he motivated me not to leave SOI, encouraging me that I could achieve my goals and that God would bless me if I continued looking for him. That's how I decided not to leave SOI. Thank God I was able to get out of that slump I had and continue going to training because I realized that God was transforming my life! The coaches played an important role since they helped me. They conveyed security, because they are not only my teachers, they are my friends! I managed to have very good communication with them. I told them my problems and they motivated me. That gave me the hope of being able to radically change my life for the better.
In 2021 I lost the motivation to study. I was in high school, and due to the pandemic I lost interest and stopped studying for a year. I told the SOI teachers in charge of my training level and they talked to me, encouraging me to continue studying to be able to get ahead. They also told me that I could count on the ministry in any need I had. That gave me strength to continue studying. That is how I am now a senior in high school, and also a volunteer at SOI as an assistant coach on Saturdays, helping to training boys younger than me. Being able to help others to change is something that I feel now in my heart. Just as my coaches helped me to change my thinking, to have faith in Jesus, and to be able to tell others about my experience of how the Lord through SOI restored my hope, and transformed my life.