Liberia in 60 Seconds / Sammy Surge visiting Kids in 2 States

Dear Friends, Sammy Surge is back from Liberia and will be at Morningstar Church/Salem, OR in May & and at the Red Hill Lutheran School Soccer Camp, Santa Ana/Tustin in June! The one page ATTACHMENT will inform you about our new work in Liberia. Liberia in less than 60 seconds: 4 cancelled flights, 59 hours of travel, over 8,000 miles one way, 4 covid tests, going from 29 degrees and snowing to 85 degrees, felt like 100 due to humidity; the electricity worked mostly. “And God was glorified throughout our …

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Al & Lori’s Update – March 9, 2022

Thank you for praying for the trip to Liberia. In the days leading up, there were times we weren’t sure it would actually take place. Some of the flights were cancelled, including the day of. Dave didn’t find out until he had already gotten to the airport on the 17th, but it all got re-routed and both ended up starting (again) on the 20th. Everything went smoothly after that including all the Covid tests. Dave and Al were able to train 61 coaches for a couple of very full days. …

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A wonderful visit to Beautiful Beginnings School

It was a wonderful visit to Beautiful Beginnings School- A radio interview first. At the school there was dancing, speeches, Sammy Surge presented his principles with high fives and a dance, before the real dancing, a tour of the school, a Bible quiz, a youth soccer match and our leaders – Amos n Darius entertained the kids and shared the gospel! Study hard, play fair, help others was our theme, Sammy Surge’s theme – as we observed, learned and greeted so many. – dinner w the President’s chief security officer. …

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Liberia Trip Update: Feb 19, 2022

As we venture back out into the world, we all know it is not without risks. Preparing for the unexpected and adapting is critical in accomplishing our goals…. First my return flight was canceled, then changed. Next my departing flight was canceled, then changed. Yesterday I went to check in at PDX and much to the suprise of the Delta Ticket Agent she couldn’t check me in for my flights to Monrovia, Liberia. Air France had canceled my new flight. Almost 2 hours later my Thursday flight was now on …

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See You in Liberia on Friday!

– Follow our journey – Learn about Key Meeting with Minister of Education – About Training top Soccer Coaches in Liberia – Training Pastors in Sports Ministry – Developing partnership with Beautiful Beginnings School sharing hope through soccer, Dave Irby US Soccer ‘A’ License

Surge International to Partner with Three Organizations in Liberia

Irby and Lotz preparing for first trip to Liberia – February 2022 Surge International is pleased to announce a new project that will give you access to helping us shape the world we live in! Partnering with Ollie White, Beautiful Beginnings School; Doco Wesseh, the ONE GOAL Foundation; and Rochell Favor Woodson (One GOAL/President, World Girls Football Club) we hope to impact Liberia through education & football and through local churches. Meet Ollie White; a learner, reader, and leader who by the grace of God is revolutionizing reading in Liberia. …

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Liberia Donations

Surge International is pleased to announce a new project that will give you access to helping us shape the world we live in! Surge Soccer Liberia has been launched; along with partnering with Ollie White, Beautiful Beginnings School/Elite Teacher Training we are impacting Liberia through education & football and through local churches. Your donations will help us, Lord willing, shape Liberia for years to come.  Learn more about Ollie and our Surge Liberia directors Amos Gayflor and Darius Barrolle in their video interviews posted here on our website.

Ecuador + Liberia + Merry Christmas

Two sisters traveled five hours by bus from a jungle area to attend our training program. Their area was known in the past for its “headshrinkers.” As a child, another one of our coaches was shuffled around to seven different orphanages. Abuse during that time of his life led him to a life of alcohol and drugs. As an adult he met Jesus and is now serving the children of Riobamba, Ecuador through soccer. After two years of waiting to travel, Al Lotz and I trained twenty-three coaches in soccer …

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Ecuador!

How blessed we have been to help train 45 soccer coaches in Liberia and 4 in Haiti using email, WhatsApp and Zoom. But today the long wait to travel again is over! My Surge colleague Al Lotz and I are in Quito, Ecuador. Then a 3 hour bus ride and we will arrive at our destination at 1:00 am – Riobamba. Nestled at 9,000 feet Riobamba will be our home for 6 days as we train soccer coaches live and in person! The project is the vision of Josh Ayers, …

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Ecuador, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Liberia: September 2021 Update

Dear Friends, IF the Lord wills the long wait will be over and in November I will head to Ecuador. ECUADOR – The long wait is almost over. If the Lord wills I will board a plane in Portland, Oregon on November 3rd and fly to Atlanta. My long-time friend and colleague Al Lotz will join me there for the flight to Quito, Ecuador. A three-hour drive will bring us Riobamba, Ecuador. Nestled at just over 9,000 feet, Riobamba is the home to 240,000 people, and home to my former …

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Seahorse Open House – October 2

We are planning to be at the Seahorse Open House – Sat. October 2nd. We would love to see you there! PLEASE INVITE OTHER SEAHORSE ALUMNI! RSVP using the link below — AND let me know if you are planning to come and Celebrate the Team and Work that the Lord had us start. PS- Susie might join us if your wives come as well. Seahorse Soccer Friends, Supporters, Alumni, Sponsors, & Vendors, (FROM PAUL GIZZI) Please mark Sat. Oct. 2 in your calendars now to meet with us at …

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Summer 2021 Update from Irby

Dear Friends, The pain in my ribs has persisted since the accident. After having x-rays twice and nothing showing up, my doctor ordered a CAT scan. The results showed a partially healed fractured rib. As most of you know healing of rib injuries just takes time. And though activity can be still painful over three months later, at least I know what happened. With the new information about my rib injury, I feel better that the trip to LIBERIA fell through. At the same time, we discovered the internet isn’t …

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The Long Wait is Over – Austria Wins in Euro2020!

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,”  – Romans 5:3-4 Along with millions of others I paused and prayed for Danish midfielder Christian Erikson when he collapsed on the field in Denmark’s opening match of EURO 2020. The following day we found out that Erikson was “stabilized” and resting comfortably in the hospital; so along with other long suffering Austrian fans I jumped for joy when Austria defeated Northern Macedonia 3-1. It was Austria’s first …

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Sports Spectrum Daily Devotional: Thursday, May 20

When They Say You Can’t Make It It was Europe vs. South America, England vs. Brazil, as Liverpool, the European champs, faced Sao Paulo, the South American champs, for the 2005 FIFA World Club Championship. What a year it had been for Liverpool. Led by Steven Gerrard, it had won the European championship for the fifth time, setting the stage for Liverpool to face Sao Paulo for the world title…. Read More

Seahorse Open House – October 2 – Join Us!

We are planning to be at the Seahorse Open House – Sat. October 2nd. We would love to see you there! PLEASE INVITE OTHER SEAHORSE ALUMNI! RSVP using the link below — AND let me know if you are planning to come and Celebrate the Team and Work that the Lord had us start. PS- Susie might join us if your wives come as well. Seahorse Soccer Friends, Supporters, Alumni, Sponsors, & Vendors, (FROM PAUL GIZZI) Please mark Sat. Oct. 2 in your calendars now to meet with us at …

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“Shouldn’t you be retired?”

Dear Friends, It is forty-nine days and counting since a young man ran a stop sign, without slowing down, causing our violent crash that totaled Mitch’s Prius. Mitch and I had driven to his home in Nevada after we had participated in the Orphanage Charity Match in San Diego (we were the photographers). We were resting up before heading to Oklahoma City to visit the soccer teams at Mid-America Christian University. This was my first ministry trip since Covid hit! In addition to still not being able to lay on …

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Likius Hafeni receives his Master of Divinity from Corban University

We are pleased to announce that Likius Hafeni, long time Surge Ambassador and current Surge International Board Member, received his Master of Divinity from Corban University (Salem, Oregon) this past Saturday. Hafeni, who had already earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science from Corban first came to Salem in 2009 to play for the Surge’s Cascade Surge team. But his story is not quite that simple. Growing up in Mariental, Namibia Likius represented his country at the international level of soccer. Around the same time he pioneered soccer …

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April 2021 – Update from Al and Lori

We got our vaccines! Second doses, minimal side effects and happy to do our part in helping to stop the spread of this virus. It was so nice to get back into church on Sunday after being away for over a year. Al is happy to get back into co-teaching in our small group. And we are so grateful that we are in a place where we were able to get this vaccine, as many are not so fortunate. Right now, we would ask you to pray for Alan Pinto …

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