THE 4 WAY TEST ASSOCIATION

2013 Soccer Ball Update: Told by Bob Carris

  Kids all over the world love soccer, but in third world countries they have no money to purchase soccer balls and usually use wadded up paper or plastic bags in the place of a soccer ball.

  About 5 plus years ago I saw a soccer ball used on a church mission trip that had "Jesus Loves You" in 60 different languages.  It came deflated with pump and needle so kids in foreign countries could blow it up and use it on the spot. 

   While sitting at Lavonia AM Rotary Club's District 6400 Convention 5 years ago, someone mentioned buying some expensive soccer balls ($40+) to take on Rotary trips overseas.  I had a "light bulb goes on" moment and thought "why not do a Rotary soccer ball with The 4-Way Test on it in a number of languages similar to the ball I had seen?" 

I shared this idea with our District Governor elect, Jennifer Jones, and she loved it.  She encouraged our Livonia AM club to pursue it.  The USA company distributing the "Jesus Loves You" ball had stopped selling them, but the lady who coordinated their purchase gave me the name of the Chinese company she had used to make the balls.  I contacted them and asked about their making a similar 4-Way Test ball.  They said they could do it and gave me some price figures. 

  Then came the challenge of getting the 10 translations of The 4-Way Test.   I thought those would be easily available from Rotary International but not so.  I had to go to multiple sources including The 4-Way Test Association to get translations.  (Russian and Indian were especially difficult.)  Then I had to have them all formated alike in the layout which The 4-Way Test Association provided before I could send them to China.  Though I looked for manufacturers in the USA to use, the only soccer balls of this type were all made in China.

  While I was getting the ball designed and samples ready and shipped, our small club (8 members at the time) could not raise the money to pay for an initial shipment (a minimum quantity of 2000 soccer balls).  For the next 3 1/2 years we searched for a partner to help us with the financing to no avail.  In 2012 we finally discovered a fund raiser which could give us the dollars to do it ourselves and the RI/4-Way Test soccer ball became a reality! 

Our current RI President Tanaka is a huge fan of the 4-Way Test and eagerly accepted the first sample soccer ball which he loves since his native tongue Japanese is one of the translations.  He immediately paid me for another 10 to take back with him to Japan.  We now offer them to clubs worldwide at an affordable price of around $12 (see Resources>Projects & Speakers) for Rotarians to use as a "leave behind" gift when traveling.  It's a great way to promote Rotary International, The 4-Way Test, goodwill between nations and world peace -- all starting with the kids!  

Half Time Report:  It's exciting to be here surrounded by so many Christian world leaders sharing their experiences and hopes for world evangelism.  This week a core task was defined as 639 unengaged, unreached people groups with populations of over 100,000.  One goal being discussed is to interact with each of these groups by 2025.  It used to take 13 years for a missionary to learn a language and translate scripture into a newly created written language.  Now some of this is being accomplished much more quickly by putting scripture into oral story form.  This can now be done in some cases within a 2 year time span.

                                  

I am drinking a lot of coffee.  A typical day at the Congress begins at 7:30 AM and ends around 10:30 PM.  My taxi driver the other day wanted to know if I got paid "overtime!"   In a way I do,  from the stimulation of encountering so many Christian leaders from a variety of global backgrounds working in all sorts of capacities.  A map of the world has become much more personal to me.  I shared a table with two fellow congressmen, Oz Guinness and Toni Gogu the other morning.  Typical start coffee in hand and I'm holding up really well!

Wrap Up:  Now the real work begins! This congress was called to channel and send out Christians as we seek to fulfill the great commission of Christ Jesus over 2000 years ago.  One of the most exciting aspects of these last 10 days is the new partnerships initiated.  In the closing ceremony we shared communion together.

Within this congress, Africa's Porcupine Story became a focal part of our story.  It goes like this:

.........There is an African law that you cannot eat porcupine.  The specific punishment can be severe!  A man was caught stealing a porcupine.  When confronted with his theft he said 'the law says you cannot eat a porcupine, not that you cannot steal a porcupine.'  Later he was caught roasting a porcupine.  Again the man said 'the law says you cannot eat a porcupine, not that you cannot roast a porcupine.'  Later still the man was caught while "tasting" the roasted porcupine.  When confronted this time, he again responded by quoting the law and emphasizing that it did not say he could not "taste" the porcupine, just not "eat" it.  Finally after much "tasting" there was no more porcupine left!  When accused this time, he said, because he had just "tasted the whole porcupine", he really had not "eaten" it, he was innocent.  Below Reverend G. Khing from India has on his Anti-Porcupine Hat.

The congress underlined that one of the problems the worldwide Christian Church has is too many "whole porcupines" being sometimes furtively, sometimes patently "gulped quickly down and bones licked."  We are called to repent, to be like Him....to be imitators of Christ in our relationships with God and our neighbors as we go about our daily lives.  For us all to be empowered with His love is His global purpose -- rich or poor, in sickness and in health, in peace or turmoil.

I have met many leaders in ministry and business here who have impressed me with their humbleness, simplicity of life style and integrity.  Saying goodbye to an amazing Lausanne Congress on World Evangelism in beautiful Cape Town, I  appreciate the city's motto, "Cape Town.  Live it!  Love it!"  A great choice for this 3rd and my only Lausanne Congress.

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