Making New Field Goals
He asked this question for years. Then one night he got his answer.
"I saw the Lord," he recalls. "It was a clear vision of Him, and I felt this love. It was indescribable, this love, this mercy. I started to weep, this time asking the Lord to forgive me. He said to me, 'Now I am calling you; you will be My servant.' I was only 13 years old. My heart was filled with joy. It was like a discovery."
As he became an adult, Muvuma would see Gods hand of blessing in other arenas or "playing fields."
His skill quickly took him to the top of his game, and he became a member of one of the best soccer teams in Africa. With his winning attitude, Muvuma continued his string of successes with club after club in Zaire. But his greatest match was yet to come.
"I was really on the top of my training. I felt like I was on the moon," he says. "The ball was in the air. I jumped, and so did the goalkeeper and the defense. There was a collision, and I found myself on the ground."
Just seconds before, he had been battling for a goal. Now Muvuma was fighting for his life. For twelve days he lay in a coma. He says his body seemed lifeless, while his soul traveled at the speed of light.
"I left my body and I found myself in heaven. It was a fascinating place, a place of peace, no pain, joyful. The decoration was totally extraordinary. I was there and I saw an angel. He came to me. 'You shouldnt stay here. Your mission is not finished yet. You have to go back.' I said to him, 'No, let me stay here. I am good here. Please let me stay.' But he pushed me, and I was in my body again in the hospital."
Two months later Muvuma recovered, and the soccer field began to beckon for his return. In fact, a top team in Greece offered him a lucrative contract. But something had begun to turn Muvuma's eyes toward another field.
"I had to obey. I didnt have any choice. I had to obey," Muvuma states.
It was now time for this top sportsman to enter the mission field. He sold all he had, leaving behind money, fame, and fans. But Muvuma's decision would come with a price.
"It was really hard, and I wondered if I had really heard God in going to Europe," he says. "I said, 'God, had I known that I was going to go through such difficulties, I would have given my ticket to another person."
It seems there were many churches in Europe that felt that an ex-soccer star wasnt qualified to preach. Muvuma found door after door slamming in his face. Things got so bad he even considered committing suicide. But through the trial, God proved that He is faithful.
"I realized that we have to have confidence in God no matter what the circumstances and the trials that a person may go through. If God has given a promise, God will fulfill it," he says.
Today Sostha Muvuma is married and pastors two vibrant churches in Belgium, one in the heart of the worst district in Brussels. He says this new "field" that God has given him is a field where "goals" have taken on an eternal significance: the goal of winning souls to Jesus Christ.
Muvuma concludes, "Wherever you are when you really seek Him sincerely, God will reveal Himself to you and will pull you out of the mud. He will place you in high places. You who were nothing but vapor, God can turn you into something wonderful and valuable."
