The Blind Spot That Built His Faith

He’s a soccer dynamo, giving Georgi Minoungou a unique seat! The Seattle Sounders winger injects an excitable surge into what’s called –The Beautiful Game. Georgi plays and lives wholeheartedly with conviction, while embracing both with just half his eyesight! Shaping both man and player with inspiring distinction as a true overcomer and catalyst!

Question: “Georgi, how you play the game, what would it be?”

Georgi Minoungou: “Spark! I'm a game changer. I'm someone who brings something different. When I step on the field, you can see, you can feel the energy. Every team needs, uh, some creative player and I'm one of those who can come in and create something, go one on one, dribble, create those space, create those chance, and that's what I can bring to help my team to, to win games.”

Question: “How much of that do you think is gifting and how much of it comes from hard work?”

Georgi Minoungou: “It's more like a gift. Playing professional soccer has always been a dream for me when I was two years old in Ivory Coast, in Africa and always watching it on TV. Why not me being a professional soccer player? My mom always told me that was like, like a gift for me. I always kick something around in the house. I always had it and I've been working on it. When you have a gold, you have to put it on the fire and make it more beautiful, more clean.”

Question: “Your passion for the Lord and your passion for the game, did the two run together?”

Georgi Minoungou: “Um, I came from a Christian family and, you know, strong community, and I always have passion for soccer. My mom raised me with every morning at 6 AM read the Bible. You know, it was like a little traditional thing, but as soon I grew up with the Holy Spirit, he remind me that that's not traditional. That's the passion that you should have for the Lord and my daily motion is part of everything.”

Question: “One scripture in particular, that is your go-to?”

Georgi Minoungou: “My favorite one is Psalm 23, especially the verse four. Even when I walk to the dark valleys, I will fear no evil, for I'm with you. God will always be with you and never leave you. In the fire he'll be with you, and in the water, whatever you're going through, He’ll be with you. And I love this verse.”

Question: “The surprise of losing half of your vision, what happened with that eye infection?’  

Georgi Minoungou: “It’s been something, something hard for me. In 2023, I face a serious eye injury. We don't know, uh, where it came from. Maybe you got allergy or something when you travel a lot. And then the doctor says, ‘hey, Georgi, I think we might need surgery. There was a lot of blood in front of your eye and the back of your eye’. And after the surgery the doctor called me to say, ‘I’m sorry but you’ll never see with your left eye. You will probably not be able to play soccer no more because the risk to damage the right eye is so high. If someone hurt, you or something you become blind. And there’s something that came to my heart. I feel like now talking I feel like it’s the Holy Spirit, just giving me that strength, I’m going to keep going, and if in one week I’m not good, I’ll retire. And I went on the field with those googles. I remember the coach say, ‘this kid just lost his eye, but the way he's playing is incredible.’  And when I came back to the doctor, he was like, ‘wow, in 38th year of experience, I never seen something like that, Georgi, you blessed.”

Question: “So Georgi, on field, has something else emerged like an ability that you didn't have before?

Georgi Minoungou: “God's developed something in me. By his Holy Spirit, He develops something. I have only side vision, and the field is huge. There's stuff that you won't see on the field. Now when I'm on the field, I feel everything. I feel where my teammates are; I feel where I should receive the ball. So, it makes¬ me see the whole field. I'm more feel than, than see. Sometimes I don't even see my teammates, but I know that they're here. So, I'm grateful for that.”
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Question: “Do you feel like that’s - divine?
  
Georgi Minoungou: “All the time. All the time! When I'm about to come in, I start praying, I feel the Lord because I always invite Him in my game. Putting my knee on the ground, putting my hands up, wearing the shirt of Jesus. All these things is to invite the Lord with me. Remember the story of Moses and there was a road from the philistine side and there was a road in front of the ocean. And God delivered them! He opened the ocean. And God put me in front of this ocean because He wanted to deliver me. He wanted to glorify His name with this! Know that God is with you. He will find a way!”

Question: “The Sounders give you mental health and spiritual health, tell me about the support …”

Georgi Minoungou: “I feel like I’m blessed to be in this organization! We have a chaplain; he’s been there for us. To support us! And the team has been always there. Even when I was with my eye injury, they give me a chance! I call them my family because with my faith they never say ‘Oh Georgi, why still believe in Jesus’? They even help me to get to grow that faith to be a good man, a good person, a good soccer player and I love this team!”

Jesse Bradley is a former professional goaltender, current pastor of Grace Community Church in Auburn, Washington and Chaplain of the Seattle Sounders, saying, “the joy of the Lord is Georgi’s strength! And you see it every time he points up on the field he wears ‘Jesus is The King’; he’s sharing about his faith. Jesus must increase, we must decrease and that’s what Georgi lives out. And God continues to give Georgi strength to overcome these challenges!”

Question: “How is Jesus Christ, the playmaker, the spark, the catalyst for you, playmaker Georgi?”

Georgi Minoungou: “Jesus is the King. Jesus is King. And He's the one above everything. The Alpha and Omega. And for me, He's Lord and savior. Always believe in him. That's what I'm doing. I belong to Jesus.”

Question: “Scripture urges us to walk by faith, not by sight.  What do you see with one eye that you couldn’t with two?”

Georgi Minoungou: “I think with one eye; I see the glory of the Lord in every single step. It gave me another vision and that vision is not natural, it's supernatural. I know he is the one who make me see in this darkest valley, that difference is Jesus. And I’m happy for this blessing.