Hope for All 2021

TACKLING DEBT • KOLBE: MAKING THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE • TRAILBLAZING GAMING APP
FORALL
ALL
MEET
AMES
LUSTED
THE ‘THREE FOOT
SEVEN DWARF’
BAD?
THE SPOTLIGHT’S ON
USTIN
BIEBER
REASONS FOR
HOPE
CELEBRATING BOTH
CHRISTMAS & EASTER
AFTER COVID
JOIN
JOANNA
& SIMON’S
WELLBEING
JOURNEY
DE VILLIERS
BATTING FOR
GOD

Editor:
Catherine Butcher
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S2 Design & Advertising Ltd
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HOPE for All is
published by HOPE
Together in
partnership with Hope
for Every Home. Visit
hopeforall.org.uk to
watch videos linked
to the features in the
magazine.
FORALL
WELCOME
How are you as
we emerge
from a year of
Covid lockdowns? Maybe, like my family,
you’ll decide that it makes sense to celebrate
Christmas and Easter together when larger
gatherings are allowed this year. I’ve also joined
the Wellbeing Journey – find out more in this
issue. As always we turn the spotlight on
celebrities and their faith. And we’ve good
news stories from people who’ve tackled
debt successfully, as well as lots more.
HOPE for All is a free gift from your local
church. It points to the hope found by people
who follow Jesus. To find out more, ask the
person who gave you this magazine, your local
church or visit hopeforall.org.uk.
Catherine Butcher
HOPE’s Communications director
04
10
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28
THE JOURNEY TO
GREATER WELLBEING
Join TV presenters Joanna and
Simon on The Wellbeing Journey
ALL BAD?
Justin Bieber under the
celebrity spotlight
PASSION FOR LIFE
Meet James Lusted, the ‘three
foot seven dwarf’
REASONS FOR HOPE
Celebrating Christmas and
Easter together
LET’S PLAY
Discover the game played by
1.6 million children
MONEY MATTERS
Imagine what it is like to lose
your home
THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE
80 years ago a Polish man died.
Find out why
BATTING FOR GOD
Meet cricketing legend
AB de Villiers
hopetogether.org.uk
visit us online
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watch the
featured videos
order more copies
of this magazine
or discover other
resources from HOPE
find answers to
your questions
about Christianity
HOPE FOR ALL 3

HEALTH
Join TV presenters
Joanna and Simon on
The Wellbeing Journey.
Catherine Butcher reports
THE JOURNEY TO GREATER
WELLBEING
loved going on
The Wellbeing Journey.’
‘Iabsolutely
That’s the verdict of
Joanna Adeyinka-Burford, who
presents this new eight-part
video series with sports TV
pundit Simon Thomas.
Joanna, who has appeared on
shows including CBeebies’ The Let’s
Go Club, Home and Away, Little
Britain and Holby City, said the
journey was ‘incredible – we met so
many great people who were so inspiring’.
The Wellbeing Journey is a series run by churches
around the UK exploring holistic wellness: body, mind
and spirit. It’s based around seven key areas of
wellbeing – the wellbeing mindset, physical, emotional,
spiritual, relational, financial and vocational – to help us
Alan and Julie talk about the
'nightmare' of payday loans
discover how to run on a full tank,
rather than running on empty.
Joanna said the experts they
met challenged them to
Joanna meets Steve Uppal, a church
think about each of these
leader and expert on healthy living
areas, to know what steps
to take to improve their overall
wellbeing: ‘I found it so interesting that
your physical wellbeing has a knock-on
effect for your relational wellbeing and
your emotional wellbeing.’ The way
different aspects of our wellbeing are
connected made the journey ‘definitely
something I’ve got to take hold of,’ she added.
Simon explained how to start the Journey: ‘Firstly,
we need to be honest with ourselves about where we
are at. But then we need to be honest with others –
those we trust around us that we can off-load on;
people we can be vulnerable with. That’s not always
4 HOPE FOR ALL

easy.’ He added, ‘This journey’s
a marathon, not a sprint!’
To make the series, the duo
took to the road in two Wellbeing
Journey Minis, interviewing a range
of experts around the country to
find ways to improve different
aspects of their wellbeing. ‘Even
part-way through the filming, I’d already
started to make changes,’ Joanna said.
‘I’m already on the journey.’
Small change
Joanna’s first change came as a
result of meeting John Kirkby,
the founder of CAP (Christians
Against Poverty). The charity
offers debt counselling, money
management, job clubs, life skills
groups and support for
people breaking habits
which are controlling their
lives. John is one of the
experts featured in the
Financial Wellbeing session.
‘Finance is one of the
areas I needed to address,’
Joanna admitted. ‘I’m selfemployed
and I find budgeting really difficult because
I never know what’s coming in each month. John gave
me some really good tools to put in place. Before the
end of filming the series I’d already done those things
and felt a sense of freedom. It was not that I had any
more money, but I knew what I was doing. I had a plan
in place.’
Joanna was also inspired by the physical wellbeing
session. ‘I met lots of people who exercise with their
partners – it’s such a good way to build relational
wellbeing at the same time as improving physical
wellbeing.’ She put the idea into practice by taking
her seven-year-old son out running with her.
‘As he gets older he’s probably going to talk to me
less. If we are exercising together out on a run, there
Simon meets clinical psychologist
Dr Rosemary Gomes
Simon meets Pete Greig, from the 24-7 Prayer
movement, to talk about spiritual wellbeing
Meeting Jill Garrett to talk about
vocational wellbeing was a highlight
of the series for Joanna
Your physical wellbeing has
a knock-on effect for your
relational wellbeing and
emotional wellbeing
are no distractions, no TV, nothing
else to stop us talking. It will keep
us fit and will also help with our
relationship.’
Time for God
Simon’s key take-home lesson
came from the spiritual
wellbeing session. ‘As a
Christian’, he said, ‘I know this
already, but it was a reminder
that when it comes to our
overall wellbeing, particularly if
we do have a faith, developing
our relationship with God
means carving out time, being
disciplined when it comes to listening
to him. We’ve got to learn to hear
God’s voice and to recognise his voice.
We’ve got to set aside time. It doesn’t
mean everything becomes easy but
some of the other areas in life – our
emotional wellbeing, our
finances, our jobs – do become
easier to manage even if they
aren’t going particularly well.’
That lesson hit home for
Simon in an interview with
Pastor Agu Irukwu, one of the experts he met filming
the Wellbeing Journey. Pastor Agu once topped a poll
organised by the Metro newspaper and the Mayor
of London to find Britain’s most influential black
person. He is based at Jesus House in North London
and leads the Redeemed Christian Church of God
(RCCG) in the UK. The RCCG is the world’s fastest
growing group of churches.
Pastor Agu regularly blocks out extended periods
of time to listen to God and spend time worshipping
him. Simon asked him what gets in the way of hearing
from God. Pastor Agu’s immediate response was to
point to our busy lives. ‘We get on this treadmill – it’s
frantic, it’s frenetic – and there are so many competing
voices in the world today. It makes it challenging and
HOPE FOR ALL 5

HEALTH
difficult to hear God with all that
noise.’
But to encourage us to make
a start to improve our spiritual
wellbeing Pastor Agu added, ‘He
speaks to everybody. There are
no favourites; no special people.’
When asked what steps to
take to hear God, he explained, ‘The first thing, of
course, is to show up. Set a time and get into a pattern
of meeting with God. The second thing I encourage
people to do is to study the Bible.
Create time to read, study and
meditate on the Word of God.
Intentionally develop a relationship
with the Holy Spirit. Since he’s
the one who’s going to do the
speaking – it’s through his Spirit
to my spirit that God speaks – so we
should pay attention to him.
‘No matter where you are – in a difficult place
going through a trying time or in a challenging period –
Simon meets Pastor Agu Irukwu
at Jesus House, London
TEST YOURSELF
These are some of the questions you
will tackle on The Wellbeing Journey
PHYSICAL
WELLBEING
1. Think of a time when you
were in great shape physically.
How did this make you feel?
2. What challenges do you think
we face through the areas of
diet, sleep and exercise?
3. What do you think motivates
people to make a positive
change?
4. If you believe in God, what do
you think he thinks about the
human body? If you’re not sure
about God, what do you think
the Christian God thinks about
our physical wellbeing?
EMOTIONAL
WELLBEING
1. What do you like to do to
refuel when you are under
pressure? Where do you like
to go?
2. Which statement do you think
your closest friends would say
best describes you: heart on
your sleeve OR a closed book?
Why?
3. How often do you take note
of how you feel?
4. How do you respond when
you face challenging times?
5. How do you express gratitude?
SPIRITUAL
WELLBEING
1. What practices does society
associate with spirituality?
2. Which traditions are part of
the UK’s Christian heritage?
3. Do you think of God as a
Father with the door always
open, or do you have another
picture of God?
4. Pastor Agu organises his life so
he hears from God. Have you
ever consciously connected
with God?
5. What practices can help us
to hear from God?
6 HOPE FOR ALL

just a word of comfort from God
makes all the difference. You
know “I can get through this”.
God might not have told you
how to get through it, but he
might tell you “Don’t worry, I’m
with you in this!”.’
Simon described the
experience of hearing from God
as ‘rocket fuel’ and ‘a rudder’ for life and Pastor Agu
agreed: ‘My life unravels once that part of my life
is out of sync.’
The Wellbeing Journey is the brainchild of
another church leader – Dave Smith from KingsGate
Community Church in Peterborough. He devised it
because he became aware that ‘wellbeing’ was of
Paul McGee, known as the Sumo Guy, talks to
Joanna about relational wellbeing
prime concern in our culture. He
explained, ‘In a conversation with the
CEO of our local council, she simply
declared that from her perspective
wellbeing was “the key issue” in
society. This was in late September
2019. Now we have had the
whole world seriously impacted by
the Covid-19 crisis. It seems as if the hugely disruptive
effects of the crisis have only made this subject of
even greater importance for so many.
‘Whether you consider yourself a person of faith
or not, whether you are struggling with areas of
wellbeing, or just want to get healthier, I hope The
Wellbeing Journey will be of great benefit to you’.
RELATIONAL
WELLBEING
1. Are you someone who prefers
a few close friends or a wide
social network?
2. When you are under pressure,
what is your natural tendency –
to be left alone or to crave
company?
3. When you’re in trouble, who
are you going to call?
4. Who do you love being with?
Who energises you? What kind
of relationships replenish you?
5. How can forgiveness and
reconciliation have an impact
on our wellbeing?
FINANCIAL
WELLBEING
1. What experiences in life can
affect our finances? When have
you experienced changes in
your life that had an impact on
your financial position?
2. Think about your current
financial situation. What three
words come to mind?
3. John Kirkby from CAP says
‘How you use your money
reflects who you are.’ What do
you think of these three words:
spending-giving-saving?
4. How does the way we think
about money affect our
wellbeing?
VOCATIONAL
WELLBEING
1. How do you answer the
question ‘What do you do?’
2. What does Monday morning
feel like to you?
3. Describe an occasion when you
felt ‘I was made for this’. What
energises you?
4. When have you lost motivation,
what was happening and how
did you turn this around? How
do we keep motivated in what
we do?
5. Who do you invest in? How
could you/do you contribute to
the wellbeing of others through
your vocation?
HOPE FOR ALL 7

HEALTH
STAY STRONG
W
ill van der Hart, a vicar and
a director of The mind and
Soul Foundation, is one of
the contributors to the Emotional Wellbeing
session in The Wellbeing Journey. Here are
his tips on staying strong and well mentally.
1. Swap despair for gratitude
‘There’s a great danger, with contemporary media
especially, that they create an amazing “soup of
despair”,’ says Will. ‘Gratitude training is really good
for our psychological health and wellbeing, but
contemporary news-feeds steal our vision from the
things we’re called to be grateful for, towards things
that will propagate anxiety and fear. And the human
psyche is actually tuned to identify fear as a priority
over everything else.’
Will highlights three human systems: security,
productivity and recovery. When we’re under threat,
all we do is crave security, he explains. For months,
we’ve been focusing on the issues of threat, and the
result is our vision is distorted towards the soup of
despair and despondency. What we need to do right
now, is identify locally and immediately, those things
which we can be grateful for.
The relentless input of global news makes us feel
8 HOPE FOR ALL
like everything in the world is going
wrong. While there is trouble in our
own contexts, there are usually also
things that we can be grateful for
to enable us to retain a level of
resilience.
Practical action: only watch
the news for a limited time each
morning to prevent it affecting
our mood and sleep patterns.
2. Be productive
‘When we go back to those three
life systems – security, productivity
and recovery – productivity is very
good for your wellbeing,’ says Will.
Practical action: Buy a 1000 piece puzzle and,
rather than watch the news, do some puzzling or start
painting or drawing. These things sound small, but
creativity is at the heart of God, and when we do
things that are in the heart of God, they’re good for us.
3. Be still and focus on the moment
When we ‘catastrophise’ ...that is, predicting disaster
before it’s happened... we propagate cortisol and
noradrenaline, which are hormones that impact
our body physically. These raise our blood pressure,
damage our heart, increase our cholesterol levels
and make us feel stressed and discordant.
Jesus said ‘Never worry about tomorrow, because
tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough
trouble of its own.’ But it’s hard to stop a habit of
worrying without replacing the habit with something
more positive.
‘We tend to relax when the body is busy and the
mind is still. Often the best thing we can do is busy
the body so the mind can be still,’ says Will.
Practical action: Take a walk. The physical exercise
itself is good and, as we engage our bodies, our minds
can begin to grow still.
mORE...
Find out more about The Wellbeing
Journey at wellbeingjourney.org or
at a church near you.

CELEBRITY
Photos: Shutterstock
Fiona Graham
explores the impact
of the celebrity
spotlight
JUSTIN BIEBER:
ALL ‘ BAD ’?
I
magine what is it like to grow up
in the spotlight. Everything you say,
do and wear is scrutinised and
ridiculed by the intrusive paparazzi as well
as millions on social media. This nightmare
has been the reality for Justin Bieber since
he shot to fame in the late 2000s.
Bieber grew up in a small town in Ontario, Canada,
but has lived in the public eye since the age of 13,
when the talented young singer was spotted by an
agent who saw videos of his cover songs on YouTube.
At 16 years old, Bieber released his debut album
which contained the hit single ‘Baby’ and he quickly
established himself as one of the most popular and
well-known artists on the planet, with a devoted
10 HOPE FOR ALL

‘By 20, I made every bad
decision you could have
thought of...’
teenage fanbase sometimes referred to as ‘Beliebers’.
The pop star has gone on to have an incredibly
successful career. With sales of over 150 million
records, Bieber is one of the world’s best-selling music
artists. He has received numerous accolades such as
MTV awards, Brits and a Grammy. Time magazine
named Bieber one of the 100 most influential people
in the world in 2011, and he was included on Forbes’
list of the world’s top ten most powerful celebrities
in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
Troubles and challenges
This rapid rise to stardom inevitably came with many
challenges. Like many other child stars, Bieber has had
troubles. Perhaps the same can be said of most people
to some extent, but when you consider the pressure,
scrutiny and the potentially damaging influences that they
face, it’s no wonder that so many child stars struggle as
they grow up. For a child prodigy, the challenges faced by
typical teenagers are amplified, and there are additional
issues which most of us never have to tackle.
Much has been written in tabloids about how
Bieber went ‘off the rails’, but this stage of his life is
perhaps best explained in his own words, ‘By 20,
I made every bad decision you could have thought
of and went from one of the most loved and adored
people in the world to the most ridiculed, judged,
and hated person in the world.’
Publicly he was seen to be rebelling and had
high-profile misdemeanours including drugs and
drink-driving offences. But in private he was struggling
with depression; the effects of his rapid rise to fame
were clearly taking their toll on his mental health.
He has spoken more in recent years about those
difficult times. ‘I got really depressed on tour,’ Bieber
says. ‘I haven’t talked about this, and I’m still processing
so much stuff that I haven’t talked about. I was lonely.
I needed some time.’
He has also been open about his struggles with
drug use. Battling with the relentless ups and downs
of life on tour, Bieber said he started ‘doing pretty
heavy drugs at 19’.
As well as the challenges of fame and touring,
he has been upfront about feeling overwhelmed by
different aspects of life at times, a feeling many people
can relate to. ‘It’s hard to get out of bed in the morning
with the right attitude when you are overwhelmed
with your life, your past, job, responsibilities, emotions,
your family, your finances, relationships...’ he says.
He was baptised in the
bathtub of basketball player
Tyson Chandler
Transformation
But since then, his transformation has been remarkable
and he says that it is his faith in God which has
changed his life: ‘He found me in my dirt and pulled
me out,’ Bieber says.
In 2014 he met with a pastor in New York and,
after opening up about the issues he was struggling
with, he asked this church leader to baptise him.
And so, that very night, he was baptised in the bathtub
of basketball player Tyson Chandler, who happened
to be friends with the pastor.
Since his baptism, Bieber has been keen to share
his faith with the world. ‘My faith has gotten me to
where I am. My faith has brought me to a whole
other level. I love talking about my faith.’
HOPE FOR ALL 11

CELEBRITY
‘My faith has gotten me to where
I am. My faith has brought me to
a whole other level. I love talking
about my faith.’
Bieber has spoken about how faith has been key in
his relationship with his wife, Hailey, who he married in
2018. ‘I want to give up my selfish desires daily so I can
be a good husband and future dad!’ he said. The couple
were also baptised together in the summer of 2020,
an occasion which Bieber described as ‘one of the
most special moments of my life’.
He has been outspoken about the role of faith in
his life and how God is at the centre. ‘I want to walk in
the plans God has for me and not try to do it on my
own!’ He has also said: ‘I’m not trying to earn God’s love
by doing good things... God has already loved me for
who I am before I did anything to earn or deserve it.’
In December 2020, he teamed up with an NHS
choir to perform his hit single ‘Holy’. The song was
released in a bid to raise money for NHS Charities
Together, which represents more than 230 NHS
charities. The song, which also features Christian hip hop
artist, Chance The Rapper, has over 100 million views
on YouTube, and includes the faith-inspired lyrics: ‘I know
we believe in God and I know God believes in us’.
Justin Bieber remains one of the most famous and
influential celebrities in the world, with more than 150
million people following him on Instagram. He regularly
WHAT IS BAPTISm?
Baptism in water imitates
Jesus Christ being baptised
in the Jordan River about
2,000 years ago. Just as Jesus
died, was buried and rose
again, baptism symbolises
being buried – leaving our
old life behind – and rising
again to start a new life.
Billions of people around the world and throughout
history have been baptised: some in a river, like Jesus;
others in a bath, the sea, or a purpose-built baptistry.
People of all ages are baptised, to mark the start of
their lives as Christians.
WHO IS JESuS CHRIST?
■
■
■
■
■
Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity, lived
about 2,000 years ago in the Middle East.
He described God as his Father.
He once asked his followers: ‘Who do people
say I am?’
When he was about 33, he was crucified.
Eyewitnesses said he rose from the dead.
Find out more at www.christianityexplored.org/hope
uses the platform to express his new-found Christian
faith and share it with others. He has said ‘I never want
to be someone that’s trying to persuade anyone to
believe in what I believe. I think God persuades
people...But I definitely want to tell my story so that
if that resonates with anybody they can hopefully
learn from it.’
Cynics suggest Bieber’s Christian faith is a gimmick.
His own words suggest that anyone can explore faith
and, even when you might feel you are all bad, God is
waiting to welcome everyone with open arms.
12 HOPE FOR ALL

INSPIRATION
Photos: Alamy
meet James – the
‘three foot seven dwarf’,
as he describes himself.
Jen Johnson reports
PASSION
LIFE
FOR
‘I
enjoy life – I love life – I’m living
the dream!’ James Lusted – the
actor, TV presenter, sports fan,
husband and dad – is full of joy and has
a real passion for life. But his life so far
hasn’t been without its challenges.
Born with diastrophic dysplasia, a rare disorder of
cartilage and bone development that causes dwarfism,
he measures just three foot seven at the age of 32.
He endured bullying in school and, until his teenage
years, felt very limited by his condition.
‘I couldn’t play rugby – and, as a Welshman, that’s
all I wanted to do!’ says James.
‘I’ve always had the most encouraging supportive
parents. They’ve always challenged me to become a
better person.’ But he hasn’t always found life easy and
his height was an issue at times. He recalls one day in
particular, aged 15 years old, when he came home
‘Yes I am different,
but that’s OK’ says James
from a day of facing the bullies, headed straight for his
bedroom and hid himself under his duvet to cry. In that
moment, his mum, a Christian, came into his room and
saw how distressed he was. Her words made all the
difference. She told him: ‘James, you are made in the
HOPE FOR ALL 13

INSPIRATION
image of Christ. It doesn’t matter who you are, or
the way you are – you can do everything, just in a
different way – and you can use your voice to ask
people to help you. If you can’t reach that box of
cereal on the top shelf in Tesco just ask someone
to help…God has a plan and a purpose for you
and he wants you to see life and live it to the full.’
‘It was like a switch in my heart just flicked on,’
says James. ‘From that day onwards, I went
into school and started to stand up for
myself…Yes, I am different, but that’s okay.’
New-found confidence
From that moment on, James possessed
a new-found confidence.
‘I believe it is a faith-filled
confidence, which God has
given me, to be bold in my
life,’ he says. Indeed, a quick
glance at James’ CV shows
that his condition has not held
him back in the slightest! He
has made several appearances
in pantomime, as well as in other
theatre performances. He is one of the
presenters of the well-loved BBC
programme ‘Songs of Praise’
and has appeared in the
children’s comedy drama
series ‘4 O’Clock Club’, as well
as various documentaries. He
speaks Welsh fluently. He is a
leader at Festival Church, Chester, a local councillor
in Conwy, a former trustee of Disability Sport Wales
and an Ambassador for Sports Chaplaincy UK
(sportschaplaincy.org.uk). In his political role, he has
pledged to campaign for the rights of people with
disabilities, and he delights in spending time with his
family and watching sport. ‘I’ve got my fingers in
a few pies!’ laughs James.
But he holds all these things lightly. ‘Am I going to
be a presenter on TV for many years to come? I don’t
‘“God, it’s all for you”
and I just want to give
everything to him.’
know. Am I going to be a senior pastor of a
church? I don’t know. But all I want
to do is say “God, it’s all for you”
and I just want to give everything
to him.’
James’ attitude is one that puts
the God that he believes in first.
Quoting the Bible he adds: ‘He knows the plans he has
for me, plans to prosper me and plans not to harm
me – I just need to be obedient in that.’
These days, James embraces his short stature.
He even uses his height as his website domain name
– threefootseven.co.uk – and he says ‘I’ve always said,
if I had another opportunity to live on this earth again,
I’d want to come back as me – James, the three foot
seven dwarf!’ At the same time, though, he’s clear that
it’s not the most important aspect of who he is.
14 HOPE FOR ALL

‘I’m proud to be who I am.
I’m proud to be diastrophic
dysplastic, which is a rare
form of dwarfism – there
are more than 200
different conditions within
dwarfism and I have a rare
form, but I’m not defined
by that. God has made me
who I am. I’m defined by Christ.
Throughout all the challenges
that I’ve faced...I’ve learned and
grown so much.’
A beautiful blonde
Another area in which
James’ faith is evident is in
his family life. He had always
prayed that he would find
someone to marry and that
they would be able to start a
family, but he couldn’t know
whether this would actually
happen. In 2012, he had the
honour of carrying the
London 2012 Olympic torch
through Colwyn Bay in North
Wales. A ‘beautiful blonde girl’
called Chloe watched him from
the crowd and she was one of a
number of friends who joined his
family to celebrate afterwards.
James saw her and prayed ‘Lord,
if this is going to happen – let it
happen!’ They started dating
in 2013 when James invited
Chloe out for a drink – and
they never looked back! They
married in 2016, in a ceremony
that was later featured in a BBC TV documentary.
‘Chloe is of average height. She’s two feet taller
than me – we have a lot of laughs and jokes about
that, and we do have our challenges,’ he says.
‘It’s so important to wake
up every morning as if it’s a
new day, with new
potential in that day.
‘She saw my personality...
not a dwarf.That’s who she fell
in love with. I’ll never forget on
our wedding day the tears of joy
to know that Chloe had
accepted me as I am,’ says James.
The couple have appeared
on television together to
share their love story, in the
hope that it will encourage
others not to see outward
differences as a barrier to
love. In 2019, they
welcomed baby Olivia to
the family and faith remains
at the centre of their life
together. ‘I pray for my little
Olivia every day, that she
will be protected – and I pray
for Chloe, my beautiful wife,’ says
James.
So, what’s next for James? ‘It’s
so important that not only do
we keep our mental health
and our wellbeing and our
physical health in a good
place, it’s important to
keep our spiritual wellbeing
in a very good place too,’
he says. ‘It’s so important to
wake up every morning as
if it’s a new day, with new
potential in that day. My
hope for my future is just
to bring glory to God, and
to keep listening and
hearing from him giving
me direction and wisdom
about what to do next.’
Most of all, James is clear about where he finds
stability in life: ‘Hope has a name, and that name is Jesus.’
Watch James tell his story to Warren Evans from
Sports Chaplaincy uK – hopeforall.org.uk
HOPE FOR ALL 15

FOCUS
Let’s celebrate
Christmas and
Easter together
– here’s why it
makes sense
REASONS FOR
HOPE
D
uring 2020 millions of us put
celebrations on hold. milestone
birthdays, weddings and even
Christmas celebrations were cancelled.
Getting back together with friends and
family, means those celebrations can take
place. Christmas and Easter can be rolled
into one massive celebration.
Celebrating Christmas and Easter together makes
perfect sense. Jesus Christ is the focus for both
festivals. Born around 2,000 years ago in the Middle
Eastern town of Bethlehem, Jesus is the person at the
turning point of history. We even count our years from
his birth.
We know his life story from the eyewitness
accounts written by his followers Matthew, Mark, Luke
and John. Their accounts – known as Gospels – are
recognised by historians as authentic records. The four
Gospels are available to read in every major language
as part of the Bible. They describe what Jesus said and
did; how he showed God’s love to people who were
16 HOPE FOR ALL

marginalised and rejected by others; how he wasn’t
impressed by pompous, proud people and, most
significantly of all, how he talked about God as his
father in heaven.
making sense
The Gospels all give detailed accounts of Jesus’ death
on a wooden cross just outside Jerusalem, and his
resurrection from the dead – the event we celebrate
at Easter. When Jesus rose from the dead it made
sense of his claim: ‘This is how much God loved the
world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this
is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing
in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.’ These
words were recorded by John, one of Jesus’ closest
friends (John chapter 3 verse 16). Because of Jesus’
resurrection, Christians believe that death is not the
end. It is possible to have a loving relationship with
God now that lasts for eternity.
We were made to enjoy an
intimate relationship
with God
John’s account of Jesus’ life puts his 33 years into
context and explains that Jesus was with God when
our world began and when men and women were
created in the image of God. Having the image of God
as part of human identity is why we experience awe,
wonder and intimacy; why we have a sense of
purpose in life. We were made to enjoy an intimate
relationship with God and to live in harmony with
each other and with the natural world.
But we all know that our world is fundamentally
flawed and human beings are responsible for so much
that is wrong with it. Jesus’ death on the cross was
God’s remedy for all that’s wrong. He lived to show
us how we can live at peace with God. He died and
rose again to make that possible and to restore our
broken relationships.
Through the resurrection of Jesus, God has started
a new creation. His purpose is to make all things new
FIRST CENTuRY
BAPTISm
One of the first people
to be baptised after Jesus
rose from the dead, was an
Ethiopian travelling back
home from Jerusalem. On
the way he met Philip, one
of Jesus’ followers, and they
talked about Jesus. As a
result, the Ethiopian
wanted to become a
Christian so, when they
came to some water, he
asked Philip, ‘Look, here is water. What can stand in
the way of my being baptised?’ The story of Philip
and the Ethiopian was written down by Luke, one of
the four Gospel writers, in his second book called
Acts, which describes how the early church grew
dramatically in the first century.
and to put an end to guilt, shame, fear and all
the damage we have done through our greed,
self-centredness and hatred.
When people turn to God, they discover the
peace, love and hope he offers as a gift – God’s
Christmas and Easter gift, all rolled into one.
100 COPIES TO
GIVE AWAY
We have 100 copies of mark’s
Gospel to give away. This short book,
written by a first century follower of
Jesus, includes eye-witness accounts
of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.
First come first served – to win a copy visit
hopeforall.org.uk or send your name and address to
Hope for All magazine, 8A market Place, Rugby,
Warwickshire CV21 3Du. Copies are also available
to buy from hopetogether.org.uk/shop
HOPE FOR ALL 17

FOCUS
FOUR STORIES OF
HOPE
PEACE
Drug-dealing had landed Danny in prison.
On release he returned to his old habits
selling cannabis and was making lots of
money. One of his friends said, ‘You are living like a
lottery winner,’ but
he felt like a slave to his criminal behaviour. ‘I had no
peace inside. I’d got nothing...’ he says.
His parents were Christians and he knew that he
wanted to make peace with God. One day he sat on
his bed and prayed, ‘Jesus, sort me out. Please forgive
me. I will follow you, but I need your help.’
When Danny tells his story, he remembers that
was the turning point, which was followed by a couple
of memorable coincidences. His young son came into
the room and said, ‘Daddy, peace at last...’ Three times,
Danny asked him what he had said. Then his son
brought a children’s story book into the room.
Its title was Peace at Last.
Danny then picked up a Bible his parents had given
him, which he had never read. The first words he read
were: ‘Stop quarrelling with God! Agree with him and
you will have peace at last!’ The words from the Bible
book of Job hit home hard for Danny. From that
turning point, Danny knew God had forgiven him and
he started to follow Jesus; he had found the peace
he was looking for.
LOVE
Raj was 16 when she tried to kill herself.
‘I started taking these tablets. I just wanted
to be dead.’
When her dad found out, he said ‘It’s a shame it
didn’t work.’ She felt totally unloved.
‘I used to pretend that everything was alright;
I pretended a lot, but the reality was that no one really
loved me for me – only for what I could do for them.’
When she was alone, her pretences disappeared.
One night as she was crying, she heard a voice saying
‘Raj, stop crying’.
‘I knew it was God,’ she says. ‘I felt love. I didn’t
really know what love was as I’d never experienced
it, but I knew it was love.’
That night, as she felt God’s love for the first time,
she found herself forgiving her family for the way she
had been treated. Later, thinking about Jesus’ death on
the cross and his resurrection, she says ‘It just clicked;
what Jesus has done for me. He saved me! I wanted
to be dead and he gave me life.’
Now, knowing that Jesus gave his life to make it
possible for her to know God’s love, she says, ‘I want
to live a life that is worthy of the cross.’
18 HOPE FOR ALL

HOPE
Stephen’s parents were brokenhearted
when their son was killed in a coach
crash in May 1985. Stephen was on a school
trip and died along with the coach driver, four other
children and a teacher.
‘We were struck at that time how people from
church surrounded us,’ John says. They cooked and
cared in practical ways while the couple grieved.
John took comfort from knowing that God loved
Stephen even more than they did. But Linda recalls,
‘I didn’t have the faith and belief that John had then.’
However, there was a lady in Linda’s fitness class
whose words touched her deeply. ‘She put her hand
on my shoulder and said “God’s weeping alongside
you.” I had never thought about that. Lots of people
had said “Why did it happen?”, “How could God let
it happen?” But her saying that made Jesus very real
to me.’
Even though they lost their son, they trust that
God does have things under control and does know
what he is doing, and that gives them hope for now
and for eternity.
INSPIRATION
The beauty of the natural world often
inspires people to look for a Creator behind
it all. Samuel says he feels closest to God
when he’s surrounded by Britain’s beautiful scenery
in the Lake District.
‘When I look out and see the fells and the lakes,
it reminds me of the magnificence and majesty of God
and how amazing and powerful he is to make all of this
happen.
‘It inspires me to think that amid all of this God
cares about me; amid all of this great creation God
has a purpose and a plan for me.’
When Samuel wanted to be baptised as a
Christian he asked for the baptism to take place in Blea
Tarn, surrounded by the iconic Lake District scenery.
‘It’s a really lovely location surrounded by all the
mountains and the fells,’ he says. ‘I chose to get baptised
there because that’s where I feel closest to God.’
HOPE
STORIES
Visit hopeforall.org.uk to watch
watch Danny, Raj, Samuel, John
and Linda telling their stories
HOPE FOR ALL 19

DIGITAL
maggie Barfield talks to
us about a trailblazing
children’s gaming app
Let’s
PLAY
Six years ago, a pioneering gaming
app was launched inviting children
to become ‘Guardians of Ancora’.
At the time, few people had a tablet or
smartphone. Now, more than 1.6
million have downloaded the app and
children all over the world are playing
the game in multiple languages.
Like many classic online games, it’s an
adventure. The players run, jump and climb, slide
on zipwires, achieve new levels in the game and
win trophies. Guardians of Ancora – typically eight to
11-year-olds – are invited to explore the imaginary city
of Ancora, visiting the ‘Hall of Memory’
and the ‘Theatre of the Saga’. They
meet the Guild Master and
Keeper of the Keys, unlocking
stories and collecting ‘Guardian’s
Gear’ in a digital satchel. Players
who enjoy quizzes can answer
questions. Children who want to
be creative can use virtual
paints and stickers to create
pictures. There are animals to
feed and new friends to be
made – all in a secure
environment which follows
the strictest international rules
for children’s online gaming.
The game was devised by
world-class gamers working
with the Christian charity
Scripture Union. Their
challenge was to capture
children’s imaginations with the unchanging stories of
the Bible, while still allowing players to
influence the outcome of the game. Children
can play offline and online. They don’t need to
be able to read well, but there are options
to read stories as well as listen to them.
Players are introduced to a man called
Jesus in the ancient town of Capernaum
(named after the real town in the Middle
East) where he is recruiting his followers.
20 HOPE FOR ALL

Gamers can read eye-witness accounts of the real,
historical Jesus as well as watching the on-screen
avatar enacting the story from his birth in
Bethlehem to his crucifixion in
Jerusalem, followed by his
amazing resurrection.
Breaking new
ground
Maggie Barfield, one of the
team behind Guardians of
Ancora, explains how they
devised the game: ‘We wanted
something really immersive for
the children. Six years ago, people
thought we were mad going for
an app. Smartphones didn’t exist
as we now know them and only
4% of the population had a tablet.
It felt risky but we could sense
how things were moving.
‘We went to a specialist children’s game
design company and worked very closely
with them. Then we did a lot of research
with children – we watched them play and
talked to loads of children, as well as
looking at other games.
‘Different children play in different ways – some are
very intensely playing the game. Others are much more
interested in the more sociable aspects such as sharing
pictures and creating prayer posts. We wanted to give
children choice, so they can choose what they do in the
game and when they do it. The game is used by
children at home and in schools, where there are
Guardians of Ancora clubs. Initially the game was mainly
popular with church groups and Christian families, but
now it has become much more widespread.
One of Maggie’s favourite stories about the
players began when a Scripture Union schools
worker visited a class and told pupils about
the Guardians game. Two years later, he
went back to the school and noticed that
one of the children seemed to know a lot
more about Jesus and the Bible than her
classmates, even though she had no links
TELLING AN
uNCHANGING STORY
Scripture Union began in 1867, the same year that
English law changed so no factory or workshop
could employ any child under the age of eight;
employees aged between eight and 13 were
required to have at least 10 hours of
education per week. That’s when the so-called
‘ragged schools’ began.
In June 1867 Josiah Spiers spoke to 15
children in a drawing room in Islington, London,
pioneering a new approach to introducing
children to Jesus. The following year, Spiers
went on holiday to Llandudno in North Wales
and spontaneously wrote ‘God is love’ in the
sand. His simple, compelling message attracted
the attention of local young people, and
Scripture Union was born, as children
began to engage with Jesus.
with Christians or a church. He was
amazed to discover that she had
followed up on what he said on his
first visit, had downloaded the app,
and had been playing ever since.
So, what’s the feedback? Maggie
says one of the most frequent comments from adults
is ‘I don’t know how to play this!’ But children are digital
natives who catch on much more quickly and
intuitively than their parents. Sadly, a few children have
said ‘We only play games where we can kill people.’
However, millions more enjoy the game and Scripture
Union has been able to respond to their requests to
provide more virtual costumes for players for example,
as well as making other improvements to keep pace
with changes in technology.
With new generations of children getting online
every year, millions more are set to enter the
wonderful world of Ancora and play!
BECOmE A GuARDIAN
Visit guardiansofancora.com to find
out more and download the game for
iOS (Apple) and Android tablets and
smartphones from your app store.
HOPE FOR ALL 21

Do you want to help people
in your community?
You can help people find freedom from debt and hope for the future
COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on household finances. People in
your community are struggling with debt and money problems.
Community Money Advice provides a variety of low-cost ways for
churches and community organisations to provide free, confidential faceto-face
debt advice and support to local people.
To know more visit www.communitymoneyadvice.com or email
info@communitymoneyadvice.com.
Book to join our webinar: Debt Advice & Your Community, by visiting
www.communitymoneyadvice.com/webinars
If you are struggling with debt issues yourself, to access free, face-toface
debt advice visit: www.communitymoneyadvice.com/freedom-fromdebt/get-help
to find your nearest CMA centre.
cma
Freedom from debt
Hope for the future

FINANCE
Home is normally
a safe place.
Imagine what it
is like to lose it.
MONEY mATTERS
Keila was nearly evicted
when she got into
debt and says: ‘The
thought of losing your home
is the worst feeling.’
‘A few years ago I split up with my
husband. He was a recovering alcoholic.
My benefits were capped. I was in
quite a bit of debt but, because
I was putting all of my money into
my rent, there wasn’t any money left.
‘I would feed the children and then
what they’d left – that would be my dinner. I’d lost
loads of weight and was in hospital for three days.
When I came out I was just so weak. And then my
daughter was in a car accident. It was just one thing
after another. I was in a really bad place.’
A friend told Keila about Reach – a charity near her
home in Suffolk. That’s where she found the help she
needed to sort out her debts and manage her money.
Reach was founded by the River of Life
Community Church in 2005, initially as a debt
Keila: ‘I was in a really
bad place.’
counselling centre. They went on
to launch further projects to tackle
poverty under the name of Reach
Community Projects and became
an independent charity in 2017.
Henry Wilson MBE, the project
director at Reach, explains: ‘I started
here first as a debt counsellor. It was
while doing this work that we came
across families that were going
without food and so we added
a foodbank project to it.’
Reach aims to find the underlying
problems that cause people to need
a food box in the first place. As well as being a
Community Money Advice centre offering free debt
advice from experienced debt counsellors, Reach runs
a drop-in centre, a foodbank and other projects like
Acts 435, which is managed through a network of
churches and local charities, and helps clients pay for
clothing, furniture, children’s needs, travel costs and
other unexpected expenses.
‘Whether it’s poverty, debts, homelessness or the
risk of losing their home, we’re here to help,’ says
HOPE FOR ALL 23

FINANCE
Henry. ‘We can walk alongside
somebody and take them
through a journey to lift them
out of poverty. Being there.
Being a friend – that relational,
personable service is absolutely
crucial.’
Thanks to a grant from the Nationwide Building
Society, Reach has employed a fulltime worker, Justine,
who supports people in the community. People can
24 HOPE FOR ALL
Reach’s fulltime worker, Justine,
supports people like Keila
in the community
PAYING IT FORWARD
Julia is one person who
was helped by Reach.
Here’s how she is now
helping someone else
Malcolm* is vulnerable due to
learning disabilities. During the
Covid-19 lockdown, he was one of
those who ‘slipped through the net’
– and it nearly killed him.
When Malcolm’s mum died a
few years back, he wasn’t placed under care as it was
deemed he could manage. Generally, he did – until the
pandemic arrived.
His social lifeline was volunteering at a local charity
shop several times a week. But when lockdown came,
the shop had to close. Several months later, when it
was allowed to reopen, Malcolm did not reappear.
The charity shop team began to worry about him.
They couldn’t call him as he had no phone. So Julia,
one of the volunteers and a former Reach client, went
round to his house.
She was shocked at the state she found him in.
The house was in darkness; the sink full of unwashed
crockery. Malcolm was unkempt, suffering badly from
depression and he needed medical attention. Because
he had understood that during lockdown he wasn’t to
leave the house except to buy food, he didn’t think he
drop in at the Reach
resource centre to ask for
food. If conversations bring
to light other needs like debt
or housing advice, Justine
then follows that up.
‘Just giving someone a
parcel of food is just a sticking plaster,’ she says. ‘There
are always issues underneath. Reach is all about helping
people to move forward.’
was allowed to go to the bank. So
he had run out of money – and
food. He hadn’t eaten for five days.
Henry, the project director at Reach,
said: ‘We don’t like to think what
might have happened to Malcolm,
had Julia not gone round that day.
Fortunately Julia contacted us for
help.’
‘We got a food box to Malcolm
straight away and Julia cooked him
a meal. He bolted it down – when he finished he said
he felt like a beached whale; he’d not eaten so much
in so long! Julia also got the doctor out to see him.’
Reach also bought Malcolm a prepaid mobile
phone; one designed for people with learning
disabilities. There is an emergency button on the back
which, when pressed, rings a designated contact, so
now he can always get help.
Malcolm is still nervous about going out, so now Julia
gets his benefits money for him, does his shopping and
helps clean his home. Reach gives her a little money to
cover her extra petrol costs. Malcolm is so much better
and looks forward to the time when he can go back
to volunteering at the charity shop.
* Name and details changed to protect client’s identity
To find a Community Advice Centre near you
visit communitymoneyadvice.com

“Who do you say I am?”
A short animation exploring the message of Jesus.
Watch now:
christianityexplored.org/hope

INSPIRATION
Photos: Getty Images
80 years ago,
a Polish man died.
Here’s why
THE uLTImATE
SACRIFICE
I
n
July 1941 a prisoner escaped from
Auschwitz – the largest of the Nazi
concentration and death camps.
The camp commandant had a brutal response in
such situations. The prisoners from the block where
there had been an escape were assembled. If the
escaped prisoner was not found by the end of the day,
as a reprisal, ten inmates would be executed by
starvation for each escapee.
On that July day, the escapee was not found. (He
was later discovered drowned in a toilet.) The Nazis
selected ten inmates from the escapee’s block to be
starved to death. They included a 40-year-old Polish
soldier, Franciszek Gajowniczek.
On being chosen, Gajowniczek, pictured above,
began to beg for his life, crying: ‘My wife, my children.
I will never see them again.’ At that moment Maximilian
Kolbe, a 47-year-old Polish priest, stepped forward
and offered to take his place. Kolbe had no wife or
children, he explained, and he asked if he could die
instead of Gajowniczek. Witnesses said later that the
Auschwitz commandant was so stunned that he was
unable to speak. Eventually, he sent Gajowniczek back
to his place and Kolbe replaced him.
Kolbe and the other nine men were locked in
an underground bunker and left to starve to death.
As the days wore on, there were no cries for mercy
or sounds of weeping. In the bunker, Kolbe continued
to comfort his fellow victims and it was their singing
and prayers that were heard. The prisoners in the cell
survived two weeks - longer than was normal.
Eventually guards killed the final four with lethal
injections on 14 August 1941. The last prisoner
conscious was Maximilian Kolbe.
26 HOPE FOR ALL

Survivor
Franciszek Gajowniczek
survived Auschwitz. He
had joined the Polish
army as a young man and
had been captured by
the Germans in 1940 and
sent to Auschwitz, where
he was branded with the
number 5659. He spent
more than five years in
Auschwitz and in another
Nazi camp, Sachenhausen.
Gajowniczek died a free man in 1995, a greatgrandfather
who never forgot what the priest had
done for him. He spent the rest of his life telling
people about the man who had died in his place.
Maximilian Kolbe is now remembered for his
supreme sacrifice in dying in the place of another
prisoner who had been condemned to death following
the apparent escape of a fellow inmate. In laying down
his life, Kolbe followed the example described by Jesus
Christ in the Bible book written by John, where Jesus
said, ‘Greater love has no one than this, that someone
lay down his life for his friends’.
Who was maximilian Kolbe?
Born Raymond Kolbe in 1894 to a poor but religious
family in Russian-occupied Poland, Kolbe grew up
always knowing about Jesus. His parents were members
of the Franciscan Order, a Roman Catholic group of
Christian believers founded in the 13th century. Kolbe
attended a Franciscan seminary at Lwow (now Lviv in
Ukraine) – a school for young people who were
interested in becoming priests. While there, he often
wondered whether he would be better suited to being
a soldier, but by the age of 16 he had decided that he
was called to the priesthood. He was ordained as a
novice in the Franciscan Order. As was the Order’s
practice, he took a new name, Maximilian, after a
famous Christian who had been killed for refusing to
deny his faith more than 1,600 years earlier.
After training in Rome, Kolbe became a full
member of the Franciscan Order and was ordained as
a Roman Catholic Priest in 1919. He returned
to Poland to teach in a seminary and founded
monasteries for male
members of the Franciscan
Order, first in Poland, then in
India and Japan. In the Polish
monastery near Warsaw, he
also set up a printing press,
producing magazines and a
daily newspaper.
When the Nazis invaded
Photos: Shutterstock
Maximilian Kolbe and the bunker
where he died with nine
other prisoners
Nicky Gumbel, who presents the Alpha course, uses
Kolbe’s story to explain why Jesus Christ died. On
Alpha, a course which has been taken by more than
25 million people around the world, Gumbel says:
‘maximilian Kolbe died instead of someone else and,
in an even more remarkable way, Jesus died instead
of you and instead of me.’
Find out more at www.alpha.org
Poland in 1939, Kolbe
assumed they would
seize his monastery, so
he sent most of the brothers
home. He was arrested and imprisoned for a short
time. After his release he began using his monastery
as a safe house for refugees. More than 3,000 people
were sheltered there, including 2,000 Jews. Although
he had been ordered to stop printing, the presses now
turned out pamphlets and newspapers protesting
against the Nazi regime. Kolbe was arrested and jailed
again in February 1941 for sheltering refugees. In May
he was transferred to Auschwitz.
Life in Auschwitz
Despite his ill health, Kolbe and other clergymen were
forced to carry logs. If he slowed down, the guards set
dogs on him. If he fell over, he was beaten up. Kolbe
continued to act as a priest to the other inmates,
sharing what little food he had and giving comfort
in every way he could.
Rudolph Diem, the doctor in the concentration
camp infirmary, later recalled: ‘I can say with certainty that
during my four years in Auschwitz, I never saw such a
sublime example of the love of God and one’s neighbour.’
HOPE FOR ALL 27

SPORT
Photos: Shutterstock
meet cricketing
legend AB de Villiers.
matt Thomas reports
BATTING FOR
GOD
Abraham Benjamin de
Villiers is a legend of
the cricketing world.
Known as AB de Villiers or AB,
he has been described by fellow
international cricketers as the
most complete, most valuable
and most loved cricketer on the planet.
Since making his South Africa debut
in 2004, de Villiers has had an incredible
record-breaking career and has said that his
success has been built on his Christian faith.
Gifted athlete
De Villiers grew up near Pretoria and was
a gifted athlete from an early age, excelling
in a number of different sports. He was in the same
28 HOPE FOR ALL

school year as fellow South African international,
Francois du Plessis and the two remained close friends
as they progressed from playing junior cricket all the
way up to playing in the national team together.
AB made his international debut against England at
the age of 20 and quickly became well-known for his
entertaining batting and athletic fielding.
His career went from strength to strength as he set
a number of records including the fastest 50, 100, and
150 of all time in One Day Internationals (ODI) by any
batsman. He was also named as the International
Cricket Council’s ODI Player of the Year three times
during his 15-year international career and was one of
the five Wisden cricketers of the decade for 2010-2019.
'I am not afraid publicly
to recognise God’s role
in my life.’
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has
described him as ‘the definition of cricketing genius’.
Building on his success with the national team, his
popularity has soared since playing the Indian Premier
League (IPL), the most-watched cricket league in the
world. Former South African international Jonty
Rhodes wrote that ‘Only a handful of international
cricketers have seen their personal popularity extend
beyond the boundaries of their homeland. AB de
Villiers can be included in this very select group of
globally acclaimed superstars.’ Rhodes goes on to
mention how, while coaching in India, he saw that even
opposition fans would cheer for AB, such was his
popularity with local supporters. It is also a country
where AB has a personal connection as he proposed
to his wife, Danielle, at the Taj Mahal in 2012.
He has become known for his entertaining batting
style, nicknamed ‘Mr 360’ because of his ability to play
unorthodox shots and hit the ball all around the
ground. AB’s IPL teammate and India’s top batsman,
Virat Kohli, has described him as ‘the best batsman
in the world by far’.
But AB has said that all of this success would not
have been possible without his faith. He acknowledged
that his talent and work ethic are God-given gifts, but
also said that the impact of faith on his mentality and
approach to the game has been crucial.
mental health challenges
It has been said that cricket is one of the most
mentally demanding sports; there have been many
instances of depression and mental health issues
affecting players. It is no surprise when you consider
the pressurised nature of the sport, the nomadic
lifestyle of the players and intense scrutiny in the
age of social media.
Despite being a team sport, each player’s
contribution to the team is objective and statistically
measurable. This, combined with relentless analysis
from pundits, press and fans, can put a lot of pressure
on players. And due to the constant touring of
professional players, there is little respite from this
pressure. It’s not uncommon for international players
to spend more than 40 weeks a year away from their
homes.
Former England internationals such as Marcus
Trescothick, Andrew Flintoff and Jonathan Trott have
all been outspoken about the mental health challenges
they’ve battled with as top international cricketers.
Trott gave a harrowing account of the mental
torment he battled with while playing for England:
‘I hadn’t slept, I hadn’t eaten, and I hadn’t been able
to stop the throbbing pain in my head. The effort of
constantly needing to justify my existence, of avoiding
the slings and arrows thrown by commentators, by the
crowd, by the opposition, by the millions on Twitter,
it was starting to warp my thinking... I was scared of
failing. I was scared of being made to look bad and
letting everyone down.’
The fear of failure and not wanting to let people
down is something that has also affected AB and his faith
has been key in overcoming this. He has said that faith
allows him to play ‘like it doesn’t really matter that much’.
He said that in his early 20s he was battling to
establish himself in the national team and struggling
with the pressure of not wanting to let people down.
HOPE FOR ALL 29

Photo Alamy
SPORT
He then made a conscious
decision to put God first. ‘I’m
just here to entertain the
people for you, and it’s not
about me... that’s what
changed everything.’
‘You need to
stay humble.
You need to make time
for the people who are
close to you’
Outspoken
De Villiers has been outspoken
about his faith. In his autobiography,
he wrote, ‘My faith and my
relationship with God are
incredibly important to me... I am
not afraid publicly to recognise
God’s role in my life.’
He also gave two accounts
of times that he felt God spoke
to him directly.
The first was as a child when he was in the back of
a truck as his family were driving home from visiting
friends.
‘Thinking about nothing in particular, staring at the
stars, I suddenly started sobbing and then properly
crying. It felt very strange. We were all Christians and,
as a family, we generally went to church on a Sunday,
but all of a sudden, lying on my back, I was overcome
with a sense of God’s presence. Nothing like this had
happened to me before.
‘I tried to make sense of everything and decided he
(God) was telling me what sort of person he wanted
me to be. He wanted me to stay humble and always to
appreciate what I have... it felt as if I was being brought
heavily down to earth.’
The second instance took place 14 years later on a
boat in Sydney Harbour when, aged 24, he was a
30 HOPE FOR ALL
member of the South African
cricket team celebrating a series
victory over Australia. The day
after the win, AB and some of his
teammates went out on a fishing
trip together. He was lying on the
deck of the boat feeling
somewhat worse for wear due to
a combination of seasickness and
the after-effects of the team
celebration the night before.
‘Then, all of a sudden,
out of the blue, something
hit me, and I began crying
uncontrollably... once again
feeling as if my body was
being filled with the Holy
Spirit... He seemed to be
saying: “What on earth do
you think you are doing?
Who on earth do you think
you are? Some kind of hotshot
international cricketer,
scoring runs and winning Test
series... thinking you are
special, getting drunk too often, taking yourself too
seriously? You need to stay humble. You need to make
time for the people who are close to you – and you
need to appreciate what you have been given.”’
The experience seems to have had a lasting effect
on the cricketer. AB has been praised for his humility
and bold approach to the sport. He believes that the
key to his success has been his decision to always put
God first, taking the focus and pressure to succeed off
himself and concentrating on living for God.
He has made his approach to cricket and life in
general quite clear: ‘That’s why I’m here... to live for him.’
Photo PA Images / Alamy
SPORTS CHAPLAINS
Sports Chaplaincy uK offers high quality support in
the areas of pastoral and spiritual care through its
chaplains to the wider community of sport.
Find out more at sportschaplaincy.org.uk

ExPERIENCE GOD
Answer me when I pray, O God, my
defender! When I was in trouble, you helped
me Be kind to me now and hear my prayer
Psalm 4 verse 1 – a prayer first prayed
by King David in the middle East about
1000BC
Talk to God and listen to
him. Visit a church near you,
or pray wherever you are.
Visit hopespaces.com for
help with prayer.

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