New Years On The Soccer Field and In Church

This was the second year that ASAPH supported a local activity during the Christmas/New Years week of vacation. It’s a soccer tournament right in the street and under the lights provided by ASAPH and some other folks with big work lights.

Erntz played on a team that managed a loss and two ties in their first three games. Ugh. But, when two teams were eliminated for rule-breaking, Erntz’s team was given a shot at advancing. They had a shootout with another team with the same record. Erntz’s team won the shootout, won the semi-final game that followed it, and advanced to the final!

The final was set for New Years Eve. Last year the final began at 11:00 pm or so, and they stopped the game at midnight for a brief celebration before continuing. This year, they decided to wait to start the game until midnight. Well, it wasn’t a great idea. As the game started, some drinkers began fighting some distance from the game. It was enough to distract the crowd and send many folks home. Then, it started raining. The game was stopped twice due to rain. Some folks hid. Some went home. Finally, in mud, the game finished at about 1:30 am on January 1st. There was a presentation ceremony attended by about seven people. Everyone else was home in bed. I think maybe next year they should change the schedule.

We tore down the lighting and went home after the final game. It was 1:45 am. I set my alarm for 3:30 am. Our church had scheduled a New Years service at four o’clock in the morning! I played keyboard. It was a fine service, and a great way to begin the year 2017. But I did go home and sleep. Then enjoyed the traditional pumpkin soup service on Haitian Independence Day, January 1st.