7/12/98: Went to church at Nairobi Baptist with the Stan & Martha B. Nairobi is a cosmopolitan city with a large number of international residents working in the fields of business, government, development and aid, and missionary work, so the congregation was pleasantly diverse. Many of the worship songs were familiar to me and made me miss playing in the worship band back in our church in Chicago…
NOTE: The photo above shows Zinadine Zidane in the highlight reel of the 1998 World Cup on the FIFA youtube channel.
7/12/23: After church we spent the rest of the day relaxing, reading and writing in our journals. The B’s invited us over to eat dinner and watch the World Cup Final between France and Brazil. Before the game started, we asked lots of questions about some of their experiences as missionaries in Africa. As for watching the game, Ruth had said to me that she probably would watch a few minutes, then turn in for the night. However, she became as engrossed as the rest of us and stuck around until the game was over, well past midnight. France won, despite Brazil having Roberto Carlos, Rivaldo, and Ronaldo Nazário all playing at their peak. But they were held scoreless by the French side, which featured Zizou (Zinadine Zidane) in one of his biggest years. He was awarded “man of the match” for scoring two of the three goals in that final and brought home the World Cup trophy. He also won both the Ballon d’Or (Golden Ball) and the FIFA Player of the Year awards! It was a great game, and can still be watched in full here.