I say only one thing in life can make a man as happy as playing professional soccer, money. To me, money is everything. I live for the big house, fancy cars, fame, and designer brand clothes. My life feels more and more complete every day since I was first drafted to the Major Soccer League (MLS) six years ago. As a kid, all I ever wanted to do was be a professional soccer player and become rich. I can say I have done just that.

However, there is one aspect of the life that I am not proud of. I am proud to say that I have changed and become a new person, but it still saddens me to think of my old self. I was so caught up in the thought that money was everything; I was never satisfied with what I already had. You might ask how could that be? To be truthfully honest, I don’t know. I ask myself that question every day. Now three years of living the new me, I have decided to share my story that forever changed me with you.

It was the front story headliner of every news station, newspaper, and magazine out there: MLS super star James Worth arrested after being in a road race that ending with a crash, closing the interstate. Everywhere you went, it seemed to be the topic everyone was talking about. Less than one day in jail, I appeared before a judge in my court hearing. I remember that day clearly. He asked me why I had to be so stupid.

He said, “Why were you and a friend of yours street racing down the interstate at 11:30 last night?”

I replied in a low voice that we had made a bet. Whoever won would receive six million dollars from the loser.

The judge just chook his head, “Son, I want you to listen real close, okay. You have everything you could ever ask for, and yet, you are still not satisfied. Everything is about making more money. Is money all that matters to you? This is not the first time you have been in trouble with the law. I feel that you need to get your life together, so this is what I’m going to do. Instead of you serving jail time and paying fines, I am ordering that you spend two months in Uganda. You will go with a group of volunteers to help those that live there. You need to get your life in shape.”

I stood there, staring up at the judge, absolutely dumbfounded. It felt as if someone had just punched me in the gut. Doing stuff for charity was not like the old me. I remember thinking I would have been happier with jail time.

I had to leave in three days. I decided it would be a good idea to find out as much as I could about Uganda. After three days of research, I had concluded this: Uganda was the last place I wanted to visit. This was going to be the longest two months ever.

There was one volunteer going with me. He said the others were already there. His name was Matt. He owned a charity that helped a village in Uganda. They helped the families, children, schools, and many more wonderful things to help people. He assured me that this experience would change my life.

We were getting close to landing in Uganda. I looked out my window and thought, how could there be an airport here? There was nothing there.

Matt learned close to me and said in a low, soft voice, “I know you’re probably thinking there is no way this is going to help you, but let me tell you something, it really does have the power to change you. It changed me. I used to be just like you, and now all I do is help this village. I know you’ll have the same outcome. I can feel it.”

I listened to what he said, but showed no emotion. He was a really nice guy but I just thought, you don’t know me.

This village was some two and half hours from the airport. We rented a small white van and drove through the bare, golden plains. There would be an occasional tree from here to here. For the most part it was just us driving down a little dirt road. I began to wonder if there really was a village, but after a long drive we finally arrived.

It was not much. There were little shacks here and there and nothing else. I asked Matt if this was it. He assured me it was. I sat there deeply puzzled.

When we got out of the van, Matt asked me if I could help him unload the supply boxes from the trunk. He was going to tell one of the families in the shacks that we had arrived as I began to unload.

I turned away from the van and saw a tall, skinny woman walking with Matt towards me.

“James, this is Maria. She is the principle of the school here.”

“Hi, nice to meet you,” I said, “I’m James.”

“Thank you so much for coming with Matt, James.” She said. “It is always nice to see new faces coming to help. Besides we can always use more help.”

“My pleasure,” I responded even though that was not how I was really feeling.
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By this time now, it had been four days since my arrival. The first three days we worked on the homes in the village. They are just shacks, but they were falling apart. Repairing them was not easy. We basically built new homes; Nothing but endless hours of work. I was so tired and frustrated. It was long days in the hot sun with little rest.

Now it was day four, and Maria took Matt and I to the school she works at. This was the only school around. It’s a private school, ranging from pre-k to twelfth grade.

Matt handed me a bag from the van and said, “Start by placing one shirt, two pencils, and one notebook on each desk.”

I took the bag and placed everything how he told me. I was really bored, but most of all, I really missed soccer. Do you have any idea how hard it is for a professional athlete to not play whatever sport they play? It’s unbearable; you crave the game.

As it was now lunch time, we were taking a break and I heard some children outside the school. Due to my intense curiosity I went outside to see what was going on. Outside the school is large flat field. There is nothing but sand, dirt, and rock. Everything that the eye can see is a rusty orange color.

Out on the field was a group of about ten kids. These kids where having fun playing a nice game of soccer. I was shocked. I remember thinking how funny it was how I had just been complaining on how I hadn’t played in so long.

I turned to one of the elder women of the village who was sitting in an old wooden rocking chair on the porch out front of the school. She was minding her own business watching the kids play. Her name was Erma; she was Maria’s mother and always came to the school during the day to help watch the kids.

I asked her, “Erma, where did all these kids come from? And how do they know about soccer?”

Erma looked up at me with a big grin on her face, “Why, these kids come here every day at noon and play soccer. It’s their favorite sport. Whenever they go to the city, they read about the games in the newspapers and whatnot. Now that I think about it, Maria told me the other day how you are a pro soccer player. You should play with them.”

I contemplated long and hard if I should or not. I decided that I should, for what would it matter. I made my way down the steps of the school porch towards the field.

“Good choice,” I heard from Erma as I walked out.

As I reached the kids, one thing stuck me hard, the amount of joy they had. That’s when I spoke up.

“Hey guy. I see you have a little game going on here. Do you, um, mind if I join in? I happen to play professionally over in America. You guys look really good.” I was trying to sound friendly.

You should have seen those kids faces light up. They were in complete amazement. One boy asked me, “You mean you play, like on TV, and stuff?”

“Well yeah, all of our games are broadcasted nationwide.”

“Wow! That’s so cool.” Another kid said in pure amazement.

“So what do ya’ say, can I play with you guys?” I asked again.

“Oh! Yes, of course. Come on, come on.” They all said at the same time. It was one large eruption of words and excitement.

I asked whose team I was on and they randomly chose, you know, one of those enie-menie type of deals? After that, I asked where the goals were since there was no net or anything. That was when one of the girls showed me at the end was a bunch of sticks stuck in the ground in the shape of a goal.

Now that all the rules and boundary lines had been mentioned, it was time for kickoff. At first, I started off putting on a show; they were no match for me. My skills far exceeded their abilities. I was easily able to maneuver my way around them and get to the goal easily. I don’t know why I wanted to dominate them so much. I guess it was one of those moments that you get when you just want to show off your skills and show people what you are capable of. However, it didn’t take long for those kids’ competitive spirits to kick in. Suddenly, they had made it very difficult for me to do anything.
All that time, the smiles on those kids’ faces went from one ear to the other. By now, all the teachers and volunteers had gathered outside on the porch to watch us play. They were enjoying watching us as much as we were enjoying actually playing.
We had decided that we would play to ten points, and both teams were tied at nine. As usual, my teammates managed to get the ball to me. They figured I would be able to make the winning goal easily. However, I decided I wanted one of them to make the final goal. I worked myself free of the triple team with multiple crossovers and pullbacks till I was able to find an open teammate. I gave one good, straight kick to the open kid in the corner. He made an excellent move and with one solid kick, he shot the ball right past the goalie. Game over; we had won. The teachers and volunteers that were watching us had begun clapping and cheering.
It was about time to get back to work. I went around and gave all the kids high-5’s and told them they were great. They really were. They gave me tight hugs and thanked me so much.
They asked me for autographs. I ran to the porch where there was a big plastic bin full of notebooks, pens, and pencils. I grabbed a notebook and a pen and made my way back to the field. They each gave me their names and I sign them all autographs.
The amount of joy and excitement on those kids’ faces was indescribable. I had never seen someone so happy. They ran back home clutching their autographs, and yelling thank you.
As I had made my way back to the porch, everyone was smiling at me. It had actually made me feel uncomfortable.
“Way to go. That was wonderful, James. You just made those kids’ day.” Said Maria. She looked so proud.
“I knew you would come around,” responded Matt. “I told you this place would change you.”
Old Erma, sitting in her rocking chair, grabbed my hand, patted it, smiled up at me and said, “Those children will work wonders on you. They have the power to change a human being. You’re a god man James. Not everyone may be able to see it, but I see it, everyone here sees it, and I know those kids most definitely see it.”
“Thank you Erma.” I said with goodness rushing through my veins. It was a splendid feeling.
The rest of the day was wonderful. I felt at peace, happy to help, not at all annoyed or irritated. Those kids were definitely still in my mind and still are today.
The following days were unbelievable. After that first day, those kids must have gone home and told the rest of the kids in the village. The next day there were double the amount of the kids on the first day; day two there were triple the amount of kids and so on. By the end of the week, I was convinced that every kid in village was now coming everyday to play. It got to where I actually looked forward to lunch each day. I remember waking up and thinking about what how much fun I would have with the kids again. Let me just say, that is something that I never used to do before.
Word spread fast of my arrival in Uganda. One day while we were working on the school, Maria brings me a newspaper. One is a US paper and the other is a Uganda paper. Both papers had the exact same article. It mostly said why I was here, for how long, what I had to do, but there was one thing I was not expecting to read. There were maybe two or three lines from the bottom explaining my time with the children and teaching them to play soccer. I had nothing against it, but man, word spread fast.
By now I had already served a month and a half. I had to say, my time in Uganda was going quite well. I had learned everything about everyone in the village: their name, family, job, ancestry, you name it. I had also become really close to the children. They referred to me as Mr. James. I, too, had learned everything about them.
One thing I loved about my trip overall was what I learned from the kids. I didn’t just teach them how to play soccer. They taught me how to make bracelets, sing and dance to their music, and even their language, but most of all they taught me how to be a person. I was no longer this angry person, who was never satisfied with what I already had. I learned that I should be grateful for what I have and make the most of it. Those kids have absolutely nothing, yet, they are the happiest kids I have ever met in my life. They are thankful for what they have and make the most of it.
My last two weeks in Uganda, I have to say, were probably my most enjoyable two weeks I have lived. Everyone knew my time with them was coming to an end, and emotions ran high. The stories we told, the promises we kept, the secrets we shared would forever remain.
Matt, the volunteers, and I did the finishing touches to the village homes and school before it was time for us to leave and go back home. I had served my two months, but now, I actually would have stayed longer. Everyone was deeply saddened to see me go, but knew I had to. Matt and I packed the bins and bags back into the white van to get ready to head back to the airport. Before we left, we gave our goodbye hugs to everyone at the school. Maria, Erma, and all the kids I had gotten to know oh so well were at the school. I began my round of hugs with Maria.
“Thank you so much, James. You have helped this village so much. Not just the physical things like the homes and the school, but the emotional part of it. You taught us all that anyone can change and become a good person. For that, I applaud you, and you are welcome back here anytime.” Maria said to me as she wrapped her arms around me to give me a strong hug.
“You are most definitely welcome. Thank you for helping me become a new person. You always stood by no matter what. That means a lot.” I said back.
I made my way over to Erma, sitting in her wooden rocking chair on the school porch. That was sort of her chair. Again she grabbed my hand, patted it, smiled at me and said, “James, James, James, you are one special person. I have never seen someone have as big of an impact as you have on us, nor I have I seen us impact someone else as much as we have impacted you. You have forever changed the lives of the people living here, but most of all, the lives of the children. They will never live another day the same. You served a great price, but your outcome was well worth. Thank you, James.”
She pulled me in and gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She was probably the sweetest person I have ever met. I thanked her greatly, for she had a huge impact on me. She was so wise and smart, and could see right through someone. No matter how much I thanked her, it would never be enough.
After her, I made my way over to the sea of kids. The sad faces and tears rolling down their cheeks pulled at my heart. I realized then how much I meant to them. I gave everyone one of them hugs and thanked them for all the fun times we had and for helping me become a new person. I knelt down in the middle of the crowd and told them to gather in close. I said, “I want to make a promise to all of you. My promise is that I will come back to see you all again. I have to go home now, but I promise I will come back.”
They held me to my promise and it was then time for me to go. I met Matt back at the van, gave one last wave and thank you, then got in the van and made our way to the airport. I looked in the window and saw all of them waving bye to me. They had become my second family.
The plane ride back home, Matt and I talked the whole way.
“So, I can tell they had really changed you. I told you they would.” Started Matt.
“ Yeah, they really did. I think it was just the closeness that village had with everyone in it. They were like one big happy family. They had absolutely nothing, yet they constantly smiled. Here I was never satisfied with what I had, always needing to have more. I was so caught in money. I can’t believe it took all of this for me to realize I have everything I need, just be happy.” I replied.
“Sometimes we need a lesson; something to open our eyes when we can’t seem to do it ourselves.”
That line Matt said to me stuck with me the rest of the flight and still does to this day.
When I returned to my home in southern California I was so happy to see everything that we take for granted her in America, for example, electricity, indoor plumbing, refrigeration, and warm showers. I immediately got back into soccer training. The new season was getting ready to start, so it was time for boot camp. As much as I hated boot camp, I was so happy to be back playing soccer.
Within a month of being back in America I opened up an organization. It was to help those in Uganda whether though fundraising or donating items. People would sign up and offer to help the next time this went over to Uganda. It was amazing to see the amount of support people have for others, who they have never met before.
Now six years since my first time to Uganda, the one that forever changed me, my organization has over 500 members. We have been to Uganda eighteen times (three times a year), and have donated over five million dollars.
I don’t know where I would have been if it hadn’t been for my lesson. I am a completely new person. I love the new me, and never want to go back to the way I once was. Sure, my level of understanding came at a price, but all in all, it was well worth it. The people of Uganda have without a doubt forever changed my life, and I am so thankful for it. I would not be the person I am today.