Merry Christmas!

I just had to share some information on my favorite player in the world....Ricardo Kaka'!!!

May 25, 2007
Kaka’s outpouring of faith brings joy to leaders within Christian community

Rick Broadbent

It has been a long time coming, but more than two decades since God had a hand in a World Cup triumph, football is returning the favour. With heart on sleeve and slogan on chest, Kaká’s postmatch celebration in Athens on Wednesday night thrust his faith into the spotlight. “I belong to Jesus,” the statement said. Liverpool fans shuddered, undone by an ineligible deity.
As arguably the best player on earth, Kaká’s high-profile commitment to his religion is good news for church leaders. In recent times, the Italian church’s efforts to infiltrate the mainstream and spread the gospel have been much derided. When Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Pope Benedict’s No 2, created The Clericus Cup this year, an international tournament for priests and seminarians, he spoke without irony of creating a Vatican City team to take on the likes of AC Milan in Serie A. However, even Bertone would not argue that the stated aim of “reinvigorating a sporting tradition within the Christian community” is better served by Kaká and his T-shirt than kickarounds in cassocks.
Kaká, who was born to a middle-class family in Brasilia, said that he became deeply religious when he was 12. “I learnt that it is faith that decides whether something will happen or not,” he said.
Some might consider that the Liverpool fans who “kept the faith” in the face of the most testing circumstances during the Champions League final two years ago actually endured a quasi-religious experience. Other similarities shared by football and religion are obvious – tribalism, sacrifice, conflict. However, few people remember that a third of the clubs that have played in the Premiership owe their existence to a church. Barnsley and Swindon Town were founded by clergymen, while Louis Rocca, the ice-cream baron who came up with the name “Manchester United”, set up a network of Catholic priests to scout for players.

Kaká’s own faith was strengthened in October 2000 when he slipped on a swimming pool slide and broke a vertebrae. “The doctors said that I was lucky to be able to walk normally,” he said. “They were talking about luck and my family was talking about God. We knew that it was His hand that had saved me.”

In terms of religious commitment, Kaká has been there, done it and bought the T-shirt. He wore his “I belong to Jesus” vest when Milan won Serie A in 2004 and has “God is faithful” stitched on to the tongues of his boots. An evangelical Christian, his influence was reflected by the febrile reaction to Middle Eastern reports last year that he had converted to Islam.
But with church attendances falling and religion a contentious issue, could Kaká’s faith actually put bums on pews? Monsignor Keith Barltrop, director of the Catholic Agency to Support Evangelisation, said: “A lot of people think religion is quite fundamentalist, so if there is a major sporting figure whose lifestyle backs up his words, it is a positive thing.

“It is not a question of getting people into church, but it is good to have positive role models. It is easy to be excited by pop stars and sporting celebrities, but you have to ask if that leads to a life of hedonism.” A religious footballer is far from unique. Portsmouth’s success this season may or may not have had anything to do with the prayer meetings attended by the likes of Kanu and Lomana LuaLua. Meanwhile, the organisation Score continues a 16-year battle to make chaplaincy available to the world of sport and 70 per cent of league clubs have a chaplain; tonight, at Huish Park, the Reverend Jim Pearce will lead prayers in the Vice-President’s lounge before Yeo-vil Town’s Coca-Cola League One play-offs final on Sunday.

“It’s good to get out into the community,” Rev Simon Stevenette, the vicar of Christ Church, Swindon, and the football club chaplain, said. As for Kaká’s show of faith, he believes it can help the church’s cause. “I’ve got five football-mad boys and when they saw Brazil praying at the World Cup, they were all talking about it at breakfast,” he said. “It sparks debate.”
It can also spark a comeback if Marvin Andrews is to believed. Having injured his cruciate ligament in March 2005, the then Rangers defender was ruled out for the season. Andrews said that God would keep him fit and made a speedy recovery that baffled doctors. The flipside to such tales is the sectarian bigotry that blights football in Glasgow, where Andrews was plying his trade.

But if the Hand of God Church in Rosario, Argentina, with its commandment to name all first sons Diego, seems extreme, the deification of Kaká may be more useful to religious leaders seeking to attract football’s youth. “We can only win being on Jesus’s side,” Kaká said. This year, anyway.


Kaka declares God's love to fellow Brazilians
by Jenna Lyle
Posted: Thursday, November 6, 2008, 10:02 (GMT)

Brazilian football superstar and Fifa world player of the year, Kaka, will tell his home country of the love of God in a major televised outreach by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Kaka will share his testimony of hope and faith in Jesus Christ in a series of programmes to be broadcast during prime time hours from Thursday to Saturday in one of the largest evangelistic efforts ever to hit the country.
My Hope Brazil is inspired by Matthew 9, in which tax collectors and sinners gather at Matthew's house to have dinner with Jesus.
The "Matthews" are Christians who will invite friends and relatives to their homes to watch the special broadcasts before sharing their personal testimonies of God's love. They will also invite those present to accept or rededicate their lives to Jesus.
More than 48,000 churches and 850,000 homes across Brazil, the largest country in South America, have received resources and training to take part in the massive campaign.
"My Hope Brazil is one of the most exciting projects BGEA has had the privilege of facilitating," said Bill Conard, vice president of international ministries at BGEA.
"The churches in Brazil have put an enormous amount of time and energy into reaching their loved ones with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we expect God to do powerful things through their faithful efforts."In addition to Kaka's testimony, Thursday's broadcast will include a message from renowned evangelist Billy Graham dubbed into Portuguese, whilst Friday's broadcast will feature a message from his son and head of the BGEA, Franklin Graham. Christian singers Paulo Baruk and Aline Barros will perform during the broadcasts.
The BGEA evangelistic film, "A Vow to Cherish", will round up the broadcasts on Saturday.
The next BGEA My Hope campaign will take place in Singapore from December 12 to 14.


Kaka' on Faith Above Fame
By: Paul Rudatsikira

Kaká, the athlete whom Pelé described as "the outstanding talent of the moment" and who was named in Time Magazine 100 most influential people in the world, is less concerned with what people think of him and more on what God thinks. The title of best fútbol ("soccer") player on the planet is not as important as the title he has proclaimed to the world "I belong to Jesus".
The Brazilian soccer legend in the making believes in the importance of sharing the love of Jesus Christ in word and deed. Kaká has become the "Ambassador Against Hunger" for the World Food Program of the U.N. as he has actively worked to uplift those who are struggling in poverty all over the world. As a believer in Jesus Christ he understands that faith is not just manifested through words but also through action as Jesus said of the righteous "I was hungry, and you gave me food."
In a world that glorifies the rich and famous, it is refreshing to see Kaká has not become caught in the trap of self importance but instead has pointed the direction on the one who deserves all the glory, Jesus Christ. Kaká states in an interview with Atletas de Cristo;
"To those who already have Jesus: you have made the best choice and are in the best team. Go ahead. Do not give up. The fight is great, but we can only win being on Jesus’ side. To those who have not yet surrendered their lives to Jesus: What are you doing being outside of this team?! Come to learn the Word of God, come to know who God really is. Stop eating cookies, while God offers us a banquet."
There is a great pressure that we all face to live our lives by the expectations of others and to be politically correct by blending in. But Jesus says in Matthew 10:32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.Kaka, my dear brother in the faith of Jesus Christ, I too belong to Jesus Christ. He changed my life, put my feet on solid ground and gave me the peace that passess all understanding.
In my life, I have been face to face with what so many people spend their entire lives chasing after; I have seen those with wealth that is astronomical, fame and power that is consuming and I count all of these things as nothing compared to the awesome gift of knowing Jesus Christ, who is ”Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” Isaiah 9:6For the reader who is reading this blog and does not know what I am speaking about, I want to tell you that it is not by accident that you are reading this. God has a purpose for your life that is beyond what you can imagine for yourself, family traditions or society pressures. God loved you so much that he sent Jesus (his only begotten son) to die on the cross that through faith in him you might be saved. ”Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” (Psalm 34:8).