'I Decided to Lose My Life and Find It in Christ': The Extraordinary Testimony of South Africa's Rugby Captain

Will Maule : Nov 5, 2019
Faithwire.com

"God has been preparing me for such a time as this. While struggling with a lot of things personally—temptations, sins and lifestyle choices—I realized I wasn't living according to what I was calling myself: a follower of Christ. I was getting by, but I hadn't decided to fully commit myself to Jesus Christ and start living according to His way." -Siya Kolisi

[Faithwire.com] As the victorious South African national rugby team prepare to return home to a hero's welcome, one player's life story has continued to capture the world's imagination—and it's that of Captain, Siya Kolisi. (Image: via The Sun)

Kolisi has been on an extraordinary journey. Growing up in an extremely poor township outside Port Elizabeth, his mother died when he was just 15 years old and his family struggled to get him a decent education.

"Sometimes we didn't have enough money to pay my primary school fees, which were only R50 ($4) a year," Siya told the Guardian.

Relying solely on his talent and a relentlessly positive attitude, Siya was eventually scouted for his athletic talent after being spotted playing a sports game with his friends. He earned a scholarship to the prestigious Grey High School in Port Elizabeth. The rest, as they say, was history.

Fast forward to Saturday night in Tokyo and this extraordinary player, the first black man to captain the South African national team, was lifting the Webb Ellis trophy aloft, his proud family watching on. Siya's father, who had never left the country before, was flown out to see his boy lead the team to victory... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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