Church leadership can be a thankless job; but sometimes, someone can come along in certain circumstances and provide a special boost of encouragment in a very unexpected (and sometimes even extravagant) way.

I made a friend this past summer who's proved to be just such a boost in my life.  His name is Dani, and we met at a Meeting of the Mighty Men from our church community.  His face had been vaguely familiar to me (from having seen him at church worship gatherings), but we never really got to know each other until that day.  And while I recollect that most of that day was kind of discouraging -- because we didn't get as many men to turn out as I might have hoped for and because I ended up coming down with some kind of gastro-intestinal virus -- Dani was a bright spot.  He was enthusiastic, friendly (both to me and to Elliot, who had come along for the Mighty Men festivities), and it was obvious that God was at work in his life.  We had some good interaction on that day, in between sports activities, group discussions, and personal conversation, and I felt encouraged just to see some of the spiritual fruit that our ministry in Amsterdam was producing.

But the real encouragement came a few weeks later, when Dani sent me an e-mail.  In this message, he shared more about his life and his experiences as a part of our church, and he invited me and Elliot to be his guests at an Ajax game.  Ajax is the big professional football (soccer) club here in Amsterdam -- and it turns out that Dani works as a steward at the ArenA, where all the club's home games are played.  This season, it just so happens that Ajax is not just participating in the Nederlandse Eredivisie (the Dutch national league), but also the UEFA Champions League (where all the top teams from across Europe compete against one another for Continental bragging rights).  And after some further communication via e-mail, Dani ended up securing tickets for me and Elliot to watch a Champions League match against AC Milan (one of the top clubs from Europe and also, coincidentally, the team that Ajax beat to win its last Champions League championship in 1995).  To roughly paraphrase the context for Americans, this would be like getting tickets to watch a game in a game of the American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox... Seriously big time stuff.  Sold-out stadium.  Absolute pandemonium.

So on Tuesday evening, Elliot and I made our way out to Amsterdam Zuid-Oost to see the game.  Dani met us just outside the stadium and ushered us into the rapidly-filling stands.  He pointed out his post in Section M and then proceeded to guide Elliot and I to our seats... and we were absolutely stunned when we discovered that our seats were actually in the front row of the stadium, about ten meters from the goal-line!  The seats were amazing!  We could see individual blades of grass on the field.  We could see beads of sweat on the foreheads of the players.  We were within spitting distance of great players like Maarten Stekelenburg, Luis Suarez, and Robinho.  I've never had such a privileged vantage point for any sporting event in my life!  And yet here, Dani had personally arranged for these seats for us.  And before he left us in our seats, so he could get back to his post, he gave us ArenA cards with which we could purchase food and drinks at the concession stands -- and even pre-paid cards to take the metro home at the end of the night!  It was an extremely generous gift, but he wouldn't even consider the possibility of letting us chip in for some of the costs.  It was pure generosity.  Pure kindness.  Pure encouragement.

What's craziest of all is that Dani never made it seem like he was doing us a big favor (though he totally was).  He actually made it seem like we were the ones doing him a favor by coming to the game, seeing where he worked, and enjoying an unforgettable experience that forms an ongoing part of his day-to-day life.  He continually spoke words of respect and encouragement, affection and affirmation.  And in everything, he ministered to me and Elliot in a special way that just cannot be put into words.

Ajax totally dominated the game, though they ended up with a 1-1 draw against AC Milan.  But we weren't disappointed by the outcome in the slightest.  We had gotten to experience an unforgettable evening, and we were unspeakably appreciative.