Goran Hunjak grew up in a Communist country free of frills and technology-based toys.
As a little boy in Croatia, his favorite pastime was kicking around a soccer ball. Hunjak kicked it around at recess, on a playground and in his neighborhood.
“I loved soccer, and I had a lot of passion for the game of soccer,” said Hunjak, 44, who served as the guest speaker Thursday morning during the 35th annual Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast in Independence. “I had goals. I had big dreams about becoming a soccer player. I used to play soccer in my neighborhood, dreaming that one day I would play in front of a big crowd.”
His dream came true. Hunjak played 19 years of professional soccer, both indoor and outdoor, including stints for the Kansas City Comets and the Kansas City Wizards. Though he’s played in front of thousands, he spoke before a crowd of about 500 people on Thursday at the Community of Christ Laurel Club.
In Croatia, a southeastern European country that declared independence in 1991, few people knew who God was, according to Hunjak. Instead, many residents held onto superstitious beliefs, such as one soccer player who tied and untied his shoes 30 times prior to a game.
“I do have a lot of appreciation for this country,” said Hunjak, who moved to the United States in the late 1980s. “I’ve lived and come from a different place, knowing that this is the best country in the world. God uses it in a mighty way to be the lighthouse of the world.”
Hunjak credits his wife, Gina, for spiritually completing him as a person.
She explained to him – for the first time – why Jesus Christ was hanging on a cross. From there, Hunjak said, he became a different person.
“Don’t get me wrong. To have a trophy and accomplishment is a very good thing,” he said. “But it’s all lasting for very few days. When I received a championship ring, I was happy, but three days later I said, ‘That’s it?’”
In 1996, Hunjak was traveling with his soccer team in New England. He saw a Bible between two beds while sitting alone in his hotel room. He opened it and began reading it for the first time in his life.
Hunjak had heard of the Bible while growing up in Europe, but he’d never actually seen a copy of the world’s biggest-selling book of all time. Hunjak said he’s read at least one page of the Bible every day for 13 years.
He especially relates to a Book of Proverbs verse that reads, “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” People often make life plans and goals for themselves, but then situations happen differently, Hunjak said. He founded and now serves as president of Victory Soccer Camp in Overland Park, Kan., a youth soccer camp that also utilizes Bible stories in its disciplines.
“Sometimes for worse and sometimes for better, but it never turned the way we expected all the time,” he said.
