These were the heart-wrenching words of prayer by Thando Josaya as Motherwell Rugby Football Club players took to the field after spending a week burying teammates who died in a beach drowning tragedy.
Josaya said the team did not blame God for what happened and were thankful for being able to play at the Easter rugby tournament in Cape Town.
After being beaten 28-8 by the Masiphumelele Rugby team, the weary players gathered again to pray for strength.
As they changed out of their kit, in an act of sympathy and respect Masiphumelele Rugby Club players offered the losing team bottles of beer.
Club director Darren Clarke thanked them for "a good game" - after which the players each opened a beer and poured it on the pitch in honour of their six fallen friends.
Clarke said the whole rugby fraternity cried with them over the deaths of the Motherwell players who were swept out to sea after a practice session two weeks ago at Bluewater Bay in Port Elizabeth.
The little-known township team made international headlines when Masixole Myosana, Avuyile Tshabalala, Arthur Peters, Xolisa Nyembezi, Anelisa Mbuzeli and Lundi Ramba drowned.
To get closure, the still traumatised team view the bodies of their teammates at a mortuary a week ago. Afterwards, they determinedly pushed ahead with plans to take part in the Easter tournament to "honour the invitation" and "play our hearts out" for those who died.
They barely slept a wink during a hot and stuffy 650km bus ride from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town to play at the SA Rugby Union-sponsored Easter tournament at Nyanga stadium.
They were on the field playing their first game barely four hours after arriving in the Mother City.
The parents of some players did not allow their sons to go on the tour.
The team's coaches said playing a game for the first time since the tragedy had made them realise what they had lost. "Our team is broken. You can see that someone is missing from the backline," said coach Wonga Joka.
His colleague, Sonwabo Madlakane, said they could not be disappointed at losing the match but were grateful that they took part, despite some criticism of their decision to play so soon after the tragedy. He added that they had had only two days of practice in the past two weeks.
"It's a long road [ahead]. But it's all a matter of time and patience. Not coming would have set us back in a major way. Coming here was a major step in trying to help ourselves heal," Madlakane said.
Speaking of the changes in his charges, Joka said: "Even their singing is not the same. Peters was their lead singer and even that is gone. You really cannot replace people.
"We will get other members but what those guys brought to the team is gone forever. Xolisa, for instance, was the best full-back," he said.
In contrast to the light banter during the bus trip, on their way to the stadium the team emotionally sang the songs they had sung together with their missing teammates.
"They do want to give it their best, you can see that, but there is tiredness and there is the psychological trauma of what they went through. One can see that it will take a while for the team to heal," said Joka.
He said his players had had no rest and had received counselling only once after the drowning.
The new captain, Khanyiso Skaap, 24, said the past two weeks had been harrowing.
"On Tuesday we came back from the funeral after 4pm and at 6pm we had practice. After Wednesday's funeral we had a memorial service. There has been no time," Skaap said.
Saru president Oregan Hoskins praised the team for their bravery in showing up for the tournament. Motherwell beat Evergreens 14-3 yesterday.
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