This weekend was such a blessing, it was spent as a tribute to Jesus Christ first and second to His servant leader, and beloved coach of Wheaton College. Don Church's greatest spiritual gift is encouragement to everybody that knows him. He is known as a humble servant of God.
Above is Don and Ann Church. Don was known as Bubba to his athletes and was more than just a coach. He was a father figure and stepped in as a father to those that didn't have one. The theme of his life was God is Good. His focus was to seek God and find out what God wants him to do.
The 2 men in the picture above made a wonderful team for the Lord. Bubba Church was the coach and Landy Patton was the visionary. One of the long distance runners was Gary Barker, as the result of the Africa trip he returned to both Africa and Haiti working at helping set up the hospital Lumiere in Bonne Fin and knew of Tim and Joan but had not personally met them.
Friday night we listened to many of the athletes that toured Israel and Africa.
The man below started his talk on how he fell in love with words when he was 5 years old.
Jerry Root, pictured above gave a very moving speech on working together with Don.
After his talk, Jerry came up to us and commented on how it warmed his heart to see Mark and I holding hands during his talk.
On Saturday we spent the day listening to many of the athletes and coaches on the trip.
Below is Joe Harding. He was an athletic trainer on the 1972 Africa tour.
His talk was so moving how God used Don's words of God is Good to share the gospel with the chauffeur in Uganda. That same man later became a Christian along with his entire family. That man's son came to Huntington University where he trained under Joe. One day he came to Joe upset, his dad had just been executed. When Joe asked if his dad knew the Lord, the answer was yes, he learned of God through Bubba Church's visit and his words, God is Good.
We were introduced to the Bull's chaplain during the championship years. Below is the chaplain and his wife.
The man below was the team chaplain and interpreter during the 1978 Eastern European tour.
During the Eastern European tour a lot of the time was spent in Romania where wonderful relationships were formed that last even until today. The pastor of one of the churches called Pastor Paul and the vice president of the Romanian senate came over especially for this weekend to present Bubba with a silver medal.
Mark talked to Pastor Paul and found out he was from Transylvania the same area in Romania that Fede is from. Mark called Fede and let him talk to Pastor Paul, they both knew Felix, Fede's best man in his wedding to my sister Ruth.
Below is one of Mark's room mates from his days at Wheaton named Dwight Carlson.
Another team mate Mark was glad to see was Graham Porter.
It was really wonderful for Mark to catch up with his friends from the past.
We took a walk during one of the breaks to see Gertrude Gammon's old dormitory here at Wheaton. Below is Williston Hall:
The president of Wheaton College came to the dinner on Saturday night and also talked about how Bubba encouraged him to make sure Wheaton college would stay a God honoring institution. Phil Ryken the president is pictured below.
After dinner with a special song by Travis Newsome's son. Below is Travis the sprinter on the 72 tour talking to Mark and below that picture is a picture of Travis' son also named Travis.
The evening was finished with everyone joining hands like a family reunion for the last prayer.
The weekend was a remembrance of a Godly legacy and vision of the power of God. If we seek His will, are available and committed to His service without hypocrisy or pride getting in the way, we can be effective tools for Him.
Above is Don and Ann Church. Don was known as Bubba to his athletes and was more than just a coach. He was a father figure and stepped in as a father to those that didn't have one. The theme of his life was God is Good. His focus was to seek God and find out what God wants him to do.
The 2 men in the picture above made a wonderful team for the Lord. Bubba Church was the coach and Landy Patton was the visionary. One of the long distance runners was Gary Barker, as the result of the Africa trip he returned to both Africa and Haiti working at helping set up the hospital Lumiere in Bonne Fin and knew of Tim and Joan but had not personally met them.
Friday night we listened to many of the athletes that toured Israel and Africa.
The man below started his talk on how he fell in love with words when he was 5 years old.
Jerry Root, pictured above gave a very moving speech on working together with Don.
After his talk, Jerry came up to us and commented on how it warmed his heart to see Mark and I holding hands during his talk.
On Saturday we spent the day listening to many of the athletes and coaches on the trip.
Below is Joe Harding. He was an athletic trainer on the 1972 Africa tour.
His talk was so moving how God used Don's words of God is Good to share the gospel with the chauffeur in Uganda. That same man later became a Christian along with his entire family. That man's son came to Huntington University where he trained under Joe. One day he came to Joe upset, his dad had just been executed. When Joe asked if his dad knew the Lord, the answer was yes, he learned of God through Bubba Church's visit and his words, God is Good.
We were introduced to the Bull's chaplain during the championship years. Below is the chaplain and his wife.
The man below was the team chaplain and interpreter during the 1978 Eastern European tour.
During the Eastern European tour a lot of the time was spent in Romania where wonderful relationships were formed that last even until today. The pastor of one of the churches called Pastor Paul and the vice president of the Romanian senate came over especially for this weekend to present Bubba with a silver medal.
Mark talked to Pastor Paul and found out he was from Transylvania the same area in Romania that Fede is from. Mark called Fede and let him talk to Pastor Paul, they both knew Felix, Fede's best man in his wedding to my sister Ruth.
Below is one of Mark's room mates from his days at Wheaton named Dwight Carlson.
Another team mate Mark was glad to see was Graham Porter.
It was really wonderful for Mark to catch up with his friends from the past.
We took a walk during one of the breaks to see Gertrude Gammon's old dormitory here at Wheaton. Below is Williston Hall:
The president of Wheaton College came to the dinner on Saturday night and also talked about how Bubba encouraged him to make sure Wheaton college would stay a God honoring institution. Phil Ryken the president is pictured below.
After dinner with a special song by Travis Newsome's son. Below is Travis the sprinter on the 72 tour talking to Mark and below that picture is a picture of Travis' son also named Travis.
The evening was finished with everyone joining hands like a family reunion for the last prayer.
The weekend was a remembrance of a Godly legacy and vision of the power of God. If we seek His will, are available and committed to His service without hypocrisy or pride getting in the way, we can be effective tools for Him.
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