Changed lives are why we wake up every day. A cross country runner named Matt from Wittenberg University experienced this last month. About ten days before our AIA cookout on campus (kicks off the school year), Matt was sharing with his girlfriend his desire to find a ministry to get plugged into, but he wasn't sure where to look. They had had spiritual conversations that were sparking interest and raising questions. Well, the night he said he wanted to find a group to get involved with was the night before Mary and I did our annual team meeting with the cross country team. So while we're doing our team meeting (short meeting with teams to tell athletes about AIA) he couldn't stop smiling. He knows this is where he needs to be. It's just so awesome how God orchestrates divine appointments like these. That day Matt checked that he wants to be on our email list, know more about a personal relationship with God, and is interested in a team Bible study. I set up an appointment to hang out with Matt and see where he is spiritually. Turns out, Matt's questioning prepared him to pray and receive Christ that very day with me. He was eager and excited to hear the good news that He could become apart of God's family by accepting Jesus as His Savior. We are continually reminded that "the harvest is plentiful" (Matthew 9:37) and all we need to do is watch where God is at work around us and join in. Matt and I are now meeting regularly to grow in His new relationship with Christ. It's so amazing how we can be used in God's work to change lives for eternity.
-Russ T., Campus, Wittenberg University
Fontaine is a freshman on the cross country team at Wilmington College, who I have been meeting with weekly since the beginning of the semester. God has really been breaking me to a point of total dependence on Him, and teaching me to listen to His voice. As I took time to listen to the Lord about Fontaine, I heard Him say, "Introduce her to Me (Jesus)." So over the past six weeks I went slowly with her, and she came to a point where she clearly understood that she could either trust in herself to get to heaven and be right with God or trust in Jesus to bear the consequence of her own sin. She decided to trust Jesus!
-Cheryl H., Campus, Wilmington College
On August 31 st our three year old son, Crosby, went in for a routine surgery to switch out his ear tubes and remove a cyst that we had noticed growing on the inside of his nose. When the doctor returned from the operating room to tell us how everything was, he informed us that the "cyst" was, in fact, a tumor. He used words like "rare, abnormal, concern, worried" and said something about "sarcoma". Over the LOOONG Labor Day weekend we cried, prayed, worried, and asked others to pray. The pathology results came back and determined that it was a rare, often aggressive, soft tissue cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma. Since then Crosby has experienced numerous scans, sedations, tests, needles, and one six-hour surgery. Presently, we are in our second week of a 22-week chemotherapy regimen. Since the initial pathology report confirming the diagnosis as a type of cancer, no scan, MRI, test or biopsy has found any hint of residual tumors or cells outside of the initially resected tumor. Essentially, the doctor who removed the tumor that we all thought was a cyst "got it all". Typically that language is used only when the intent of the surgeon is to remove cancer-yet another sign that God has been with us from the beginning. More tangible reminders of His presence and work in our lives have been the amazing way that our church, fellow AIA staff members, financial supporters, and UK student-athletes involved with AIA have met our physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. They have truly modeled the servant heart of Jesus to us and others close to us. Regarding the AIA movement at UK -it is thriving and students are taking ownership as never before.
-Bret N., Campus, University of Kentucky
This has been one of my favorite months since I came on staff with AIA. Chris Porter (AIA Campus Director at Virginia ) and I have been in the athletic department a lot to build relationships with coaches and set up team meetings. Even though I did my "ministry training " in Xenia at AIA's World Training and Resource Center, I feel like I'm still learning so much from following Porter around when I can. From the team meetings we've seen huge turnouts a couple nights at our AIA weekly meetings and have tons of one-to-one follow-ups with athletes. Our goal is to have one athlete who truly follows Jesus on each team, and last week at Bible study I had the captain of the tennis team and a first-year lacrosse girl in attendance, two teams we had no involvement with last year.
-Ashley W., Campus, University of Virginia
Full names of Athletes in Actioni staff members have been withheld to protect those serving in religious-sensitive countries. |