More Reminders....

I'm not going by chronological order in my stories about God's faithfulness: I am going to just tell them as I remember them! One I thought of today was about FCA. (Fellowship of Christian Athletes)

Many years ago, when we only had 2 of our kids and they were pretty small, God started to call us into ministry. There are many things I can tell about that time, but one stands out to me today.

For several weeks, God kept bringing FCA to my mind. I had never been in FCA, nor did I know much about it. If you know me, you know I am the furthest thing from an athlete you will find. So it struck me as ironic that God would nudge my heart in that direction. It became more and more evident to me that God was leading us to start FCA locally, until one day I just couldn't get it out of my mind! That day Michael came home for lunch, and I told him "I know something God wants you to do." I don't know how he felt about that....but he patiently listened as I explained what was in my heart and that I felt God was calling him to be involved in FCA. I still cannot believe how willing Michael was to hear what I had to say, and how willing he was to check into it!

Those were pre-Google days, so we weren't sure where to start. My "get-things-done husband" picked up the phone immediately and called directory assistance. He asked for the state office of FCA for Missouri, and was given a number to call in the Ozarks. He called right away, not knowing who he was going to get. A man answered named Gary Beets, and Michael told him where we lived and that he was interested in beginning an FCA in our area. I watched as Michael's facial expression turned to one of disbelief. They visited a while, with me saying "What! What?" in the background, and finally they ended their call.

Michael told me, with amazement, that Gary was the state director of FCA. The very night before, there had been a meeting at the state headquarters and the leaders had spread out a map of Missouri on the conference table. They had looked at the areas that did not have an FCA ministry, and our area was one of those. They then prayed fervently for someone to step forward and lead in our town. Not kidding. It hadn't even been 24 hours.

That day began a love of FCA in our family. We have been priviliged to work with teenagers directly in our public schools, on a weekly basis. Over the years, we got to take students to camp, (our own kids included) help them pass out Bibles, recruit student leaders to teach their peers, and just generally love on them. What a blessing! While it is great to be in youth ministry in a church, FCA enables coaches to reach students in a school setting and share the gospel right there.

FCA is still going strong in our schools, and now others have stepped up and helped sponsor and support the club. Gary Beets became a trusted friend and spent many evenings in our home sharing what God was doing in FCA statewide. It built our faith, and we felt priviliged to be a part of such a great ministry! Good times!