Since January, I have been walking the fairways with coaches, players and parents as I traveled to various golf tournaments in Arizona and California. This enabled me to develop a lot of new relationships and build on those that I already had.
As the PAC-12 Championship was approaching, and all of the teams I had been ministering to would be there, I decided to try something that I had done several times during my years at Xavier. I would bake cookies and put one for each player into a little baggie and attach a note with a ribbon. I put the cookies and notes into 11 different gift bags, one per team. First I had to make sure it would be allowed by the tournament host, the University of Oregon.
I sent an email to Derek Radley, Oregon’s head coach, asking if that would be permitted. A few minutes later my phone was ringing. His name came up on my phone ID and my heart began beating faster. What would he say?
The cookies opened the door
He loved the idea! However, the reason he called me was because he had received a request from the Arizona Head Coach asking if there would be an Easter service after the practice round on Easter Sunday. So Derek asked me if I would be willing to lead something like that for the coaches and players at the PAC-12 Championship.
“Yes, of course!” I told him. He texted the coaches to let them know, and then he texted me the information.
I am so thankful for the opportunity God provided for me to lead this Easter gathering for the players and coaches. I am thankful for the Arizona head coach who asked Derek to provide an Easter Service, something that I was not bold enough to pursue on my own. We studied a passage in the Gospel of John together, prayed together, and then listened to “Easter Song” by Keith Green. None of them had ever heard the song. A couple of them said they had never been so excited about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
