Susan Haarman - Racing for Christ...and a cause

Susan Haarman, an FCA Endurance teammate from California, had been involved in rebuilding New Orleans ever since Katrina hit in 2005. As a campus minister, Haarman often brought college students with her to help with the work and get them involved. On one trip, Haarman met Jocelyn Sideco, an old friend from college, and the Lord used their friendship to impact His kingdom in an incredible way.

Sideco had relocated to New Orleans to begin Contemplatives in Action, a non-profit dedicated to rebuilding the city. Sideco’s ministry is also faith-based, encouraging volunteers to be Jesus hands in action. They also provide local residents a place to retreat when they have nowhere else to turn. Haarman joined Sideco’s cause and began searching for ways to help support the ministry.

Haarman, got involved with endurance racing a few years ago. Discovering that New Orleans hosts an inaugural 70.3 on Palm Sunday, Haarman had a great idea. “It was like God was just whispering in my ear and pointing the way He wanted me to go. I called Jocelyn up and said, ‘Hey, what if I ran this race and raised money for you?’” The plan was set in motion and Team Enduring Hope was born.

In 2009, Team Enduring Hope raced for the first time. “Last year it was essentially me and Jocelyn trying to raise awareness and money,” Haarman said. “It was primarily directed as a ministry and a sign of hope for the folks of New Orleans.” Even within the training she was doing, Haarman knew God was her source of strength and encouragement, and that through Him Team Enduring Hope could become a ministry to those who desperately needed it. Because of Team Enduring Hope, many residents in New Orleans were reminded of God’s grace and mercy. “I think it reminded them that they are not forgotten,” Haarman said. “God is still good and has not given up on them.”

The race in 2010 will be a little bit different. Along with acting as a ministry to the people of New Orleans while also raising money for Contemplatives in Action, Team Enduring Hope is taking on more teammates. “I wanted to introduce faithful people to an athletic discipline that could help open them up to God in a new way,” Haarman said, “and I wanted to give endurance racers a chance to be a part of a community that actively sees this as a way to pray and minister.”

Contemplatives in Action will also set up racing teams, uniting local volunteers and residents while Team Enduring Hope seeks racers outside the New Orleans area. With all the new teammates involved in racing for Contemplatives in Action and the residents of New Orleans, Haarman realizes the importance of remembering the true source of endurance and hope. “The most important part of training this year is prayer. We are praying for athletes and Jocelyn is working with folks to help them take their prayer life as seriously as their training.” Sideco is grateful for God’s unwavering plan that brought Haarman to meet her and partner with the ministry. “Through Susan we are able to speak to a greater truth that others want to participate in: believing in a God who is beyond what we know, trusting a God who is boundless in love, mercy and compassion, and directing our energies for God’s greater glory.”

Thank you to Ashley for researching and contributing this article.

Chris Wade - not just another FCA-E teammate

Chris Wade always believed that his love for Jesus and his passion for adventure sports could be combined. Then he heard about NOMAR.

The idea for NOMAR started when Steve Sullivan and a few men from his church decided to set up a spiritual and physical accountability group. Noticing that no such group existed in their area, Steve and his friends started North Metro Adventure Racing.

NOMAR now consists of over 20 men all striving to be the salt and light in a lost and hurting world. An FCA-E huddle member, Wade joined NOMAR a few years back and has witnessed God’s work in incredible ways. “We had praying before the race starts,” Wade said, “and we saw individuals connecting deeper with Christ and each other.”

As a pastor and adventure racer, Wade enjoys using sports as a new kind of ministry. Once he joined NOMAR, Wade became the person Sullivan could turn to for advice and discussion concerning the group’s next steps.

NOMAR is currently striving to take on a more aggressive role in the adventure community to show Christ’s love through training and racing. “We are going to launch a new website with links that the adventure community would find helpful,” Wade said. “We will also post where and when some members are training.”

For Wade, though, NOMAR is more than just an adventure racing group. “God has used me to be an encourager in the midst of discouragement…a person to be positive in this negative world. I have found out that you don’t need to just preach Jesus with words alone, but by your everyday actions and the positive words you live by, God will open doors.”

Wade believes God will use the group in incredible ways for His glory in the future. “NOMAR is a living part of the body of Christ,” Wade said, “and I look forward to what God has in store during the next few years.”

(Thank you to Ashley for contributing this article!)

Fellow soldier in God's army...and fellow athlete

Richard Hopkins, founder of ChristianRunners.org

The background: The paths of ChristianRunners.org and FCA Endurance crossed when Richard Hopkins, founder of the former, raced a South Carolina triathlon and met an FCA-E teammate who invited him to the first EMI (Endurance Training Institute) held in Table Rock State Park last February. He not only attended, but brought with him nearly twenty of his Christian running friends. Hopkins is definitely an athlete through whom God has worked and continues to work…

What began as a way to better health for Richard Hopkins quickly turned into a way to minister to people in his community as well as around the world: “I am a former two pack-a-day smoker who weighed 230 pounds. I began to run for health reasons.”

Hopkins quickly learned how much he enjoyed the sport and began to run with a group of others around his hometown of Roswell, Georgia. He elaborated, “We started holding Bible studies. Then, we put up a website and the response was immediate.”

God began using Hopkins’s group to reach others in the area who were interested in running and learning more about Jesus. The group decided to set itself apart from other running organizations by praying before each run and praising God during each workout. The group became known as ChristianRunners.org, and has not stopped growing since. “We are currently in 20 cities and have two international chapters in the Dominican Republic and Toronto, Canada,” said Hopkins.

For Hopkins’s group, the main goal is to shine God’s light around everyone they meet, and races are a great place to shine. “The bottom line is this…we are going to utilize God’s gift of running to further His kingdom. We have to be the salt and light to others that are out there running.”

ChristianRunners.org has taken the next step: to extend a helping hand internationally. Recently the group began conducting trips to the Dominican Republic, taking running shoes with them and holding 5k and 10k events while there. “Whenever you have a common interest, like sports, you can develop a tremendous bond with people. It’s a great opener to share Christ.”

Hopkins encourages people to join a chapter of Christian Runners.org in order to learn more about God and begin to minister to others around them. Like FCA Endurance, “anyone can join ChristianRunners.org and run with us. They don’t have to be a Christian and all of our runs are free.”

For Hopkins and other members of ChristianRunners.org, running is important. But the sport is not important simply because it helps people lose weight or allows individuals to prove their endurance skills. Instead, running is important because it is a simple, powerful way to connect with individuals locally as well as internationally, ultimately opening a door of discussion about God and allowing Him to move. What a wonderful way for us all to begin ministering to others around us.

(Thank you to Ashley for researching and contributing this article!)

John Shelp article

Competing with purpose

 

It became obvious to John Shelp during his battles with cancer that God was going to use him in creative ways to make His name famous. Now, aside from being a husband, father and teacher, Shelp is also a triathlete, using the sport as an outlet to share the Gospel.

            Along with racing for FCA Endurance, Shelp races for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society. As a non-Hodgkins Lymphoma patient, Shelp decided to race for LLS because he believes in what they stand for.

            "The Leukemia/Lymphoma Society helps thousands every year with blood born cancers. Being a survivor and treatment free this year I feel blessed by such organizations."

            In 2007 and 2008, Shelp competed in triathlons at the professional level, but soon found that the schedule and stress no longer allowed him time to focus on his family. As he felt God calling him to make a change, Shelp decided to end his professional career in order to spend more time with his wife and children.

            "I am back racing in the amateur ranks," Shelp said, "but I feel called to continue to race and fellowship with triathletes."

            After just having their third daughter, John and his wife Micki are staying busy, but Shelp has high hopes for the 2010 season.

            "My goal is to go back to my roots in triathlon trying to qualify for Kona 2010 as an amateur," he said. "The challenges will be creating a balance in training, work and family and giving this all up to let God surround and shine through it."

            What a tangible example of a way we can bring glory to God in all that we do.

 

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." –Colossians 3: 17

           

FCA-E Teammate in the News

Team FCA Endurance is making noise and getting some press in Arizona! Matt Boness competed in the Pacific Coast Triathlon at Crystal Cove State Park in New port Beach, Calif., in late July. He finished 59th overall out of more than 1,100 athletes and took seventh in his age group. With that result, he earned a qualifying spot for the World Championships!! Matt had an article written on him, complete with photos in his FCA Endurance jersey!! GO MATT!http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2009/09/07/news/sports/20090907_sport_203295.txt

(Thank You to the Fosters, Phoenix Huddle Leaders, for posting this on FCA-E’s National Yahoo Group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FCAEndurance/)

two people, two kidneys, one Body

As I read about men digging through roof tiles to lower their paralyzed friend to Jesus, it struck me that there are two kinds of people: these, whose faith enabled them to be a part of Jesus healing the man, and those who stood in the crowd and were amazed. While it’s amazing to watch what God is doing, my whole being cries out for more than that: I thirst to experience it – to be involved in what He is doing. And that can happen, as it happened with those four men and their paralyzed friend, only when my faith in what God can do motivates me to action

A pair of FCA Endurance teammates have been involved in God’s work over the past several years. Experiencing His faithfulness and power has brought them to a new level recently.

Chad Hawker started Iron Prayer in 2000 at Kona’s Ironman Triathlon World Championship. Largely through the service of Robin and Troy Soares, God has now grown it to encompass services at more than 30 major triathlons around the world, hosted by a variety of volunteers. For more info, see http://www.fcaendurance.com/IronPrayer/.

Over the past months, however, the Soares have taken another huge step: donating a kidney to a young man whose kidneys were failing. Not only did Troy donate his kidney, but he also sacrificed half of his race season, an unknown amount of training and countless hours spent recovering. What amazing faith! Troy is now working through his 6-8 week recovery while 18-year-old Bobby begins his new life, finally with the hope of freedom from intensive, constant medical care. Now that is working as a Body of Christ!

Praise God for modern-day examples like this!

IM with a purpose

“I believe God made me for a purpose,” said Olympic runner Eric Liddell, “for China. But he also made me fast, and when I run, I feel God’s pleasure.”

Even as Toby and Wendy competed in the Ironman Madison last year, they decided to do it again this year. But this time they decided to do it for a purpose: helping a church in China near the birth-town their adopted daughter Katie. “After seeing pictures of these Chinese worshippers meeting outside, God placed that church on our hearts,” Toby said. “That would be our goal. We know that raising $25,000 for a church building in Wushan, China will be challenging in this economy. But, God has a plan and nothing is impossible with Him.” (Praise God, they are well on their way!) Wendy added, “This is a place where Katie’s birth parents could find themselves in.”

An anonymous donor will be giving $1 for every $3 that is given. Toby and Wendy want to raise $25,000 of the $31,000 budget the church needs to build a new house of worship. They also hope to finish in the top ten in the Ironman Competition to raise money through the Janus Charity Challenge. Janus, an investment management firm, contributes to the beneficiaries of the top fundraisers at each of the races. (Last year teammate Stan Smith raised money for and awareness of FCA-E through the Janus Charity Challenge!)

“This was a way to give something back that’s in our heart,” Toby said.

“And because training can be very selfish,” Wendy added. “The first time going in, you don’t know what you don’t know, but after the race last year we learned what we would do differently,” Wendy said. “But while you are doing it you think: No matter how sick you feel, no matter what goes wrong… you are going to finish what you started,” Wendy said.

Toby and Wendy are also on the waiting list for another child, but this one will be a child with special needs. What amazing people are on Team FCA-E!

Thanks for the tip, Toby! And thank you and Wendy for your service in the Kingdom!

(Much of text is quoted from knowmore.typepad.com: http://knowmore.typepad.com/know_more/2009/06/to-china-with-love.html.)