My wife Noreen came from Seattle with four other AIA staff friends. She arrived in time on Valentine’s Day to attend the Pairs Figure Skating Short Program. Our friend Carolyn Lamphere was able to use the third free ticket I received. The Chinese skated great, the Russian as always showed grace and skill, but one fell.
Afterwards we met some other Christians from the USA that are at the games sharing their faith. Lots of ministry teams are here reaching out to the visitors and fans. AIA Canada is also working with a half dozen local churches reaching out to their community and to the fans from around the world who have come to Vancouver.
Monday, I received three Ice Hockey tickets for the Women’s game between Canada and Switzerland. My Canadian Host family and one of the Canadian Chaplains in the Olympic Village had a great time cheering their team on to a 10-1 victory. I enjoyed some relaxing time with Noreen walking on the beach and then down town near the Olympic flame with our AIA USA and Europe friends.
Tuesday, I got a phone call that my friends had 2 USA Russia Women’s Ice Hockey Tickets. I went to the game with former Pro Ice Hockey player (USA and Sweden) and Olympic village Chaplain, Paul. (Christianity Today article about chaplain, Paul Kobylarz) We are good friends from many years of sport ministry, so we enjoyed the game together as the USA dominated with their speed 13-0. Tuesday is the last day before Lent-called Fat Tuesday.
Tomorrow there are many Catholic Services scheduled for different delegations. Several leaders from the Russian delegation came to the chapel Tuesday to see if the facility is appropriate for the Russian Team Orthodox Priest to conduct a service for their delegation. There are many athletes coming to the chapel to sign the Book of Remembrance honoring the Georgian Luge Athlete killed on his training run on Opening Day. Please pray for Nodar’s family, friends, the Georgian delegation and all the Luge athletes and coaches.
Tuesday evening after watching some of the highlights with Russian speaking sports friends, I talked with one of the athletes I had shared with last week. He had expressed a great interest in faith, so I gave him a Gospel of John with stories of athletes to read. Yesterday, his coach thanked me for talking with his athlete and said that he was eagerly reading the book I had given him. Tonight I learned that he had read all 21 chapters of John and watched the Jesus in Russian on his computer. He wanted me to tell him more. I gave him a Russian New Testament with testimonies. Two of his teammates joined us as we looked at what the New Testament is all about. One is an Orthodox believer who recently bought a Bible and is trying to understand what is written in the book of Genesis. The other has a Baptist mother, attended church regularly as a child, but not the past few years. I hope to meet again with these three Wednesday or Thursday. Please pray for the coach and his three athletes.
Wednesday I hope to attend the Belarus Finland Men’s Ice Hockey game. As of late Tuesday night in Vancouver, Germany is leading the total medal count, followed by USA, France, and Canada.
Slide show: click below to see these photos
In HIS grip,
Carl Dambman
Philippians 3:12-14
Carl Dambman
Philippians 3:12-14
Athlete Testimonies: http://www.beyondtheultimate.org/
Athletes in Action Global: http://www.athletesinaction.org/
Athletes In Action Russia: http://www.athletesinaction.ru/
Campus Crusade for Christ International: http://www.ccci.org/
Athletes in Action Global: http://www.athletesinaction.org/
Athletes In Action Russia: http://www.athletesinaction.ru/
Campus Crusade for Christ International: http://www.ccci.org/
1 comment:
Hi Dambmans, I'm from College Church, now serving in St. Petersburg. I noticed that some Russian Christians had linked to your blog. It's nice to read about your work!
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