Monday, August 20, 2012

Ray Tucker Ambassadors in Sport

In the late Spring it was great to have my old friend (actually I ought to say my friend whom I have known for a long time ) Ray Tucker with us again.
He is the European Director of Ambassadors in Sport and he was here doing a TREC course in the capital in conjunction with O.M. The course trains Christians how to run a football ministry - training, the young people who come, in football skills and teaching them about the Lord.
I have known Ray and his wife Christa and their sons Paul and Timothy since I became a Christian. At the time I was living in Newark but had a job in Grantham and so we felt it was of the Lord to put an advert in the local paper to find accommodation in Gramtham. We wrote "Christian man seeks Chrisrian home" and got 5 replies to this advert. I visited them all and each were genuine Christians and each seemed the right place to be but as we sought the Lord we realised that all the homes were good but all apart from Ray and Christa were also looking for a young man to help with their needs - nothing wrong in that - but we realised that Ray and Christa had simply replied to the advert wondering if God was aksing them to serve Him in this way.
Thus began a relationship of 28 years. For the first year of my Christian life Ray and Christa were spiritual parents in many ways helping me through all the big changes that happen in a man's life when he turns to God's ways from what was a wild life style. They were Christians of great love and patience towards me - they still are - and the Lord did much in that year until they moved to Manchester to take up a post in a Christian school and I, now established in the Lord, moved into my own home.
One of the trainees at the TREC course is our own Viorel, the leader of the football ministry.
Here he is sharing the word with the young footballers who have come to the club. He is, himself, quite a decent footballer and plays for the Gotesti seniour football team. Having done what is quite a high standard professional-like training schedule with them including ball skills and fitness training they all stop and have a time when Viorel shares something from God's word. The boys are generally very attentive and several have been to our youth meeting Friday nights.
Pray for Ray and Viorel in their European and local ministries respectively
Pastor Mark

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Respect pentru toti cei ce incearca chear daca au inteles de mult ca e practic imposibil sa schimbe viata in satul Gotesti.
Da si multumesc mult pentru sportul care l-am facut si nu o singura vara multumita voua:)

Unknown said...

Respect pentru toti cei ce incearca chear daca au inteles de mult ca e practic imposibil sa schimbe viata in satul Gotesti.
Da si multumesc mult pentru sportul care l-am facut si nu o singura vara multumita voua:)