It finally cools down a little bit after the long-needed rain. I looked up the weather channel that it will be cool for the whole week!
This Saturday David cleaned the garage and put the things we don't need in the car so that we could give them away to the new students. After lunch, we drove off to the UTD campus. We called our Friendspeak reader Peggy to see whether she needed anything. She let us to put everything in her apartment and she will give them away later. It saved us lots of time and energy! We visited her new apartment which turned out to be the one that two of my old friends lived before. We are happy to know that she is on vacation now. She will go to Friendspeak this Sunday and attend the International Christian Fellowship next Friday. She's been attending an American church in Richardson.
After the grocery shopping, we came home and began to prepare for the dinner. Heidi, Hongyu and Sandy were our guests. They arrived at 6:00pm. We ate and talked until 9:30pm. David and I really enjoyed spending time with them. Below is a picture of us after the dinner.
We went to Greenville Oaks COC this Sunday. We felt like home since there were so many of our old friends: Nathan and Amy; Lori and Billy; Amy and Wes; Robin and Richard; Ron and LaJohnna; Kevin and Emily; Jennifer and David; Kate and Brian; etc. We met two of their elders and talked to several other people who were related to Prestoncrest. During the service, I saw a familiar face - it was my co-worker who sits at the other side of the floor! We were surrounded by friends after the service. So many people to talk to - and we still haven't figured out a way of talking to many people at the same time and not to make anyone feel left out!
After grabbing some food from Grandy's, we were off to Prestoncrest. Luckily David had a skill to eat and drive at the same time - we only had four minutes to eat lunch. The chicken thighs tasted especially good. David suggested that someday we open a chicken restaurant in China! We got to the class right on time. I was happily surprised that Hongyu was in the class already. Keith taught Matthew chapter 3. The building was still under construction. I could smell the paint fume even in our classroom. But one hour of the exposure should be fine. Hongyu went with us to the service also. That really exceeded our expectations because we thought he might want to go home and watch the Olympics. When I saw that there was no pages for the notes in the bulletin. I thought it would be a very casual message by someone other than Bob. I prayed that whoever deliver the sermon would speak to Hongyu. It turned out that Matt Mazza did the sermon. It was a great message on encouragement. Hongyu later told us that he liked the sermon very much.
In the beginning of the sermon, we watched a very touching video clip on Derek Redmond who competed in 1992 Olympics. Redmond arrived at the 1992 Olympic Summer Games in Barcelona determined to win a medal in the 400. He had been forced to withdraw from the 400 at the 1988 Games in Seoul, only 10 minutes before the race, because of an Achilles tendon injury. He then underwent five surgeries over the next year. This was the same runner who had shattered the British 400-meter record at age 19. So when the 1992 Games arrived, this was his time, his moment, his stage, to show the world how good he was and who he was.
Derek's father Jim had accompanied him to Barcelona, just as he did for all world competitions. They were as close as a father and son could be. Inseparable, really. The best of friends. When Derek ran, it was as if his father were running right next to him. Here is a replay of what happened on that day (from
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/espn25/story?page=moments/94)
THE MOMENT
The day of the race arrives. Father and son reminisce about what it took for Derek to get to this point. They talk about ignoring past heartbreaks, past failures. They agree that if anything bad happens, no matter what it is, Derek has to finish the race, period.
The top four finishers in each of the two semifinal heats qualify for the Olympic final. As race time approaches for the semifinal 400 heat, Jim heads up to his seat at the top of Olympic Stadium, not far from where the Olympic torch was lit just a few days earlier. He is wearing a T-shirt that reads, "Have you hugged your foot today?"
With the help of his father, an injured Derek Redmond completed his race in the 1992 Olympics.
The stadium is packed with 65,000 fans, bracing themselves for one of sport's greatest and most exciting spectacles. The race begins and Redmond breaks from the pack and quickly seizes the lead. "Keep it up, keep it up," Jim says to himself.
Down the backstretch, only 175 meters away from finishing, Redmond is a shoo-in to make the finals. Suddenly, he hears a pop. In his right hamstring. He pulls up lame, as if he had been shot.
"Oh, no," Jim says to himself. His face pales. His leg quivering, Redmond begins hopping on one leg, then slows down and falls to the track. As he lays on the track, clutching his right hamstring, a medical personnel unit runs toward him. At the same time, Jim Redmond, seeing his son in trouble, races down from the top row of the stands, sidestepping people, bumping into others. He has no credential to be on the track, but all he thinks about is getting to his son, to help him up. "I wasn't going to be stopped by anyone," he later tells the media.
On the track, Redmond realizes his dream of an Olympic medal is gone. Tears run down his face. "All I could think was, 'I'm out of the Olympics -- again,'" he would say.
As the medical crew arrives with a stretcher, Redmond tells them, "No, there's no way I'm getting on that stretcher. I'm going to finish my race."
Then, in a moment that will live forever in the minds of millions, Redmond lifts himself to his feet, ever so slowly, and starts hobbling down the track. The other runners have finished the race, with Steve Lewis of the U.S. winning the contest in 44.50. Suddenly, everyone realizes that Redmond isn't dropping out of the race by hobbling off to the side of the track. No, he is actually continuing on one leg. He's going to attempt to hobble his way to the finish line. All by himself. All in the name of pride and heart.
Slowly, the crowd, in total disbelief, rises and begins to roar. The roar gets louder and louder. Through the searing pain, Redmond hears the cheers, but "I wasn't doing it for the crowd," he would later say. "I was doing it for me. Whether people thought I was an idiot or a hero, I wanted to finish the race. I'm the one who has to live with it."
One painful step at a time, each one a little slower and more painful than the one before, his face twisted with pain and tears, Redmond limps onward, and the crowd, many in tears, cheer him on.
Suddenly, Jim Redmond finally gets to the bottom of the stands, leaps over the railing, avoids a security guard, and runs out to his son, with two security people chasing after him. "That's my son out there," he yells back to security, "and I'm going to help him."
Finally, with Derek refusing to surrender and painfully limping along the track, Jim reaches his son at the final curve, about 120 meters from the finish, and wraps his arm around his waist.
"I'm here, son," Jim says softly, hugging his boy. "We'll finish together." Derek puts his arms around his father's shoulders and sobs.
Together, arm in arm, father and son, with 65,000 people cheering, clapping and crying, finish the race, just as they vowed they would. A couple steps from the finish line, and with the crowd in an absolute frenzy, Jim releases the grip he has on his son, so Derek could cross the finish line by himself. Then he throws his arms around Derek again, both crying, along with everyone in the stands and on TV.
"I'm the proudest father alive," he tells the press afterwards, tears in his eyes. "I'm prouder of him than I would have been if he had won the gold medal. It took a lot of guts for him to do what he did."
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If you are interested, here is a link to the video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zi0_LjHHN4 or
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDsigCRtoyg1 Thessalonians 5:11 "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."
Hebrews 12:1(NLT)- "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish."
Acts 20:24 "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace."
Dear loved ones, when we are facing the challenges of finishing the races, can we sense our Heavenly Father who is running beside us and cheering us on to the finish line? "I'm here, son," ... "We'll finish together." When we see someone in the race, are we quick to run beside him and offer a shoulder? "I wasn't going to be stopped by anyone." I pray that our Heavenly Father will give us the strength and energy to persevere to the very end.
