Posted: 9/03/04
Texas WMU volunteers in Athens urge
Olympic visitors to enter heavenly race
By Julie Carlson
Baylor University
ATHENS, Greece–Millions watched while some of the world's greatest athletes raced for Olympic medals. But three Texas women journeyed to Athens to talk to people about a different kind of race–the one the Apostle Paul described in the ninth chapter of the New Testament book of 1 Corinthians.
Kathy Hillman of Waco, Suzy Wall of Hereford and Joline Wiley of Kenedy were part of an eight-member team from Texas, North Carolina, Kentucky and Illinois who traveled to Greece with Woman Missionary Union's International Initiatives.
In Athens for almost two weeks, including the first week of the Olympic games, the women offered hospitality to visitors at the First Greek Evangelical Church and helped staff an exhibit at the church titled “The Other Race.”
“The basement of the church housed the exhibit, which explored the history of the Olympics and showed how it related to the athletic imagery and language in Paul's writings,” said Hillman, president of Woman's Missionary Union of Texas and a Baylor University associate professor.
“Upstairs in the sanctuary, there was a loop PowerPoint presentation that showed Paul's movements in Greece. And then in the foyer, there was an exhibit titled 'Strive' that featured athletic artwork created by children and teenagers from around the world.”
During the five hours each day that Hillman's team staffed the exhibit, they witnessed to people from Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq to Hungary, China, Vietnam, Russia and points in-between.
“Primarily, we were there to greet people and talk to them about the 'other race,” Hillman said.
“For example, I spoke with a young man from Albania, who had attended college in the United States. He believed in God but said he was struggling between Islam and Christianity. I talked with him a long time, and he finally admitted what he couldn't understand was how someone who lived 2,000 years ago could die for him. That gave me an opportunity to talk about Jesus.”
Wall, a member of Frio Baptist Church in Hereford who also served at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, said that openness was a very special part of the experience.
“Anytime you were around people, you discovered why the Olympics are such a great opportunity for International Initiatives or any other missions group–the people are just so willing to talk,” she said.
“If you went to their country, they might walk right past you without saying a thing. But at the Olympics everyone talks to everybody. That makes it so easy to touch people quickly.”
Wiley, a member of First Baptist Church in Kenedy, agreed.
“We talked to people from either 52 or 53 countries that we know of–just to meet and talk to people from so many different parts of the world was wonderful,” she said.
The church was located in the heart of Athens with Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Zeus across the street and the Acropolis behind it. The cycling and marathon routes passed in front. To attract people to the exhibit, free water and restrooms were offered and the exhibit was air conditioned.
As part of their duties, Hillman's team distributed packets of information that contained part of the New Testament in eight languages.
They also distributed a brochure titled “More Than Gold” that gave short testimonies and provided space for recording Olympic results.
The ministry team attended some Olympic venues, including water polo and volleyball matches.
They also went to a taping of the “Today” show, watched as the Olympic torch passed in the front of the church and made a side trip to Corinth.
“But we were there to work. We knew less about what was going on at the games than the people back home who were watching on TV,” Hillman said.
Plans already are under way for International Initiatives trips to the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, and the 2008 games in Beijing. Hillman hopes to be part of those teams.
“There is a spirit of openness at the Olympics that I'm not sure I have seen at other times,” she said.
“You talk to everybody, whether they are next to you on the Metro or sitting beside you at an athletic venue. If they speak English, then you talk.”
With additional reporting by Staff Writer George Henson
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