During the recent NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four and its accompanying NABC Convention in New Orleans, three sports ministries serving the basketball coaching community each had a booth in the exhibition hall and they collaborated to host several ministry events. Athletes in Action, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and Nations of Coaches worked together on the events which included a meeting for coaches’ wives on Thursday evening, a Coaches Edge event on Friday afternoon, a Sunday morning worship service, and then a Coaches and Spouses marriage luncheon on Sunday afternoon.
One of our colleagues, Coach Terry Murphy of FCA Ukraine, was hoping to be in attendance, but was in Moldova. His changes were all abruptly changed on Thursday 24 February when Russia began shelling Ukraine and then invaded the nation. Coach Terry sent me a message one day saying, “We’re headed to the bomb shelter right now. I’ll talk with you tomorrow.” I was just hoping there would be a tomorrow. In a couple of days he, his wife, and mother were on the way to the Ukraine/Moldova border. He sent me a message as they were into their 25th hour at the border, a process that eventually took 30 hours to complete.
As I have been sending Psalms to my Ukrainian friends daily by WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, Coach Terry and I were in touch daily. Along the way we discussed the possibility of his coming to New Orleans for the Final Four. This is the place to look for coaching jobs, and as he’s planning to return to the USA to find a job, it would be perfect timing. However…war.
Coach Terry said he had decided to stay in Moldova to help relief supplies get into Ukraine and to help Ukrainians get out. I was stunned by his selfless attitude, sacrificial love for these people, and his courage to stay and serve. He and others load up vans with relief materials, drive them hours to the Ukrainian border, meet Ukrainians with their vans, transfer the materials, then the Ukrainians drive double digit hours to embattled and largely destroyed Ukrainian cities. I am very proud to know Coach Terry Murphy.
During the Final Four weekend in New Orleans, I was pleased to have Coach Terry join us via Zoom. At the Coaches Edge (4:00 pm New Orleans time, 1:00 am Moldova time) Terry joined us to hear the speakers, and he participated in a discussion at my table with four young basketball coaches. On Sunday morning, Terry and his wife Ruth joined us for worship with my phone propped up against a hand sanitizer dispenser at the rear of the room. They persisted through my repeated and frequent loss of internet connection. I am very proud to know Coach Terry and Ruth Murphy. Ruth has been a part of this season’s Nations of Coaches Wives Bible Studies. She joined each meeting via Zoom from Kyiv, Ukraine.
The persistence through internet issues, the early morning Coaches Edge attendance, and the regular participation in Coaches’ Wives Bible studies speaks to their devotion to Christ, their hunger for fellowship, and their dedication to coaching as a life calling. I pray that Coach Terry and Ruth Murphy serve as a challenge to us, in our relative safety and security. May we each and all strive to serve as selflessly and to love as extravagantly as they do.
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