Standing on the sidelines watching downhill skier Lindsay Vonn win an Olympic gold medal for Team USA, is a moment that Caitlin Woodard will not likely forget. Even more meaningful for Caitlin, though, was seeing another student in Vancouver commit her life to Christ.
Caitlin, along with fellow Howard Payne University sophomores Nathan Gilbert and Amanda Burley, spent 10 days at the Winter Olympics Games working with sport chaplains through Action Ministries International (AMI). While attending the games, their main objective was to share the salvation message through the popular Olympic pastime of pin trading. Attendees at the games often trade lapel pins representing their countries, organizations or corporations.
The pins that AMI volunteers traded featured a globe with a torch in the center, bearing the name Jesus, and stripes of black, red, white, green and gold. The colored stripes provided any easy way to explain to others how to become a Christian. Black represents sin, red is Jesus’ blood shed on the cross, white shows a life cleansed from sin, green is new growth and gold symbolizes spending eternity in Heaven with Jesus.
“Using the pin to share with people was a great thing for me because it took away the conversation starter that I always had trouble getting out,” said Amanda. “I was able to share with whoever wanted to hear, and I truly believe that God used me in people’s lives.”
The HPU students stayed in a hostel on a busy street near the Olympic Village. They found opportunities to witness practically on their doorstep.
While evangelizing on the streets, Nathan learned “not underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit, and to always be ready for God to use you to touch somebody. We never knew if someone had actually been thinking of accepting Christ for a while, or if they had never even thought about if there was a God. We had to be ready for any kind of reaction and respond back with the love of Christ.”
Caitlin’s favorite memory was sharing Christ with a group of people from Hong Kong. While talking with them, she realized that this was a unique opportunity to share with people from a country where sharing the Gospel is prohibited. If she had met them in Hong Kong, she may not have had the freedom to tell about Jesus, but being in Vancouver she could.
The trip changed the HPU students’ perspective on evangelism, making them more aware of the fact that many still need to hear the Gospel message.
“On the trip, we looked at everyone we saw as an opportunity to share God’s message, and I realized that I need to be more intentional about my conversations with people on a daily basis,” Caitlin shared. “If Christ really is the most important priority in my life, then He should be reflected in my conversations.”
While most of their time each day was spent witnessing, they also had the opportunity to attend several Olympic events. In addition to alpine skiing, the students were able to see ski jumping, the men’s Super-G competition and the USA men’s hockey team shut-out against Russia in a 13-0 victory.
Caitlin, Amanda and Nathan experienced a great victory during the 2010 Olympic Games, seeing lives touched through the Gospel. They view the eternal impact of this trip as worth far more than gold, silver or bronze.
Photo Contributed Left to Right: HPU students Caitlin Woodard, Nathan Gilbert and Amanda Burley stand in front the Olympic Torch in Vancouver.
