Multnomah University - Ambassador Yearbook (Portland, OR)

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A lUh0lC IICLU ball 90016 for missions The day dawned for at least startedl cold, damp and overcast - standard for a Portland spring. But not even the weather could dampen the spirits of Multnomah's basketball team and cheerleaders on March 16. They were going to France. To play basketball, yes, but mostly to witness for Christ. 13,4 M55 Ahead of them lay not only a new culture, new faces, and a chance to share the Gospel, but also tight situations, cramped conditions, and lack of sleep. They had no idea what would result from their trip. The trip itself meant 9 hours and 34 minutes of Boeing 707 and one hour and 45 minutes of hydrofoil ferry on the English channel. Tim Pearson and other members of the basketball team board lbe havercraft to go across the English Channel to France. A poster in Gaurhy announces the coming of the basket- ball team from a university in Portland. Larry Carrell and Dick Steward play in the tearn's first game, at Gauchy, France. A ? 'w ll ,... J- I -4- I .:.4 ' UI ... l s ' g.LT l rv I1 ' 1

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jon Talkeel lid To wind up its first Alaskan day the team split to go to several different houses for moose meat, caribou steak, or good old American spaghetti. fCou1d this be called preparation for the mission field?7 After a good meal the team gathered to travel for two hours to play the Talkeetna team. Multnomah won by 101 points. The real message came at half-time when the team sang some songs and Matt Hensley and Mike Peterson shared their testimonies before about 150 people. After the game the team went to the Talkeetna Bible Church where they sang, gave a skit of Noah's Ark, and had a time of fellowship and sandwiches. Bedtime arrived at last for the weary crew, and everyone sacked out on the floor. Some of the photogs managed to capture the team posing in their long-johns before everyone settled into a long winter's nap. After a hearty breakfast the team went on to Soldotna in three small bush planes. The frozen countryside displayed snowy moun- tains and immovable rivers and lakes. Some of the team even spotted moose from the air. Solid Rock Bible Camp, an Arctic Missions outlet, provided a warm fire or innter-tubing down the hillsides. Wherever the team went on their trip they never lacked for food. The people fed them well. Wfest and Tom Reber pai an Alaskan dog in .Mft X 17 7' 13 apt' fa ,FAI-Q., New Year's eve was spent in song, testimonies and Woody -special skits. About thirty basketball enthusiasts came to the clinic held the next day. Young and old alike joined in the fun. These clinics were the personal touch of the team's ministry in Alaska. That night the team played'the Kenai all- star team in Wildwood. During half-time Larry Carrell and Dirk Johnson got to lead a boy to the Lord. January 2 found the team flying for Anchorage to play two games with Univer- sity of Alaska. They were the toughest team the Ambassadors encountered on their travels. Despite enthusiastic cheers from Multnomah rooters the Ambassadors lost 55-71. The second game, the next day, didn't fare any betterg 63-88. Fifth quarter was held at Sand Lake Baptist Church where Botch Cassidy and the Sumdunce Kid rode again. . On Sunday, the team had the morning ser- vice. John Stump and Woody gave testimonies, and Dick Steward gave a short message. After sharing the Gospel and their own lives with the teams they played, the people who watched, and the homes they stayed in, the team flew home. by Nancy Call The .vm sets in the town of Saldatna. V33 M55 V a3L...! 11' i , , F . --fe ' - .

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Then, ahead lay France, their new adven- ture. They would return two weeks later, with a 6-1 win-loss record, two silver medals and the outstanding respect of both French citizens and American mis- sionaries. Time alone will tell the extent of their ministry. That Multnomah's emerging basketball squad could challenge - and defeat - several of France's city teams turned out to be no mean feat. Each team that the Am- bassadors played had at least one or two American players who were paid and supplied with either a car, apartment, meals, or other living costs while in France. Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the first week the team played in Gauchy, Noyon and Lamorlaye and chalked up three wins. The next week they played in Friens ftheir only lossy, Soissons, Amiens and Beauvais. Basketball turned out to be different in France. The crowds would clap whenever anyone got a basket. It didn't matter whose team made the shot. It seemed that the French were more concerned with a good game and fancy shots rather than actually having a winner or loser. The French were not used to cheerleaders, either, so the reaction to five jumping, yelling American girls was unner- ving at times. Sometimes people laughed, sometimes they just stared, and at one time, they thought the girls were shouting out their faith! Meanwhile, the team got acquainted with a new culture. Everything was a new ex- perience. Team members described the bread as incomparable, the mustard as super spicy, and the weather as too much like Portland. Everywhere the team went they were Maforeltes of the city of Viller le bel put on a baton 1 b tb roll ine efore e basketball team. Some children of tbe city of Amien present each of the cheerleaders with ten red tulips and an illustrated booklet of their city. B5 M55