XI’AN, China — Coordinating their efforts through the Virginia Baptist Mission Board and the local YMCA, a team of athletes from Baptist churches in Virginia and both Carolinas led basketball clinics in July for youth in the central Chinese city of Xi’an (pronounced She-awn).
Known worldwide for the 1974 discovery there of third century B.C. terracotta sculptures of warriors, the city is home to more than 8 million people. And to some of them, Xi’an is also known for its fine basketball clinics.
For several years, and especially since the superstar success of the National Basketball Association’s Yao Ming, basketball has been gaining in popularity. Ming, at 7 foot 6, was the tallest player in the NBA until his retirement last year.
From left are (front row) Rebecca Pack, Brittany Phipps, Ashley Lynch, Amber Lynch, Sarah Phipps, Rachel Gaunt, Bao Meng, (back row) Tian Quande, Buddy Burgess, Kelsi Pack, Will Pack, Kailey Russell, Sharon Jones, Cathy Gaunt and Greg Wilson. (Photo by Jerry Jones)
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This was the third visit to Xi’an for team leader Buddy Burgess, recreation minister and deaf pastor at First Baptist Church in Richmond, Va., who was prevented from another visit when he could not get a visa. Burgess, a slow-talking, kind-hearted father figure to younger members of the team, exudes enthusiasm for what he does.
Joining Burgess were Cathy and Rachel Gaunt, a mother/daughter team also from First Baptist, Richmond, and the Carolinians made up of four professional coaches and five female high school players. Like Burgess, coaches Greg Wilson and Will Pack have previous experience leading clinics in China. Pack’s wife, Kelsi, and his sister, Rebecca, both coach in the South Carolina school district where Wilson is athletic director.
The girls, all Baptists from North Carolina, told of the support their churches had given. Two sets of sisters, Amber and Ashley Lynch and Brittany and Sarah Phipps, all members of Coopers Gap Baptist Church in Mill Spring, N.C., described the efforts their pastor had made for them.
A banner outside a community gym welcomes the visitors to the basketball clinic. (Photo by Jerry Jones)
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“He asked the churches in our association to take up an offering for us, and some of them did,” said Sarah, who studied Chinese in school last year.
But they did not just depend on offerings. “We also worked,” they volunteered unanimously. In fact, they were so successful they raised more than $1,000 in excess of their needs. Rather than apply this to incidental expenses that arise, the girls decided to start a fund for future mission trips.
The fifth girl, Kailey Russell, is a member of New Freedom Baptist Church in Columbus, N.C. Wilson is a member of Southside Baptist Church in Spartanburg, S.C., and the Packs are members of Inman Mills Baptist Church in Inman, S.C.
“I am really impressed by these girls,” Burgess said. “I think they understand that this is about much more than basketball.”
Sharon Jones, who played women’s hoops in college, completed the team. She is a South Carolina native and member of First Baptist Church of North Spartanburg in Spartanburg, who now lives and teaches in Shanghai.
The clinics, which occurred July 18-22, were slated to enroll 60 Chinese youth, but demand pushed attendance to twice that number.
“The principal of the school told me parents kept calling right up to the day the clinics started to see if they could still get their kids in,” Burgess reported.
“I was so impressed with these young ladies as individuals and as Christian young people,” Burgess added.
They purchased nine Chinese Bibles to give to individuals who showed particular interest. They also made witnessing bracelets and cards explaining them which they gave to each clinic participant. According to Burgess, the bracelets tell the story of salvation.
In praise of the team, Burgess said, “I would take these kids with me anywhere.”
Tian Quande, director of Xi’an’s YMCA, sees the basketball clinics as a vital means of bridge-building between different cultures and different religions. Speaking through interpreter Lynn Yarbrough, a Virginia Baptist-supported English teacher in China, Quande spoke glowingly of the way the clinics have served as witnesses to the love of Christ.