2EKO

“My life is an example to many,
Because you have been my strength and
protection.
That is why I can never stop praising you;
I declare your glory all day long.”
Psalm 71:7-8 (New Living Translation)

2EKO

If you yelled those number and letters out just like that when our group of World Masters competitors were hanging out or practicing, one of my friends would turn to you and wonder why you called out his name. His name is really spelled Thuy Cao, but coming from Vietnam, when people had trouble pronouncing his name here, he told them to just say “2 E” and that would do! I think it is very convenient as well that we pronounce his last name “K O”. He is the only person I know whose name may be pronounced by saying one number and three letters.
Thuy has meant a lot to me over the past year and a half really. I first met him when I came up to see the Singing Christmas Tree in December 2003. He was an usher and when he introduced himself to me, he told me that just the previous day he had said he wished I was there for the Tree, and then I was there! He made me feel very special and welcomed in this place for sure. I have since found out that that is the kind of thing that happens often at The Singing Christmas Tree at Central Tabernacle.

The following year, I returned for April, May and June. In June, the church had a tennis event, and I got the chance to play tennis with Thuy. I found out he is a fantastic tennis player. He has very smooth strokes and a mind for the game – that is, he combines skill and strategy and he does not get flustered or frustrated easily.

When I moved here, Thuy and his family were kind enough to invite me out to lunch to Chinatown in Edmonton. I was very excited – one of my best friends while growing up was Vietnamese, and I quite enjoyed the cuisine she and her sisters prepared. So, we went to lunch and continue doing so every so often.

Thuy played on the World Masters Team from the church – his sport of choice was badminton. However, he played tennis in the winter league to help get the tennis players trained up. We live in the same part of the city, so we rode together on Saturday mornings (at least while I was going). We would stop at Tim Horton’s on the way to get a warming coffee on those freezing winter mornings, and we would sip our coffees and commiserate about the cold as we drove over in the early darkness to the University of Alberta’s Saville Sports Centre to play.

We learned a lot about each other’s families – like me, Thuy is the only Christian in his immediate family. He is not considered the “successful” one in his family – rather, I gather his siblings are all quite successful in their careers though their relationships suffer. Thuy on the other hand is quite successful in his relationships, including his relationship with Jesus Christ.

Thuy spoke at the church on Father’s Day – you can hear him at: http://www.centraltab.ab.ca/sermons/ , select June 19, 2005. Thuy, his wife Kris, children Amanda and Jordan, and I went to lunch afterwards, and talked a long time about our relationships with our fathers. Thuy told me how his father had decided to attend a wedding out of town during the time of the World Masters Games, and so he would not see Thuy play. It was apparent to me that Thuy would have liked his father to see him play.

Regardless, Thuy kept training for his badminton as well as training those competing in the tennis event. The World Masters Games began sometime around July 20. I saw Thuy play mixed doubles badminton early on in the week-long event. He and his partner lost to a well-seasoned New Zealand team in this more of a warm-up team event.

Despite his own demanding badminton schedule, Thuy came out and watched the tennis players play their matches. He watched and cheered with the rest of us as we watched our teammates duke it out on the courts. In the meantime, he had some tough matches lined up. I watched him play doubles with his brother later in the week – his brother pulled a muscle in his leg, so Thuy had to work pretty hard in the match. They had won previous rounds, and the match I saw did not really count. They lost the match but were still in medal contention.

Thuy played a bit of singles, too, but I never got to see that. I remember talking to him the day before a full day of singles play on his part and I asked him about how it was all going. He said he just wanted to see his brother win a medal, and so he was really fighting for the doubles medals. After that day of singles in which he played in two divisions for medal positions, he came out to a tennis match and sat next to me. I asked him how he did. “Not good,” is what I heard come back in a solemn voice. He had lost three matches that day. I glanced over at him and thought I saw a tear or two well up in his eyes. My heart went out to him.

I thought of all of the emotion that goes through a person that is expecting to win matches and medals, and then . . . they lose. I thought of the people on the courts who had support groups around them – parents, wives, siblings, children, and how fortunate they were to have that. I thought of the participants that had time in their lives to actually significantly improve their game – perhaps more flexible jobs, flexible schedules, or perhaps lives less committed to church, kids, family and friends, so they could play more than once a week on a Saturday morning on a regular basis.

But you know, the World Masters Games is not about who can prepare the most for their event or who can invest the most money in their equipment or who has the most fans or anything like that. The World Masters is an arena where the everyday man or woman can take their athletic skill at any given point in their life and test it against others with the same passion for their sport. It is a place where we can get in tune with our bodies, put our hearts into our sport, and focus our minds, in the hopes of being at our best, no matter what happens. It is also a place to develop relationships with teammates, opponents, bystanders, officials, and any others who may cross our paths and wonder what it is like to compete for a World Masters medal.

Thuy, who had every reason to expect one, came away from the games without a World Masters medal. He did everything right – he trained as much as he could, he ate well, he slept well, he encouraged his teammates both in badminton and tennis, his wife, kids and friends were encouraging him, his body, heart and mind were all in good form.

So, why did he lose?

He didn’t.

Thuy is very fortunate. He recognizes our Father who has trained him well, who is at all of Thuy’s matches, who is his leader and a constant participant in his life, who fosters his heart, who demonstrates his approval, and who loves him no matter what.

Thuy’s kids are very fortunate, too. They have a father who will teach them about our Father, who will train them in their sport and in life, who will be at their matches, who will participate in their lives, who will foster their hearts, who will demonstrate his approval, and who will love them no matter what.

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