Vancouver will be in the spotlight with an estimated two thirds of the world viewing the Olympics. 300,000 visitors are expected. More Than Gold is connecting and coordinating the Christian community in working together.
The underlying theme of More Than Gold is 'radical hospitality' - where Jesus is guest and host.
More Than Gold will serve as a collaborative hub for networks to continue to grow and express various initiatives beyond 2010.
From training events, to hospitality outreach, to helpful resources for the Olympics, More Than Gold is helping the Church to be relevant and effective in welcoming the world, and sharing God. To check out some of the resources available please visit www.morethangold.ca/store and check out our events section to see some of what is being planned!
And to get you excited about the great opportunities ahead, each month we'll be sharing an Athlete's testimony with you! These testimonies are featured among the More Than Gold Resources.
Meet Katya Antonuk
Katya Antonuk grew up in a part of Russia where there was snow 8 months of the year. It was almost inevitable that she would become a cross-country skier. She came second in the first competition she entered and never looked back. When she left school she chose to study in Belarus and was selected for their national team.
She was champion of Belarus 7 times (1991-98), competed in several world cups and the 1998 Olympics in Nagano where she was in the Women's 15K cross country and the women's 4X5 km cross-country relay. She recalls: "The Olympics is like nothing you can describe. It is one great celebration. It is the culmination of your career - all the hard work, effort and training to get there. The whole atmosphere in the Olympic village and being able to meet athletes from other countries was really exciting. It was an unforgettable experience (and it means a lot to me even now) that I was able to compete in the Olympics".
Talking of hard work - few athletes work harder than cross-country skiers. "In Russian we call it the 'Horse sport'. We trained three times per day, doing up to 1000 kilometers per month and perhaps 8,000 to 10,000 kilometers in a year - sometimes 60k in one training run!"
Growing up under atheism Katya knew nothing about God. "We were taught in school that the Bible was myths and legends. I thought the only people who believed in a God were old ladies. Graves had communist stars on them not crosses".
"Once I visited another skier and saw that she had a Bible. That was so strange for me as I had never seen a Bible before. She offered to lend it to me. I said "No, it is not for me. But as I got to know her she invited me to a Bible study. I was surprised how many people were there and that they were not just old ladies. I decided I needed to find out why all these people were so interested in this Bible. I started to read the Bible and it was such a revelation to me. I realized that the Bible was a real history about a real God, not just myths and legends as I thought before".
Through reading the Bible Katya came to know God and Jesus.
