My beloved Spirit brother, good friend, and mentor,
TED RUDOW III, MA,
says:
(
[email protected]
)
In 1962, my family moved to California from Seattle,Washington. My Great-great-great grandfather,Charles Terry,was one of the pioneers of Seattle. He got married on Lake Washington by Chief Seattle! So I was raised as a "Blue-blood",a selfish and meaningless life.The town that I moved to is one of the wealthest towns in the United States! It has more police per person than any city or town in the United States! Some of my neighbors were the Chairman of the board of such companies as Hewlett-Packard,Levi-Strauss, Kelly-Moore Paints, Memorex, Transamerican and Ampex. My parents are sport fanatics! My Grandfather,on my mother side,with my Great-Uncle were the first to be named "Walter Camp's All-American"in football on the West Coast in America. So from the age of five,I was in competive sports until I became a missionary in April,1972.During my teen-age years before I met the Family, my life was in turmoil!The only escape for me,I thought,was sports.So I practiced and practiced basketball until I recieved an athletic scholarship to attend the University of California at Berkeley, in 1970. The Vietman War was going on, and Berkeley was the hot-bed of radical resistance.It also was one of the top academic schools in the United States.So for me, it was quite a change coming from very staid background.During that time,I began taking drugs and reading from mystical books,but they never satisfied my soul! I was on the honor roll and was voted first-team all-Northern California freshman in basketball, Captain and Most Valuable Player in 1971 and still hold the freshmen rebound record of 17.3 per game but still my life was empty without the Lord! I felt pressures on many sides to really put out all my time and energy towards becoming a basketball star in college and pressing toward a professional career. On the other hand, deep within my heart, I felt that there was something wrong with all this!I felt caught between two worlds,one with the teachings of Jesus and His commandment to love thy neighbor,while in the other world, I was told to gain a near-manical desire to win and to physically punish my opponent in a defeat! I begin reading the Bible during the Summer of 1971,and it change my life! I returned to college in the Fall of 1971 and began to practice for the up-coming season.I then really began to see the tremendous hatred and violence that sports express.I had become thoroughly disgusted with my hypocritical involvement with basketball. I had some Bible classes and I decided to become member of the Family Mission.I received some training in Houston,Texas and was sent to the mission field in September 1972 to Puerto Rico, then Jamaica When I return from Mexico in January 1974,I went first to Houston and then to Dallas. We had a friend who gave the Family Mission large cartons of eggs.That day,Jan.31,1975 we drove to pick them up.It was raining, I was driving, and I passed a truck.We hit another car,head-on! We lay on the side of the farm road one hour before the ambulance came.I had big a gash on the left side of my neck,so blood was flowing out for that length of time! So it real miracle that I lived to reach the hospital! I was in a coma for ten days. The doctors told my parents there was no hope of my recovery, and that if I got out of the coma,I would spent rest of my life in a convalescent home,but the Lord other plans! People prayed for me and I came out of the coma! When I emerged from the coma,I had to re-learn how to walk, talk,read,write! I spent almost one year in therapy,learning to cope with only my left side working! I also felt very condemn as I almost killed someone. But the Family Mission's loving sample was overwhelming.The members sacrificed their time to care for me for nine months.I was virtually helpless and they not only cared for my physical needs, but they also worked with me to regain all communication and mobility skills, which for I'm eternally greatful!
