Triathlon Reconnects Church with MissionariesNick Rama, a 48-year-old development officer for The Culinary Institute of America, competed in a triathlon in June to raise awareness for the work of RCA missionaries Eric and Nancy Titus.  Rama had never competed in a triathlon. He had never met Eric or Nancy or their kids. But his church, Marbletown Reformed in Stone Ridge, New York, supports the Tituses and their mission work in Croatia. "Mission is near and dear to my heart," Rama says. "My thought was instead of trying to do something new and different, to try to really support the things we're actively involved in. I tried to get people in our church to pray for the Tituses and communicate with the Tituses, and let them know they're being prayed for and we support their work. That was the number one thing." The Tituses work with Evangelical Theological Seminary in Osijek, Croatia, to train Christian leaders to effectively minister in the aftermath of communism. Rama wanted to encourage the congregation to really connect with the missionaries. "They go to do God's work in a distant land, and we give them money, but we have the tendency to forget about them. I think it's true for me--I'll cut the check and then forget about them. How do we get people in our church to more actively communicate and pray for these people on a regular basis?" His efforts were tied to the 70.3-mile race, which included a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride, and a 13.1-mile run. He challenged the congregation to write to or pray for the Tituses once for each mile of the triathlon. Others made a per-mile donation. "We got a group of people who consistently prayed for the Tituses and communicated with the Tituses," he says. "We also raised over $1,500 for their cause." Rama knew the effort was working when people told him they'd passed a runner or biker on the road and thought of the Tituses. After five months of training, Rama was ready for the June 30 triathlon. "I had a good swim, I was in the middle of the pack, and that was cool. I had a strong bike, so I did really well and passed a lot of people. And then my run came, and it was like death warmed over. Nearly everybody passed me," he laughs. A painful heel spur had interfered with training and slowed him down in the race. "I just went on faith that I would be able to run the 13 miles with the pain," he says. Rama finished the race in six hours, 34 minutes, and 38 seconds. "We limit our possibilities because we don't see ourselves as God sees us," he says. "I wanted people to see that they don't have to run a triathlon, but they can change the way they view fitness and their lives. It's a start. I don't think people adequately take care of God's temples." Competing in the race, Rama says, allowed him to bring attention to people doing God's work and promote physical fitness at the same time. Posted 08/21/07
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