One of our pastors shared this today in his Pastor's Newsletter. Phil and Karen Yates were members of his and his wife's previous church in Bradenton. A great story of love, Christian hospitality, and perseverance. The Brown brothers lived through a life of change—switching homes and schools and fighting through financial hardships to play football. Together again in Champaign, Chase and Sydney have found stability and stardom. PAT FORDE OCT 27, 2022 ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI It was time to go. Time to get back into her stepfather’s Lincoln Town Car for a 1,300-mile drive home, from Florida to Canada, and Raechel Brown could barely tolerate what she was doing. “I’m going to shove these kids back in the car,” she thought to herself. She didn’t. Instead she forced herself to say goodbye to her twin 16-year-old sons, Chase and Sydney, leaving them in the care of a couple she had just met two days earlier. Racked with doubt and guilt, she knew in her gut that taking her beloved boys to this strange place was the best chance to do right by them. “It was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done,” Raechel says. “It was totally unnatural, leaving your kids in another country with people you don’t know. I cried the whole way back.” Raechel can say that now, with the gift of knowing it all worked out, as her boys star in the football revival at No. 17 Illinois—running back Chase, an unlikely Heisman Trophy candidate; safety Sydney, a captain of the nation’s No. 1 defense. But none of that was visible six years ago. She chose an option that broke her heart but gave her boys a chance to dream. Chase and Sydney Brown reward mother’s sacrifices - Sports Illustrated
Great story… my favorite line, “We got as much from the experience of hosting them as we gave,” said their host. The human spirit is generally very generous, and these boys made the best out of the opportunities they got.
