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PERRY FINDS CHRIST THROUGH SPORTS REACH BRAZIL
EXPERIENCE |
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(By: Larry Vaught, Kentucky Sports Report)
While Bobby Perry didn't win a national championship while he
was playing basketball at the University of Kentucky, the
North Carolina native has nothing but great memories from
his career.
He fondly recalls his teammates and coaches. He enjoyed the
fans. He liked being able to go to new places. He savored
many memorable wins and agonized over painful losses.
Yet, Perry's best memory from his four-year college basketball
career seems to be what happened on a mission trip to Brazil
for Sports the summer before his senior season. Even though
it has been over a year since he made that trip with several
other Southeastern Conference players, Perry says it was a
life-changing experience.
"It was one of the most important experiences, if not
the most important, I have had in my life," said Perry, who
is now working in Jessamine County just south of Lexington
for a development company and continuing to live in
Lexington. "I was raised in the church. I was taught about
Jesus my whole life by my parents and grandmother. But I got
to Kentucky and thought I was a big-shot basketball player.
I only cared about myself. I had no thought for my spiritual
life or Jesus for three years. Looking back, I don't know
how I let that happen."
Perry emotionally shared his testimony during a speech at the
annual UK Ohio Convention in Middletown, Ohio. I made a huge
impression on former UK All-American Shelby Linville, a
retired minister who recently finished reading the entire
Bible for the 300th time.
"More athletes need to hear what he says. It can happen to
young people, not just athletes. They leave home and forget
their spiritual life just like he said. It takes courage to
get up and share that testimony in front of strangers, even
if they are UK fans. I admire him not only for what he did,
but for talking about it," Linville said.
Perry wasn't expecting this kind of experience when he agreed
to make the trip with players like Florida's Lee Humphrey
and Vanderbilt's Derrick Byars. He was eager to get to know
the other SEC players better, but also was not totally
committed to making the trip. "I agreed to go in March. I
thought there would be a bunch of pretty ladies in Brazil
that I would enjoy seeing. I had never been there and
thought it would be a good way to see the country," Perry
admitted. "Then I got invited to be the sole NCAA
representative for a leadership conference in Orlando."
That would have meant Perry would go gone to Brazil for two
weeks, return home and then fly to Orlando the next day. It
would leave him with a one-week break from basketball and
school before workouts resumed at Kentucky for his senior
season. " I tried to think of every possible reason not to
go to Brazil. I finally got on the plane to go to Brazil,
but I was thinking more about having no time for myself and
how tired I was going to be than I was the trip. I was being
selfish and had no idea what was in store for me," Perry
said. " I didn't even bring a Bible for a mission trip. My
mindset was that I was not supposed to be there. I had been
to China before on an exhibition tour before. I knew this
trip would be different. But not like it turned out to be."
The players arrived in brazil at 2 a.m. What did they do
first? Eat? Check in the hotel? No. They went to Bible
study. "I was thinking right then that this trip was going
to be a whole lot different than I imagined, " Perry
recalled.
The basketball was no challenge. The SEC all-star team
usually won by 20 or more points against overmatched
competition. Perry was also content to let other players
share their testimony while he stayed in the background.
"Jesus still did not mean anything to me at the moment. I
didn't want to say anything. My heart still wasn't where it
should be," he said.
That changed a week later when the team stayed at a
missionary school. All the players were put in the same room
and Perry says the first night there "changed my life" in a
way he never envisioned. The players stayed up most of the
night. But basketball was not the topic of conversation.
Instead, they started "spilling their guts" about problems
and struggles at school. "We talked about things on a
spiritual level that I had just not thought about," Perry
said. " The way I was living I was chasing girls and
thinking only about basketball. I was fooling myself into
thinking I was doing the right things. I realized that night
I was living my life the wrong way. Guys that were my
opponents during basketball season helped me realize that.
We talked and prayed together. I asked Jesus to come into my
life. It took 21 years to do that. It was something I never
expected to happen when we left on that trip. I didn't want
to go on the trip. I would have preferred to stay at home. I
wanted to go to that leadership conference more because it
was showy. But God had more in store for me."
He still had to face the same temptations and obstacles when
he returned to Kentucky. "I was thrust back into that same
lifestyle. I love my teammates, but it was the devil
tempting me. I had my roughest year at Kentucky last year.
Jared (Carter) and Michael (Porter) were strong Christians.
They kept me going the right way," Perry proudly said.
Perry could have tried to play professional basketball in
Europe. If he made a roster, he would have earned a hefty
salary and been able to experience life in another country.
Before his trip to Brazil, Perry might had wondered about
leaving his girlfriend to go overseas, but he knows he
likely would have gone. But not after his mission trip.
" I am staying in Lexington because this is where God wants me.
This is where I have the most influence to spread the gospel
because that is what God blessed me with. I know this is
where I am supposed to be," Perry said.
"I know Jesus loves me regardless of who I am or where I am. But I
also know now there is more to life than just basketball
because of what happened to me that night on the trip to
Brazil."
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