July 5, 2006

Irish sophomore Luke Zeller is overseas in Taipei, Taiwan with Athletes in Action to compete at the 28th William Jones Cup. The tournament, featuring teams from Japan, Korea, the Phillipines, Qatar, Chinese Taipei and Australia, will be held July 8-16.

Zeller plans on updating Irish fans throughout his trip with periodic updates and reports of his game on www.und.com.

Sunday, July 2

Hello Irish Fans:

Day one of training camp was good. We all made it in safely last night and spent some time with our chaplain, Steve Debardelaben, who was the chaplain with the Miami Heat this year. This morning we got up at 8:30 AM and had breakfast. After breakfast we had a short bible study at 9 and went through 1 Kings 18. We talked a lot about an audience of One, which kind of talks about playing sport. Steve talked about playing basketball as a form of worship instead of using it as an idol and playing for the right reasons.

After Bible Study we headed out to the challenge course. We did a couple of challenges on the ground. One such activity was done by having a partner blindfolded and having to tell them where to throw a ball to try and get the other people out. After each activity, we talked about how it could be applied to basketball and our spiritual lives. Then we had grilled hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch and it was very good. After lunch, we went up on the high ropes course. There were many obstacles including a 25 foot high course and a 40 foot high course. I have never been a big fan of heights (kind of ironic I know). I went on the course and also did the zipline off of a 40 foot drop off. It was actually a lot of fun. We then talked again about the faith that is necessary to do something like that. Our instructor kept repeating the verse Hebrews 11:6-Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently search for him.

After the ropes course we went to practice. Most of our three hour practice was focused on learning the plays that Coach Jarvis put in and getting comfortable with each other, since most of us haven’t played together before. We started with offense today, but Coach Jarvis said that defense will be our focus because defense is what exemplifies a team.

Then, Charles a Taiwanese Christian from Dayton came in to speak with us about Taiwan and the outlook of the Taiwanese people. He also taught us some Chinese words. I was very lost, but I am working on it. For those of you reading this, I will give you a Chinese word of the day. It is hello and it is pronounced (knee – how). I am working on the other words.

Well, it is 11:00 PM and I have to get up early for a bible study and two practices, so I think I am going to hit the hay. Thanks to all of you that are praying for us, we really appreciate it.

God Bless,
Luke Zeller