GAIL WHITE Fellowship delivers manna for the soul

When Mark D'Eramo, head of the Boardman huddle for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, told me to look for manna, I had no idea how fulfilling it would be.
As I drove into the parking lot in search of the FCA meeting, there it was -- "Manna"-- a large sign beside a door. Through the door, I found more manna signs. I followed the manna until I came to a painting of F.R.O.G. (Fully Relying On God). Under F.R.O.G. were 70 or more FCA participants singing and lifting their arms in praise.
I have come to this FCA huddle to talk with these high school students about one of their friends, Chris Sutton, who passed away last Thanksgiving.
Speaker is bonus: As an added bonus, I have the pleasure of hearing Pat Saunders speak. Pat, formerly a Channel 21 sportscaster, is now the new FCA area director.
I leave this meeting with "manna" for my soul and a renewed sense of F.R.O.G.
Although their paths barely crossed in life, the lives of Chris and Pat parallel each other in the face of death.
When Chris Sutton passed from this world, he left a legacy of renewed life for his friends.
Pat Saunders is an example of life renewed after death.
Chris was 14 when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. At 17, the cancerous tumor had spread through his body. He died Thanksgiving day, 2000.
"His death brought a lot of life to a lot of kids," says Mark D'Eramo, Chris' FCA huddle leader.
Indeed, talking with those who knew him, Chris touched many lives.
"He was the happiest person you could ever meet," remembers Randi Lamb, a sophomore from Austintown Fitch. "He wasn't scared to die."
A good friend: Joel Monaco, a junior at Boardman, was one of Chris' best friends. "I remember his light, his energy, his hope," he says. "I will never, ever forget him. I will tell my kids about him."
Jim Freeze, a senior at Boardman, did not know Chris very well. As the president of student council, he helped create a card for the sick student. The card was 6 feet high and about 40 feet long. It read simply, "We miss you, Chris. Get well soon!"
An announcement was made for students to sign the card. "It put me in tears to see so many people signing it," Jim says. "Everybody came together."
A delegation of students delivered the sign to Chris in the hospital. "It was too big to hang in his room," Jim remembers. "So, we hung it in the hall."
Chris' dad held him in his arms while he read every inscription.
Bridget Franklin, a senior at Boardman, adds, "Chris had an amazing joy. He did more in 17 years than some people will do in a lifetime. He lived his purpose."
Also a purpose: Pat Saunders has experienced loss. He, too, has found purpose behind his grief.
Death has not been unfamiliar territory for Pat. His mother died when he was 10 years old. His father died when he was 15. Although he had the love and support of four older siblings, Pat struggled in his developing years.
In 1991, he met the love of his life, Lori, and married her.
After two years of marriage, Lori became pregnant. They were overjoyed with anticipation.
On Good Friday, 1993, their son was delivered -- stillborn. "He never took a breath," Pat recalls. "Yet, he changed our lives."
Through their loss, the couple became knitted together and started attending church. There, they found an understanding that their lives had been missing.
"There was always something empty inside me," Pat tells the FCA audience. "I thought getting married would fill it. I thought having a child would fill it. I thought being on TV would fill it." None of those things did.
Fulfilled: "Nothing compares to what I get every day from my Jesus," Pat concludes.
The manna that Chris shared so joyfully during his time in this world, Pat has now dedicated his life to sharing with the young people of FCA.
The manna of F.R.O.G.