Total Transformation

At 8 a.m. Wednesday, Jeff Hatfield and Arturas Astramskas wrapped their arms around Martynas Airosius and dipped him in the Pilica River that flows by the camp. It represented a transformation that took a young man who was angry with the world and turned him into a leader of young men with a passion for Christ.

And while Airosius is reluctant to admit it, his story is a great example of why the basketball camp at Zakosciele exists. Coaches investing in the lives of young people, many of whom don’t have a relationship with Christ, helping them discover how that might look.

Airosius shared his story in Tuesday night’s evening session, and there were very few people who did not get emotional, including Hatfield.

Let’s take a step back and find out how far Airosius has come. Both of his parents were successful basketball players in Lithuania, and he desired to be the same. But early in his life, his world was rocked when his father cheated on his mother and his parents got divorced. It was not a good situation for Airosius, who said he looked for love and acceptance in the streets, since he couldn’t find it at home.

He got involved in some pretty dangerous stuff, and admittedly ran with the wrong crowd. His parents’ relationship caused his Mom to move to Belgium and take him with him, but he didn’t speak the language and had trouble making friends. So he returned to Lithuania, where he quickly got back involved with the same crowd that steered him wrong the first time.

The only good thing that he had in his life was basketball, where he was a teammate of Astramskas. But American author Timothy Keller says, “Any good thing that becomes the ultimate thing ultimately becomes a destructive thing.” For Airosius, basketball became the ultimate thing.

But God can use any situation to our benefit, and he did that with Airosius.

He heard about a basketball camp in Poland, but all he knew was “they played a lot of basketball, NBA style, and gave you the chance to trade for a lot of really cool stuff,” he said. He had no idea that it was a Christian event, or that he would be sitting through sessions where the Gospel was taught.

“I wasn’t against (Christianity),” he said, “I just wasn’t that interested in it because I cared so much about basketball.”

When he got to camp, he was placed on a team coached by Hatfield, who was visiting from America. He admits that he presented a challenge for Hatfield. “I was all emotional and stuff,” he said. “I was always getting into fights with other players and arguing with officials.”

Hatfield did not shy away from the challenge, however, maybe because he saw a little bit of himself in Airosius.

“It means everything to be a part of it,” Hatfield said. “God doesn’t often let us be a part of the whole journey. I feel unbelievably blessed to have been a part of it from start to finish.

“I’ve watched him grow, I’ve listened to his questions. He’s a completely different person.”

The coolest part of the story is that Hatfield didn’t stop the conversation when he returned home to the U.S. at the end of the camp. He stayed in contact, and connected with him each time he came back for basketball camp. He didn’t force his own faith on Airosius, but he made it appealing.

“He invested his time in me,” Airosius said. “He has kind of a similar story in his life. We kind of connected. The first few years I was really an emotional guy. He stayed with me. It’s easy to lose connection when you’re halfway across the world, but he kept talking to me. He didn’t push me. He let me make my own decisions. It’s just natural that I want him by my side.”

Hatfield was actually considering not coming to camp this year, until he received word from Airosius that he wanted to be baptized. At the basketball camp in Zakosciele. And he wanted Hatfield to do it. There was no choice for Hatfield.

“This place has a special place in my heart,” Airosius said. “Jeff means a lot to me too. He’s old, and I didn’t know that I could have an impact on old people.” (For the record, Airosius is 24, and Hatfield is 37, but you get the idea.)

Now, Airosius is the coach, mentoring young people. He says that basketball is just a platform to reach young people. “The way I perceive basketball now is that it is a gift from God,” he said. “It depends how you use it. Now I know that I can use it to help people and be an example of what it’s like to follow Christ.”

That’s why this camp exists, and that’s why so many people were on the banks of the river at 8 a.m. to welcome a new member to the family of God.