by Maria Johnson
Anyone who's ever experienced a rodeo,
either as a spectator or a contestant, can attest to the speed, the excitement,
the thrills, and the spills.
It's a sport that's on the grow: last year's Canadian Finals Rodeo in
Edmonton attracted more than 81,000 fans, double the number from 10 years
ago. This year's prize money purse is $475,000, four times the purse of
a decade ago.
Something else is also growing — the gospel of Jesus Christ. Behind
the scenes, God is moving and lives are being changed.
Take 26-year-old bareback rider Don Blishen of Calgary, for example.
Although he grew up in a Christian family, Blishen didn't come to know the
Lord personally until just this past summer.
"I had spent enough time drinking and wasting my life," says
Blishen who once earned a goaltending tryout with the Pittsburgh Penguins
of the National Hockey League. "I was losing hope that I could be a
good person."
It was fellow cowboy and bareback rider Colin Orr, a man who himself
had experienced God's life-changing power eleven years earlier, who turned
Blishen to Christ.
"The pieces were falling out of my life and with Colin's help I
came to know Jesus."
Worried that he would slip back into his old lifestyle, Blishen says
he "avoided everything." Then he realized that people who don't
know Jesus needed to see he's still enjoying life — more than ever, in
fact.
"My business got better. My family life got better; there's more
understanding...I gave my life to the Lord. He returned it to me tenfold."
As a new believer, Blishen has so far only talked about Jesus with family
and a few friends, but he wants to change that. "I want to do more
in the future. I'm looking for ways to get involved and share and communicate
with people about Christ."
Communicating Christ has become a part of Colin Orr's life. The 36-year-old
bareback rider from Maple Creek, Saskatchewan shares his testimony whenever
he can.
"We put on thousands of miles during the summer. It's those 16,
20, and 25 hour rides where you really get the chance to share Jesus Christ,"
says Orr.
Orr has quite a story to share: "My life wasn't running very smooth.
I had a wife and two children, a good home. I loved my wife with all my
heart, but the rodeo had taken me in, and some of the stuff that goes along
with it." He openly admits he was an alcoholic, a drug addict, and
unfaithful to his wife.
"The guilt from those things brought me to the point that suicide
was constantly on my mind," says Orr.
At the time both his mother-in-law and grandmother were praying for him,
prompting him to accept the Lord into his life. Desperate, Orr surrended
his life to Christ. Their prayers worked and he's a changed man today.
For a non-Christian the life he lives today might seem like he's missing
out on all the fun but Orr says that's definitely not the case. "You
know, it's exactly the opposite but the guys I travel with, and my wife
and children, check around now and again to see where the drugs and alcohol
are hiding; they see that I'm having such a good time."
Of course, life hasn't been without its trials and tribulations. Orr
shares a story of a ride on a certain bucking horse that he had been anticipating
for three years.
"I just knew for a fact that I was going to be 90 points on this
horse and I nodded my head and we turned out of there. We were going just
slicker than anything for about three seconds, and I figured he was heading
to the wall like he always does, and he gave me an early left turn and he
didn't signal; he ended up going left and I ended up going right a little
longer. I ended up staying on him...hanging on and rattling around for another
three jumps and ending up in the middle of him for the last jump and a half.
But it cost me a whole lot of money. The judges said I slapped him, so there's
no mark, no money, nothing! I was pretty down on myself — I was upset and
mad, wanting to jump and scream and lay on the ground, kick my hands and
feet and go crazy. But I had to thank God that I was there on the ground,
safe and healthy."
"I had a lot of explaining to do to my three boys because that definitely
wasn't in their program either. We're going to come across things in this
life that aren't part of the program we'd thought up for ourselves."
Orr believes that's part of the refining that God has in mind for us.
"It's always easy to be a Christian when things are going great, when
the program's running smooth, but when something in life comes up that gets
you down on your knees a little bit - that's when you're going to grow in
Jesus Christ."
Eight years ago, Leslie Schlosser of Stavely, Alberta got down on her
knees and began an awesome relationship with God.
In August of 1989 her mother had passed away. The emotional strain of
that loss, coupled with the upheaval of a move with her husband and two
children left her feeling miserable and distressed.
"Although I had everything, a good husband and children, and a good
job, I was pretty sad and unhappy," she recalls. "I found myself
beside the bed crying. I asked the Lord into my life."
That was October 22, 1989. It was also the year God blessed her with
an awesome horse, suitably named Awesome. Since then she's become one of
ladies barrel racing's best, and is the current Canadian record holder in
Ladies Barrel Racing this season.
Schollser has won more than $27,000 on the Canadian pro rodeo circuit,
plus another $8,000 or so south of the border but the rodeo circuit keeps
her away from home more than she would prefer. In the past two months she
has been away about six weeks. Although she usually travels with other women
barrel racers who have become good friends, she admits, "At times it
is very hard to be gone. You can get very lonely for your kids and husband."
The rodeo lifestyle can also be a test for her faith. "There is
lots of being in the limelight and partying and lots of temptations...I
just try to be a good role model and do the right things. Without Him we
couldn't do anything. He's a good guide, a good role model. I know He is
always there for me, it's pretty neat."
Professional cowboys share the gospel of