Chicago Bulls Jacket

 

In 1993 I took 38 Americans to Romania to distribute New Testaments that had been bought in Belarus and shipped by truck into Romania.  Among the group were two high school students from our church, Michael and John.  Michael was a huge Chicago Bulls fan.  Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, John Paxon, Dennis Rodman, and Coach Phil Johnson were household names.  We had driven into the Ukraine to distribute Romanian New Testaments to ethnic Romanians who were there near the border of Romania.  We divided our group and stayed in the homes of Christian families.  At the end of the week as we were preparing to leave the Ukraine, Michael showed me one of his special finds.  The family where he and John had been staying were leather crafters and had made him a special leather coat with the Chicago Bulls logo on the back!  Only one problem: the emblem was turquoise, not Chicago Bulls red!  But Michael was happy.  He had the only leather coat in the world with a turquoise Chicago Bulls logo on it!  Solomon said in Proverbs 17:8, “A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it: whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth.”  A personal gift has special meaning.  It doesn’t matter if it is turquoise in color or Chicago Bulls Red, it is given from the heart and received in the heart.