Running the Good Race

Far from home and immersed in a new culture, international students on Harding’s track team are finding more than just athletic growth. They’re also discovering faith. 

Within the past year, five international students on the track team have been baptized. In addition to the influence of the broader Harding community, this can also be attributed to the track team atmosphere created by Coach Don Hood. Hood follows along in a history of coaches who have emphasized ministry in their work with student-athletes. 

When asked about his process of recruiting students for the team, Hood says it starts with a prayer that “… when we recruit, God will send the people to us that need to be here. We hope they’re fast, but … there has to be a spirit in the athlete coming over that is open to Christianity. I feel like God has really answered that prayer.” 

Once international students arrive in Searcy, they see the influence of God’s love in the lives of people all over campus, from professors who mentor them, to intentional friends, to strangers who exemplify the kindness of Jesus. 

For student-athlete Karyna Vehner, coming to Harding had a great impact on her faith. She grew up in the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, where Christianity was less about learning Scripture and more about following strict rules. Christianity is a quiet religion in Ukraine, with no singing in church and a discouragement toward asking any questions. In Vehner’s experience, most people are baptized as babies and then only come to church for Easter and very few other occasions.

Vehner had heard about Harding before, and she didn’t think it would be the place for her, but she decided to visit anyway. Coach Hood was the first person she spoke to, and, immediately following their conversation, she said yes to attending Harding as a student-athlete.

As time progressed, Vehner was influenced by her teammates as well. Hood hosts weekly devotionals with the team on Wednesday nights, and Vehner says she has always felt comfortable asking questions about God and the Bible in that setting. Beyond scriptural education, Hood has led by example. For Vehner and many other students, he showed them what it looks like to be a good person and how to love one another better. Vehner strives to be like him.  

Last year, Vehner spoke with Hood about the Bible for eight hours on a drive back from a competition. Soon after, she was baptized by him on Easter Sunday. Her husband, Vlad Malykhin, was later baptized by Hood this summer. For both Ukrainian athletes, their families didn’t understand their decision to be baptized, but Vehner and Malykhin came to understand the need through their time at Harding. 

For Coach Hood, baptizing his student athletes is the greatest honor. The older he gets, the more he sees the value and beauty in someone discovering the importance of eternity at a young age. For international student athletes, it is the community Hood has cultivated that leads them to that discovery and encourages them to enjoy learning more about the Lord every day.