COLLEGE WORLD SERIES REGIONAL NEWS

ROAD TO OMAHA UPDATE.
Two good friends from Franklin High School are competing in the NCAA College Baseball tournament, and had their first games today.

Bart Carter, of the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers, celebrated with his teammates as they beat second-seeded Missouri with a convincing 11-5 win today. WKU scored 6 runs in the first inning and never looked back. They will play either #8 Mississippi or Monmonth on Saturday evening at 6:00pm.

Jeff Mercer and the Wright State University Raiders traveled to Fort Worth, Texas to play the host TCU Horned Frogs. They didn't fare so well, losing 6-3. That drops WSU into the losers bracket, and they will play Texas A&M at 3pm on Saturday.

A GREAT WEEK FOR OUR FRIENDS

It was quite a week for the Mercer family—no, not ours but those with whom we have become extended family—dear friends of ours here in our community of Franklin, Indiana.

On Thursday, May 21, the first annual Small Victories Charity Golf Tournament was held in memory of Daniel Mercer, on what would have been his 21st birthday. Daniel died three years ago on Memorial Day, after a long, courageous battle with brain cancer. His life, death, and the subsequent charitable works that have been done in his honor have been an inspiration to all of us here in Franklin. His parents, Jeff and Pam, hosted a wonderful event that raised thousands of dollars for at-risk youth here in central Indiana. Thanks to all who participated and helped in so many ways!

To read Daniel's full story, go to the Small Victories website and order a copy of the book that details his remarkable, if all too brief, life.

Then, over the weekend their oldest son, Jeff Mercer and his baseball team from Wright State University battled to win the Horizon League Conference tournament and earned a berth in the field of 64 on the Road to Omaha for the NCAA Division I baseball championship.

And this just a week after Jeff had been named the Horizon League Player of the Year!

In the opening round of the tourney, WSU will travel to Fort Worth, Texas to face the top-seeded TCU Horned Frogs on Friday, May 29 at 8:00 pm Eastern Time. Go Raiders!

We thank God for such a blessed, exciting, and happy week for our friends!

SATURDAY SPORTS WRAP: FC Keeps Victory Bell

UPDATE: Franklin received a #5 seed and will travel to Otterbein College (9-1) in Westerville, Ohio on Saturday, Nov. 22 to play the #4 seeded Cardinals, whose only loss this season was to the #1 team in the nation, Mt. Union. Kickoff time is at noon.

Another cold, wet, windy day greeted football fans at Franklin College Saturday for the annual Victory Bell rivalry game against Hanover College. This is a special game for those of us who live in Franklin, because many of the young men who played for Franklin High School now play for Hanover as well as FC, and it is great to see everyone again.

In today's mud bowl, the outcome was never in doubt, with the Grizzlies prevailing 34-0.

I'll be updating this post on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 16, to announce Franklin's seeding and opponent in the NCAA Division III tournament next Saturday. You can watch the selection on ESPN News at 3pm, and follow all the analysis at D3Football.com

TUESDAY TRAVELS: Back to Orissa, India

On today's travels we return to news from Orissa, a state in eastern India. Here is a first-person report from a Christian friend and doctor who is leading an effort to bring relief to those suffering from the many trials Orissa has been facing over the past months. As you will read, the situation is now becoming dire, not only because of the persecution and communal violence that has racked the state, but also because of the monsoon rains and an impending cyclone.

"Thank you very much for remembering the people of Orissa in your prayers. Yes, it's the state which is undergoing various types of trials and tribulations.

"Last the whole month the ethnic violence in Kondhmal District of Orissa where churches were torched and Christians were massacred and the whole community was in fear and distress and most of them were hiding in the jungles , and this violence has spread to different other states like Bangalore and Mangalore in Karnataka and Kerala and also in other states like Madhyapradesh, and Chatisgarh, in which mostly the churches and Christians were attacked by the particular fundamentalist, exreme outfit of the so called Hindus even though it is not supported by the majority of the Hindus. Even now there are continued attacks on Christians and the destruction of churches in various parts of our country...

"When the state was recovering gradually from these tragedies, then came the devastating flood in Orissa where 17 districts have been affected but more so the worst affected are the four districts like CUTTACK , PURI, KENDRAPADA, JAGATSINGPUR. Because of the typical topography of Cuttack, as you have seen, on both the sides there are two major rivers--the Mahanadi & Kathjuri, and both are fully swollen with the water level much above the city of Cuttack. But we are safe because of the ring road surrounding the city of Cuttack, and more of the damages are in the suburban towns because of the breeches in the embankments of the river which were carrying the water much above the danger lines. This situation is there since about 4-5 days and we are busy with the relief and rescue work along with the Govt machinery.

"However, to worsen the situation now since today we are again having the rains along with the cyclone which is threatening to hit the coastal Orissa in the next two days which will definitely be bad for the city of Cuttack, as the water of the rains of the cyclone cannot be drained to the two rivers on either side of the city which are already full and swollen. So most probably the people of the city will be drowned in the city water itself. So we are planning to shift the people to higher buildings and getting prepared for any eventualities. Please do PRAY that this coming cyclone will be weakened.

"But in all these situations God has helped us to strengthen our faith and be allowed to trust Him more. In most of the churches we are having worship services conducted with tight police custody and protection.

"Here we have formed a NGO by name THE SAMARITANS which is collecting funds from our local people and giving relief to some at least, and tomorrow we are planning to go to another suburban village of 42 Mouza which has been very badly affected by the flood and we hear that some of the families are still marooned in the water and needs to be rescued and some food to be given immediately."

Story in The Times of India

FRIDAY FOTO: Orissan child

Young child—Cuttack, Orissa, India. 1998.

(Photo by Michael Mercer)

Friends are friends forever...

Gail and I did a crazy thing Friday. We drove to Chicago at the last minute to see a group of our dearest friends, and then turned around and came back the same night! Because of the traffic, it took us six hours to get there, but it was worth every frustrating moment on the road.

This group of friends was together when we were all young adults, starting families and careers. We were together in a church in Waukegan, Illinois, learning to serve the Lord and function as adults in the real world. I was in seminary and also became the pastor of the congregation for awhile before we moved to Indianapolis in the early '90s.

Now one of the couples is packing up rather suddenly and moving to Cannon Beach, OR, to work in a Christian conference center there on the Pacific coast. They'll be pulling out next Sunday. Mike and Paula...Godspeed. We look forward to visiting a part of the world where we've never been before.

As for Terry and Cheryl, Jack and Sally, Paul and Lynette...we're really not that far from each other. Any of us could make it roundtrip in a day. However, at our age, I'm not sure I recommend it!

SMALL VICTORIES

My friend, Jeff Mercer, has written a book about his son Daniel that I highly recommend to you. Daniel Patrick Mercer was one of a kind, and he was taken from us when he was far too young. A star athlete, honor roll student, and fun-loving character, Daniel died of a brain tumor at age 18. This book records the poignant story of his family's experience and the lessons about "small victories" that we all learned from being with him on his journey.

Go to SMALL VICTORIES and order your copy today. All proceeds go to support young people through the Johnson County Community Foundation.