Living The “C” In YMCA
My name is Donald L. Willis (Don). I have been a member of the Baxter YMCA for several years. Enjoy working out, meeting and talking with other members. What a blessing!
A little bit about me…
I am 73 years young, married to my lovely bride of 49 years. We have two grown daughters, Sarah Brennan and Rachel Pierce. We also have one grandson, Aaron Pierce who is 15 years old going on 22. Including our two son-in laws, we have a small family of seven, yet we are close and more importantly, we all know Jesus personally as our Lord and Savior. Again, what a blessing!
I grew up on the westside of Indy, graduating from Washington H.S. in 1969. I joined the U.S. Army on March of 1970, serving 3 years of active duty.
One of the many challenges growing up was having an identical twin, who is (1) one hour younger than me. Because we looked so much alike, it was very hard to tell us apart. As a result, I had some trouble with my own “identity”. Though my given name is Donald, I was quite often referred to as “twin”-even by my family and friends. It wasn’t until High School, having different classes and dressing different, that I discovered who I was as an individual. My name is Don, not twin! On the plus side, having my twin brother Ron, I had a built-in best friend growing up. We had similar likes and dislikes.
We are not as close as we once were, but we try to touch base with one another by weekly phone calls and at times getting coffee together.
My coming to Christ…
While in the Army, God used getting to know James Markle, Ed Zotolli, and Charlie Webb to help me better understand what it truly means to be a Christian and follower of Jesus.
While working alongside James, we would have several lengthy conversations about his faith in Jesus Christ. James had an inner peace about himself that was winsome and desiring of…
Also, the excitement of Ed in sharing his faith was highly contagious to say the least. But it was Charlie’s quiet demeanor gentle spirit that impressed me the most. I learned quickly to respect him and his answering my many questions concerning what it meant to know Jesus personally and become His disciple. All three were never pushy, but all had a caring spirit and would genuinely answer my questions gently and honestly.
They would challenge me to consider following Jesus, but never pushed me for a decision.
I had been baptized as a teenager, attended Church, read my bible on occasion, pray and went to Church, but knowing Jesus personally and loving Him-well, this was different!
Reading God’s word now about following Jesus and seeing it modeled in the lives of James, Ed, and Charlie, really helped me now to really consider becoming Jesus’ disciple. I had become a Christian early on in life, but did not follow Jesus as His disciple.
It was at a weekend conference, that the Spirit of God gently challenged and convicted me to respond to Jesus invitation to follow Him-Luke 9:23.
Charlie spent about 6 months with me personally, one on one, helping me grow up in Christ and learn what it means to be a follower of Christ.
Over the years, I have learned much about following Jesus. In fact, I am still a work in progress.
I believe we should never stop growing in our intimate and personal relationship with Jesus…
Falling in love, with Jesus, who loves us so much.
What a privilege to respond to His love and grow in the knowledge of Him, a knowledge which is not information about Jesus only, but an experiential, transformational knowledge that brings about change in our new life in Christ. A change of our hearts/minds that brings about changes in conduct and behavior.
It is my desire to get to know Jesus better daily and to help make Him known to those God brings into my sphere of influence.
At the “Y”, there have been and continues to be an abundant opportunity in sharing His love in winsome ways. I like asking questions, helping people to think about what they believe concerning God. At times, I get to share my faith with those who are willing to listen, but only in a respectful manner and never pushing anyone in making decisions.
I praise God for all these opportunities and look forward to His working in my life through His Spirit to change me more into the image of His Son (Romans 8:29)
Looking forward to sharing with others the love of Christ- Hoping, praying, and loving them to know Jesus as His followers too.
You can make a difference in the lives of others like Don by donating to the YMCA Annual Campaign!
