Not only is Dikembe Mutombo a 7'4" giant of a man physically, he is an even bigger Giant on the inside!
Matt and I had the privilege of meeting this NBA basketball star who plays for the Rockets, about a month ago. To tell you the truth, I didn't really want to go because it was "one more night away from the kids". I am so grateful Matt convinced me it would be worth it.
This man came to America to be a doctor. He wanted to be able to take his knowledge back to Africa and serve his people. He had never played basketball but as soon as the coach at the University saw him, he was recruited fast!
If you are a basketball fan, you know him and know that he has been playing in the NBA now for 18 years. His dreams of becoming a doctor didn't come true but the dream of serving the people in Africa has been!
Dikembe is one of the most humble people I have ever met. He has taken his fame and used it for so much good. He has built the Mutombo hospital in Africa which is an incredible state of the art facility. He has paid so much from his own pocket and is constantly raising funds to keep the hospital staffed with quality doctors and to keep it running.
He came to the church asking for help with clean water...this is where Matt comes in and I got to tag along :) It was so fun for Matt to be able to tell him the great news that the church had signed a contract with the company that very day to make a HUGE water tank for the hospital.
As we were eating dinner with Dikembe, I was so impressed with the goodness of his heart. He found a wife and a month later brought his brother's( who passed away) 4 children to live in the USA with them. He now has 7 kids and if I remember correctly there is another on the way.
He takes a group of NBA stars with him every summer to Africa, to do a camp, not a basketball camp, but a camp to build buildings and places for the community to play basketball. What a refreshing sight for an NBA player!
It was a wonderful evening!
8 comments:
That is so awesome! I want Kenton to read this post! What a great man!
ok. Wow. I thought my Uncle Matt was the talles guy I know! It's wierd seeing him next to someone wayyy taller! Hah! He does seem like an amazing man!! I love you guys SOOO much!
He sounds amazing! I sometimes find myself getting frustrated at how much money athletes make and think "if only". Well, it is great to know that some people are doing such fantastic things for others!!! (And BTW, I can't believe how TINY you guys look next to him. I can only imagine how a baby looks like in his arms....maybe an ant?!) :)
What an awesome post, Jill you look shorter than your Aunt Susan. How neat that Matt gets so many great opportunities and gets to share some of them with you. Love it, and love you
hahahhaha I love your mom posts!! Thanks for a great blog! What a neat story that you all got to hear from his own mouth!
Thank you-I can't wait to share this story with my kids. What a thrill it must have been to tell him the church is on board!
My jaw dropped seeing him stand next to you! Remember my kids already think MATT is a GIANT!
Love you!
p.s I noticed you have the "nienie" blog on your side bar. I just read her blog for the first time yesterday. I cried and cried. I'm getting choked up again just thinking about it.
Matt you look like a shrimp compared to him! That is really cool you guys got to meet such a great guy!
Shawn
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