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Soccer ministry host pays tribute to husband
(by Sue Reid - August 07, 2008)
Photo by Itamar Gat
Janice Gretchko (from left), of Auburn, is hosting Kristie and Daniel Byrd, a Cleveland City Stars soccer player.
Soccer ministry host pays tribute to husband
By Sue Reid
A recent opportunity to serve as a host for members of a soccer ministry has become a blessing on numerous fronts for Auburn resident Janice Gretchko.
Mrs. Gretchko, whose husband, Michael, lost his battle with non-small-cell lung cancer in March, said that opening her home to Cleveland City Stars player Daniel Byrd and his wife, Kristie, has become a way in which to honor her late husband and his legacy.
"Michael was involved silently but strongly in funding missionary organizations," Mrs. Gretchko said. The couple joined Fellowship Bible Church upon moving to Auburn and prior to that were members of the Northfield Baptist Church in Sagamore Hills. Mr. Gretchko served as missionary coordinator there for many years.
While he was alive, the Ambassador in Sports program was looking for host families, Mrs. Gretchko said. "They needed host families with Cleveland City Stars, but, with his illness, it wouldn't be a good time to have someone in our home." When her husband died, she filled out an application.
"I got a call two days before the season started that there was a married couple" who needed a host home, "and they were moved in within a week." She said it was a gift from the Lord, "the fact that they wanted to be in a soccer ministry here, and I did not want to be home alone."
The Byrds are planning to stay with Mrs. Gretchko through May 2009 and continue with the soccer ministry.
The Cleveland City Stars team, which is in its second year and is similar to a minor-league team, is part of the Ambassador in Sports program. The program uses soccer as a tool for outreach ministry. It reaches out to area school systems and leads free soccer camps.
"They not only play professionally against other teams but do an outreach ministry," Mrs. Gretchko said.
She said Mr. Byrd has hosted Monday night Bible studies and backyard scrimmages at her residence. "To have a home that can provide for other people is very touching." She said she talks with them about the experiences during biweekly meals.
Their presence at her home, where Mr. Byrd also helps with household responsibilities, has "been a comfort that God provides," Mrs. Gretchko said.
"When you lose a spouse and have a home, learning all of that responsibility is very overwhelming," she said.
She said she also has found comfort in sharing with Mr. Byrd his experience of losing a loved one. His father was killed while doing missionary work in the field.
"It's amazing that the Lord knows what you need and pairs you up," Mrs. Gretchko said. "I need to talk about my husband and continue to remember all the wonderful things he brought to my life.
"Moving forward with all that good" has been a way to help with the grieving process, she said. "We were a team," Mrs. Gretchko said of herself and her husband, who were married eight years.
Mrs. Gretchko said that, prior to her husband's death, he had wanted to have a video done of his life called "My Story," which was offered through their church. He wanted the video to show his "walk with the Lord," she said. "This was an unfinished thing he wanted. Now he's living that through me," she said.
"My husband is right here with me, watching me and guiding me through," she said. "We are a team."
Mrs. Gretchko credits her husband with strengthening her faith. "My faith was shaky when I met him," she said. "I was a doubting Thomas." Their time together made her faith "solid as a rock," she said.
Mrs. Gretchko will continue her service to others this fall, when she takes part in a program called Challenge Aspen, where she will work with handicapped skiers. It, too, was an "uncompleted goal and dream" she and her husband, both avid skiers, had, she said.
"One of our goals was to spend a season when he retired out West doing this program. Now I am going to complete that dream."
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