Preaching through water sports

On a secluded private lake outside of Porterville, the water was abuzz Wednesday with the screams of happy children and the roar of speedboats.

In His Wakes Ministries, a Florida-based outreach group, put on an all-day water sport event session with the intent of giving local youngsters a chance to try water skiing, tubing or wakeboarding while promoting self-esteem and Christian values.

Nathan Miller, the facilitator and leader of the “Day To Remember” program, said the event was about reaching out to children who may not have the chance to experience things like water skiing on a regular basis.

“Our focus is generally on underprivileged, needy kids,” Miller said between giving instructions to would-be skiers. “They’re really our target group. We love to see the kids succeed.”

For four months during the year, Miller, his wife Ivy and their children live in a motor home and pull their Ski Nautique boat all over the country for In His Wakes Ministries, bringing water sports and Scripture to groups of all shapes and sizes.

“Through water sports we develop a trust with the kids,” Miller said. “We want them to walk away knowing that there’s a purpose for their life, there’s hope out there and hopefully help them push through some of their fears.”

For Miller, working with In His Wakes is a dream job. His background is working with children, teaching for 18 years before catching on with In His Wakes. He also was a competitive skier and wakeboarder. He said working with In His Wakes was the “perfect combo” for him.

The group was started by water skiing legend Kristi Overton Johnson with the intention of ministering to children through water sports. According to Miller, itÂ’s about helping children gain confidence getting in the water, on a boat and into a pair of skis.

“We do a large number of inner city programs,” Miller said. “Some of those kids have never been in or around water in a lake. Sometimes the biggest thing is getting them to overcome their fears and just get up to their knees in the water.”

That wasnÂ’t the case on this day. The 18 Porterville-area youngsters all exuberantly jumped in the boat and took to the water for their session.

What began at 9 a.m. with simple water safety and basic instructions turned into a water skiing extravaganza with every child having taken a turn on the skis by lunch time.

Miller was quick to point out that none of the dayÂ’s events would have been possible without the generous donations of time, effort and most importantly water. Local resident Randy Paquette played host to the group on his man-made ski lake on his property outside of Porterville after meeting Miller through water sports competitions.

“I was competing at Nationals and they were promoting In His Wakes,” Paquette, a semi-professional water skier, said. “They had a film that night and I told them I’d really like to sponsor a ‘Day To Remember’ for these kids out here. Two years later here we are and we’re having it. It’s awesome.”

With the help of the Terra Bella Lions Club, some local churches and other sponsors, Paquette was able to get the word out and set up the event through In His Wakes.

“It’s not necessarily about water skiing and wakeboarding, it’s about letting them know a little bit about Christ honestly,” Paquette said. “We use the skiing as a tool.”

As the children all made their way back to the dock, their smiles spoke volumes about the things they had experienced thus far in the day. With the whole afternoon still to go, the excitement filled the air like the water in the lake.

For Paquette, those youngsters and the Millers it truly was a day to remember.