I used to think of Manute Bol as the freakishly tall, thin, professional basketball player.  He blocked a lot of shots and, oddly at 7’7”, took - and made - a lot of three-point shots. 

Later, I learned a little more.  I learned that he played at an NCAA Division II school, Bridgeport (CT), and found out that he was from Sudan.  I remember seeing him at the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Springfield, MA.  When I saw him, it wasn’t too long after he had been in a terrible car accident that almost killed him.  One of his hands was severely damaged.  It was 2006, and when he stood up, he didn’t appear to be 7’7”.  Having said that, I hadn’t been around too many 7’7” guys before, but he stood next to a player that was competing in the NCAA Div. II All Star game (who was listed at 7’2”) and was just a shade taller, maybe a half-inch or an inch.  (As I learned later, it’s very likely that his life had taken a toll on him).

I digress. 

In the past year or two, I’ve continued to read more about Manute Bol.  Yes, he was certainly tall, and yes, he played in the NBA.  By doing so, he made a lot of money.  Millions.  I didn’t know about the Person.  The Man.  The heart and the mission.  To the people of Sudan, he was a saint.  His family and his people were dying from the terrible violence in his home country of Sudan.  He spent his money to help free his people from the violence.  He spent his money to help build a hospital and was in the process of building 41 schools.  He wanted to help uplift the people of Sudan through education. 

Many of you know the story.  When Manute Bol was last in Sudan, the President asked him to stay a little longer to help.  He contracted a horrible skin disease that eventually killed him.  Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star has written several times about Manute and his mission, as he lived in Johnson County, KS, in his retirement.  Sam tells more about the story of Manute Bol in this article in today’s Kansas City Star. 

While Manute Bol passed away last year, his dream lives on.  In death, his dream has a real chance of becoming a reality.

The more that I’ve learned about Manute Bol, the more that I am truly moved by his life.  He lived his life to make better lives for others.  A millionaire, he sacrificed for others.  He used his wealth and fame, but he didn’t use it for himself.  Many times, he sacrificed his own life by going back to Sudan to help his people.  Truly sacrificed his life by walking into the violence.  He was captured and imprisoned.  Think about this….an NBA millionaire going back to his war-torn country with a tremendous amount of violence so that he could help others, with the very real possibility that he would be killed. 

And this line keeps coming to me….”Whatsoever you do for the least of my people, THAT you do unto ME.” 

And I remember listening to a coach use the line, “I seek to leave the world a better place than I found it.”

Manute Bol: You have done for the least of His people, and you have left this world a better place…..God Bless You.

(….please take the time to read this article, as I think that it may move you as it has moved me….).