Fields of Faith moved inside due to cold, wet weather ...

The seventh annual local Fields of Faith event in Waukon was held Wednesday, October 10 inside the Waukon High School gymnasium due to colder temperatures and light rain that forced the event from its traditional venue of the Waukon High School football field. Neither the weather nor the change of venue did anything to dampen the impact of the messages offered by three Waukon High School students and two adult speakers on how faith has impacted their life. Those student speakers are pictured in the three photos in the center below and include, left to right, Waukon High School seniors Megan O’Neill, Emily Kolsrud and Maddie Ahlstrom. Featured adult speakers included Isaac Fruechte (pictured in photo at bottom of page) and Cedric James (pictured below). Fruechte is a former multi-sport stand-out athlete at Caledonia High School just across the border in Minnesota who went on to play college football at the University of Minnesota and complete a brief career in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions. He is currently serving as the wide receiver coach for the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football team and hosts a Bible study that helps him assist others to find balance in their life, especially players in their quest to balance faith with the violence and emotion involved in the game of football. James is a Texas native who also went on to football careers at both the college (Texas Christian University) and NFL levels, also with the Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots. He spoke of how his faith has helped him overcome many challenges in both his athletic and personal life, including emerging from what he called his own introverted, quiet life to be able to speak in front of crowds at events such as Fields of Faith to share his faith impact story. He then asked everyone to gather around him (pictured above) for prayer and an invitation to participate in a 21 Days with God challenge of reading the Bible to establish that practice in life as a habit, a challenge being further guided locally day by day on the Fields of Faith Waukon Facebook page.