Long Distance Role Model
Chan’s engaging smile and humble servant’s approach to life radiates with gratefulness and love for God. Yet, the significance of the impact he is making on lives today — and potentially the future — would be lessened if his God-directed journey was overlooked.
“I grew up in Omdurman, Sudan (population roughly 2.4 million), about 10 miles northwest of Khartoum (the capital of Sudan) on the West Bank of the Nile River,” Chan says. “My mom sold teas, made colorful African clothing, and made perfumes while my dad is a chef, often doing weddings, where the meal preparations start days in advance.”
Yet Sudan is not your typical country. Civil war has been ongoing for decades. From Chan’s point of view, the war isn’t religious (Muslims vs. Christians), it’s about politics, money, and power.
“Almost all of my friends I grew up with are Muslim,” Chan says, which falls in line with the U.S. Department of State citation of Pew Research Center’s 2020 estimate of the country being 91% Muslim and only 5.4% Christian. “But we got along — it was peaceful.”
However, Chan, who played soccer like most of the other kids did, noticed that he was taller than all of his friends.
HELLO BASKETBALL
“When I was 8 or 9 years old, I was already 6-foot tall,” Chan says. “One of the coaches asked me if I had ever thought about playing basketball, but I didn’t have any interest in it.”
However, that question stuck with him, especially as he continued to grow. So, a few years later he went and watched some other boys playing in a basketball league; it was a sport he didn’t know anything about.
“After the boys finished playing, they would leave the ball on the court, and I would go and try to do what they were doing — teaching myself,” Chan says. He came to realize if he ever wanted to go to college, his parents wouldn’t have the money to send him, and with his height, basketball was likely his best opportunity.
Chan says he spent countless hours practicing by himself, trying to improve his skills — until one day, he caught a coach’s attention.
“He asked me if I wanted to play basketball, but I told him I couldn’t afford to be on a league team,” Chan recalls. “He told me I wouldn’t have to pay as long as I remained disciplined and came to practices.” By that time, Chan was 13 years old, 6-foot-3, and still growing.
DEDICATION
It was an hour’s walk to practice, with basketball practices lasting three to four hours, then an hour’s walk back home, but Chan remained committed as the door to his future was cracked open.
And as this new world began to open to him, Chan says that his older sister made sure he was attending church — a local Assemblies of God congregation.
“When I was younger, I didn’t fully understand why my sister was so involved, taking us every Sunday and Wednesday night,” Chan says. “But as I grew up, I began to understand the concept of serving and getting more involved in my faith journey.”
Yet, even though his life was already busy, Chan was not one to sit and wait for doors to be opened. At the age of 11, he started preparing for the future by teaching himself English.
“I already spoke Arabic and Dinka, but at school, we were only taught English once a week for 45 minutes,” Chan says. “I got a dictionary and a book, Learn English in Seven Days. I read the book, learned vocabulary with the dictionary, and then I paid to get on the internet to watch movies in English with no subtitles — by the time I was 13 I was halfway fluent in English.”
When the door opened to play basketball, Chan says that inspired him to learn English even more as all the terminology in basketball was already in English. He continued to play basketball while also spending additional hours after school to continue to improve his English skills.
“I learned that some schools in Europe offered basketball scholarships, so my coach helped me put together a recruiting video — we sent it to 14 or 15 schools, but we never heard from them,” Chan says. “Then one day, I received a DM (direct message) asking me if I would be interested in playing basketball in the U.S.”
An amazing story in itself, as the man behind the contact, Joseph, is a truck driver who spends his free time helping young African athletes get athletic scholarships, Chan admits that he and his family were at first very skeptical.
However, officials from Lighthouse Private Christian Academy (a secondary school) reached out to him, and what at first seemed questionable, soon became concrete. An interview was conducted, paperwork was signed, a student visa issued, and after what Chan calls a whole lot of prayer and the great generosity of his uncle and father (to pay for the plane ticket), at the age of 16, he boarded an aircraft headed to a strange new world more than 7,000 miles away from home — the United States.
NEW LIFE
“As I sat there on the plane, the Lord put in my thoughts that I needed to buckle up, not just for the plane, but my life was also about to take off,” Chan says. “I told myself that I was ready for this, I had all the tools I needed — I had been working since I was 7 or 8 years old . . . there are no child labor laws in Sudan — and all I needed to do was trust God and see what He has in store for me.”
There were a lot of firsts in store for Chan, but several “shocking” moments are ingrained in his memory.
“The first thing that shocked me, we were landing in Houston, and just the view of the cars and how many there were . . . and how clean the places were . . .,” he recalls. “And then, when I landed in Pensacola, Florida, just the view of the water and the color of the water — growing up, blue-colored water I only saw on TV or in magazines.”
Add in the white-sand beaches, the way Americans dress and talk, and the endless variety of foods available (in just the airport) already bordered on sensory overload.
As Chan adjusted to life in the U.S. while living on the campus of Lighthouse Christian Academy, he remained a diligent student and continued to develop his skills on the court, but then something happened that changed the course of his life.
MR. BUGBY
His name is Joshua Bubgy, and he taught Chan’s 10th grade history, economics, and Bible classes. He was also Chan’s chaplain.
“He started talking to me after class,” Chan says. “He took a real interest in me. Then he invited me to dinner at his house with his family. The following week, he invited me again.”
That’s when Bugby opened another door in Chan’s life journey.
“He told me that he didn’t know if I was a Christian or not, but if I wanted to attend church with them, I was welcomed,” Chan says. “That next Sunday, they picked me up and I’ve been attending Navarre First Assembly ever since.”
Although one might think Bugby was the one blessing Chan, as it turned out, it appears God has used Chan to impact the Bugby family as well as Navarre First.
“I think the Lord sent Chan our way to better our lives,” Bugby states. “He comes from a third-world, war-torn country and he has become more of a God-send to us than we have been to him . . . he’s such a testament of what God can do!”
Bugby notes that Chan was a part of their lives when he and his wife, Jodi, adopted two young brothers of Haitian descent out of difficult circumstances.
“Winston had experienced a lot of trauma,” Bugby says, “but he gravitated toward Chan and Chan really helped him through a lot of difficulties and helped him acclimate to the family — all of our kids love him . . . we’re a family of 11, and even though we haven’t legally adopted Chan, he’s definitely a part of our family.”
Jon Skipper, lead pastor at Navarre First, confirms how Chan has grown very close to the Bugby family and also to the church through his involvement in the youth group.
“Even then (when a member of the youth group), he had a spiritual maturity about him — more than other kids,” says Skipper, who also took time to go watch Chan play ball. “For a guy his size, he’s really athletic — he can move and handle the ball.”
Chan credits Skipper’s preaching, the Bugby family, and the congregation as the reason he’s made Navarre First his U.S. home church.
“Pastor Jon Skipper just knows how to bring the Word and in ways that everyone can get it,” Chan says. “And the people that go there — they’re nice and try to know you, they pray for you, they help you, and even come to your events outside of church . . . and the Bugbys have become family to me.”
Chan says that during his years as a member of the youth group, youth leaders encouraged him to be involved. This led to him working on the computer to display song lyrics for youth worship and later doing the same for three services every Sunday in the adult services.
A HUMBLE IMPACT
In 2022, Chan graduated from high school and accepted an offer to play for the Lighthouse Christian College basketball team.
However, even though he’s just as diligent to spend hours practicing basketball, he says he doesn’t want to be known as “Chan, the basketball player,” as that could lead to pride and an inflated ego.
“I’m thankful for the way my parents raised us,” he says of himself and his four siblings. “We didn’t have a lot of stuff, but my parents helped us to be thankful for what we did have, for what we had might seem like a million dollars to somebody else . . . I want to remain humble, for when I’m humble, God always has a way of bringing me up.”
Bugby agrees.
“The Lord has just been so good to him and favor has just followed him being here,” Bugby says. “It seems like so many good opportunities have come his way because he is so humble.”
Chan has also become even more involved in the youth group, now serving as a leader — still operating the computer lyrics during the singing, but also taking turns speaking to the youth.
And that humble, servant attitude has caught the attention of many in the church, starting with the youth.
“One of the things I really admire about Chan is how friendly and approachable he is,” says 14-year-old Koen Grayson. “From the very first time I met him, he was open to conversation and made it easy to connect.
“When my sister and I first met him (about three years ago), she had a friend who was looking for a Christ-centered relationship. We introduced them to each other, and they really hit it off. Eventually, they started dating, and we all became close. That was the first time I’d seen a strong, healthy Christian relationship up close — especially between people who weren’t that much older than me. It made a lasting impression on me and gave me a real-life example of what a God-honoring relationship can look like.”
Hattie Forster, 17, has known Chan for four years, saying she loves how he is always thankful for what God has done for him.
“He always has a smile on his face no matter what,” she says. “Chan has impacted my life by being a great role model and showing kids how it is to live a proper Christian life, and he is always humble. His humbleness is amazing.”
And pastor Jon Skipper couldn’t agree more.
“He’s one of the most spiritually mature young men I’ve ever met,” Skipper reaffirms. “And he always sees the positive side. For example, last year, I took him out golfing, and it was so hot, over 100. But he was out in the sun, without a hat, smiling and talking, saying how beautiful everything looked and taking pictures. I said, ‘You’re not hot?’ and he responded, ‘Oh no. In our country it gets 125 and we don’t have shoes.’ . . . he’s so happy and very grateful for everything.”
“He teaches us so much about gratitude and thankfulness,” Bugby adds. “I think we become better people when he’s around. But it’s not only our family, it’s pretty much everywhere he goes — at the college, playing pick-up basketball at the YMCA, his presence is just felt as an authentic disciple of Christ.
“You know, God’s Word calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves,” Bugby adds, “and I believe that for every family there is a ‘Chan’ out there — perhaps even right next door — hoping to be welcomed and loved.”
THE FUTURE
Chan plans to continue serving in the youth at Navarre First as he continues playing basketball and works towards completing his business science degree over the next two years.
However, much like his life in Sudan, Chan’s life in the U.S. is filled to the brim — and then some — with responsibilities that lead him to place his full trust in God.
“With me playing sports, we have practice from 9:30-11 a.m., we get a rest, then do weights, then I have six or seven classes that I take in the afternoons, and still have work on the side as an RA (resident assistant in the dorm), while sending money home to help support my family,” he explains, then adds with a laugh, “I have to explain to them (his family), that America is not what you think — money does not grow on trees here.”
Despite all the challenges, Chan says God won’t give him more than what he can bear.
“I step back and look at things through God’s lens, and He’s never late,” Chan states. “But I still have to do my part — the rest is up to God.”
After graduating, Chan plans to get into the business world to gather experience so that in the long term he can travel to South Sudan and establish a basketball ministry.
“I want to be able to provide kids with shoes, shorts, shirts, basketballs, and most importantly, Bibles,” Chan says. “I want to establish a sports clinic ministry where we go in and teach kids basketball, but also sit down and teach them the Word and about God . . . we currently don’t have anything like that in South Sudan.”
Although the idea of Chan’s sports clinic ministry may only seem like a young man’s idealistic and improbable dream, it’s important to recall that it was only about a decade ago that an 11-year-old AG kid who played soccer in Sudan began teaching himself English . . . .
“Nothing is going to happen out of human hands,” Chan states, “but definitely God’s hand is over things in my life.”
