Spotlight: Board Member Russell Chun

Russell Chun is a man who wears many hats – and he prefers it that way. “I find that when I have more to do, I get more done.” He serves on the board with Hope Literacy, teaches as an adjunct professor at Dallas Baptist University teaching International Peace and Conflict at Cook’s School of Leadership, is president and founder of GoodSports International, and is now teaching and directing ESL and Civics in various locations in the new place he calls home, Colorado Springs, CO, with his wife Trudy and two of their grown children.

Russell loves to serve. He started his service with a 23-year career with the military, during which time he met his wife Trudy in Italy. They found that they both had a vision of ministering to orphans in Hungary, soon married and moved to Hungary where they lived and served for 10 years and also adopted two children (total 3). It was in Hungary where GoodSports International, initially started by the Canadian Navigators, was born, an organization that ministers to children and shares the gospel through sports. In 2015, Russell and his family came to Fort Worth, started teaching ESL at Dallas Baptist University and he began serving with World Relief North Texas as the resource/volunteer coordinator. Eventually both ESL and sports ministry emerged to serve refugees at Ladera.

GoodSports International is now in Hungary and in Slovakia, with directors serving full-time in each location and Russell serving now in an administrative and support role. This summer he had the privilege to travel to Hungary to witness firsthand the work that GoodSports has been doing. In the wake of the war in Ukraine, the organization quickly pivoted to provide services to those who were fleeting, transforming the local Christian Camping Center into a temporary shelter for 203 refugees. GoodSports has also been ministering to them through sports camps for children (especially baseball, a symbol of freedom for the former USSR territories), where the good news of Jesus is shared, and through pet therapy.

It was during the Chuns' time in Fort Worth that Russell became involved with Hope Literacy through his ESL program. He is now the proud site director of Hope Literacy’s two newest sites in Colorado Springs, ministries that would not have taken off without a lot of

prayer and hard work. Slowly but surely, God has brought the right people to the program and their ESL/Civics programs are now off the ground. Hope Literacy Colorado’s programs aim to give newcomers basic and practical skills to help them be successful in their new country, such as skills needed to read and write, fill out a job application, or get a driver’s license.

To learn more about Hope Literacy Colorado’s programs, visit the Locations page www.hopeliteracy.org/locations or view their profile in our gallery www.hopeliteracy.org/photo-gallery.