Tom and I got to know each other during my last year of Bible College up in Lenox, Mass in 1981. After I married and graduated that May, we became the closest of friends, as did Mary and Debbie. We stayed close for the next 15 years. We did a lot of things together, especially when Tom and Deb moved back to Springfield, and we moved there, as well. We both taught Bible studies and involved ourselves in serving the church in any way we could. We also enjoyed deer hunting, building, and especially having dinner together with our wives. Debbie was an incredible cook! In the mid 80´s Mary and I moved to Austria, and Tom and Debbie moved to Greece - to plant churches. We kept in close touch, and enjoyed visiting each other. It was a 30 hour train ride from Vienna to Saloniki!
Tommy really loved joking and teasing a lot, and it was even more fun joking back. One time when we were all together in Halkidiki for a little R&R, Tom and I rented some scuba tanks and went diving along the floor of the Mediterranean - straight out. When we finally surfaced to see how far we´d gone - we were so far out we could hardly see the shore. Tommy was having some trouble keeping his head above the water with all the gear, so I asked him what the problem was. He said, “I can´t swim so well…” to which I made a remark about his butt being the problem. We laughed so hard, we nearly drowned… I really miss him a lot, and think of him quite often. He was really “a man after God´s own heart”.
I am quite convinced that when I get to heaven one day, he will be the very first person waiting to greet me. And he´s going to say to me in his typical high-strung manner, “R-o-b, this place is going to b-l-o-w y-o-u-r m-I-n-d!” I can´t wait!
Rob Prokop